Child of the Northern Spring (Guinevere Trilogy) [Kindle Edition]

Persia Woolley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The standout opening volume of Woolley's Guinevere trilogy, first published in 1987, describes the Celtic princess's childhood in loving, sensuous detail with an uncannily accurate historical eye for day-to-day details. As Guinevere comes of age to marry Arthur, the recently crowned high king of Britain, Woolley does a marvelous job of portraying the political upheaval of the time. Despite the struggle between Celtic and Roman culture, Guinevere finds herself working with Arthur to unify a divided country and repel the onslaughts of Saxon invaders and rebellious kings. The sharply delineated cast will be familiar to any fan of Arthuriana, though many characters get new twists. While hardly the first book to retell these myths from a woman's perspective, this is an engrossing and satisfying addition to the canon. (Nov.) (c)
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Review

The writing was sophisticated, the characters stem from legendary stories and there was enough action and romance to keep readers engaged. (Palmer's Picks for Reading 20101108)

Guinevere is bold and strong, a true heroine in every sense of the word. Guinevere truly gets a rework here. Rather than being the wishy-washy fair-headed maiden of the romantic legend, she is a formidable Queen. (Queen of Happy Endings 20101118)

An enthralling read with fascinating three-dimensional portrayals of Arthurian legendary characters set in a historical accurate Britain. (Laura's Reviews 20101118)

This is quality storytelling that has stood the test of time, and I look forward to seeing the other two volumes in this trilogy back in print. (Historical Novels Reviews 20101123)

Fans of the Arthurian legends will appreciate and love this re-telling. (Debbie's Book Bag 20101129)

It is evident from the beginning that Woolley took her time researching the history of the time period as she goes into extraordinarily vivid description. Her characters come to life. (Rundpinne 20101201)

The world of Arthur and Guinevere was masterfully created. (The Maiden's Court 20101201)

eeing developments through the eyes of Guinevere... gave the story an entirely different feel, rhythm, and emphasis. (Apprentice-Writer 20101206)

Persia Woolley delivers in Child of the Northern Spring... it has garnered itself a spot in my permanent collection. (Read All Over Reviews )

Every little detail was so spot on and it was very impressive. You feel as if you are a part of it. (Books Like Breathing )

Woolley brings light to the to this time period and she paints vivid images of what life was like at the time of the 'Celtic Renaissance' when the many Celtic tribes revolted against marauding Anglo-Saxons. (Books by the Willow Tree )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 885 KB
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (November 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0042JU7RQ
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,436 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Child of the Northern Spring, October 29, 2010

By 

Melissa A. Palmer - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Child of the Northern Spring: Book One of the Guinevere Trilogy (Paperback)

This is the first book in a trilogy. I have never read anything by this author before and I liked the writing of this book. It reminded me of Phillipa Gregory, one of my favorite authors. This book was about Guinevere and her life and legend. It was interesting to read about Guinevere's family and childhood; that was something that didn't happen in Morte D'Arthur, which I read in college. Guinevere was a tough female character and I liked that about her. I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. The writing was sophisticated, the characters stem from legendary stories and there was enough action and romance to keep readers engaged.

This book was sent to my by Source Books to review.

[...].

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a Guinevere that makes sense. Strong, feisty, intelligent, loving & adored - a true Queen! Packed with historical detail, November 18, 2010

By 

Leigh Anne Lindsey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Child of the Northern Spring: Book One of the Guinevere Trilogy (Paperback)

I finished reading all 3 books, back-to-back within 5 days a couple weeks ago. I laughed out loud, cried my heart out and cheered Guinevere, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table onwards in their quest for honor, truth and civility.

Child covers topics I'd not thought of before (even after reading heaps of stories about Avalon, Merlin, Excalibur, & more for over 40 years!) Who was Gwen before she married? What of her father and their relationship, their kingdom? Horses? Her love of horses is right up front and center. I almost stood up and dusted my boots off it was so real! When she and Arthur first meet, what happens? They end up racing their horses to see who wins! Now that's my kind of story! A fun, realistic, tough and intelligent Gwen. And the historical detail gives the story its deep roots of stability.

The trilogy continues with stories that describe what it was like to run a kingdom with these characters, how they establish the "Knights of the Round Table", and how they defend the people of the realm. As the years unfold - you see that no matter what shortcomings there may be, Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot support each other with a depth of soul that helps them rule a land together, in harsh times & good, to unite a divided Britain.

Persia's attention to historical details of this period is backed by "eleven years of research," she told an audience recently at the local bookstore (Copperfields-Sebastopol, CA) during "An Evening with King Arthur." This lady is a walking, talking Arthurian library!

Live long and prosper Queen Persia!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Child of the Northern Spring, Review by Jessa Larsen, December 9, 2010

By 

Jessa Larsen "Jessa Larsen" (Sandy, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Child of the Northern Spring: Book One of the Guinevere Trilogy (Paperback)

Guinevere, who prefers to be called by Gwen, is a feisty Celtic tomboy who has no desire to adopt the ways of a "proper" lady. She feels no need to speak Latin, wear dresses, or be married off to some unknown King. She honors the old ways and the Pagan Gods and Goddesses and has no desire to move away from her own kingdom to be forced to adopt Christianity and the other Roman ways. She simply wants to rule the people she's always known in the land she's grown up in and marry the man her heart would choose.

Regardless of her own desires, Gwen soon realizes that though she isn't required to give up her free spirited ways, she does need to learn the ways of a proper lady in preparation to rule whatever Kingdom she eventually marries into. Gwen finds that though she finds dresses and sewing a tedious chore, she does enjoy gaining knowledge of a world she has yet to see. She finds herself betrothed to the newly crowned King Arthur and although she promises herself that she will not become a Roman Christian, she doesn't object to the young king as much as she thought she would.

Persia Woolley weaves the traditional tale of King Arthur into the story of Gwen, future Queen Guinevere. It follows the life of Gwen as she grows from a young child to a young woman who must learn to rule a kingdom and gain the love and trust of her people. We are allowed a peek into what life must be like for a young princess who only wants to live her life the way she is used to while accepting that she has responsiblities as a child of nobility.

I found it interesting that Child of the Northern Spring was interesting enough from a publishers point of view to be republished a second time by a second publisher. It was originally published in 1987 and picked back up in 2010. Straight from the beginning I was impressed and eager to see what this book had in store for me. The story starts off by hopping back and forth from past and present. We skip from Gwen growing up and learning what it takes to be a Queen to her travels as she meets the mysterious young King that she is soon to marry. Eventually the story catches up to the present and we watch as Gwen meets Arthur and the people she is to rule by his side. We see her realize that her new life might not be as bad as she thought it would be. I loved how the story skipped back and forth. I couldn't pull myself away due to the anticipation of the eventual wedding. Child of the Northern Spring is the first in a trilogy and I can't wait to continue the story.