Hild by Nichola Griffith review – absorbing tapestry of seventh century life

The true story of Saint Hilda is turned into a magnificent and convincing portrayal of Anglo-Saxon England

The luxuriously long and utterly absorbing Hild is based on a true story: that of Saint Hilda, the girl born around 614 in Anglo-Saxon England whose life is (briefly) recorded in the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation.

Nicola Griffith, better known as an awardwinning fantasy writer, has brought to life the entire tapestry of seventh-century life, from churning butter and weaving to battle and siege.

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