"He'd said her pottage was delicious, though she wasn't sure he meant it. After drinking a few mazers of wine, he'd cocked his head. "What a delightful little wife you'd make," he said and, reaching for her, drew her onto his lap and kissed her. She'd been so thrilled, yet she was sure he was just teasing.
She'd never be his wife.
Yet she'd settle for being his leman. She wondered if, one day, he might take her away from Mistress Brouderer's, but it was a vain imagining, for the witch would surely never let her go".
Children's Fate by Carolyn Hughes is the fourth Meonbridge Chronicle, an absorbing tale set in England in 1360, eleven years since the Black Death. It swept like a wildfire across Europe; on average, 35-40% people died from the plague, and in some villages and towns, the toll was even higher - 80-90%.
It's been six years since Emma Ward and her children fled their home in Meonbridge to move to Winchester. She hopes to have a better life in town, as there is lots of work, and they could make a new start. It's true that Emma herself succeeded in finding a decent job in becoming a weaver, which she could not have done in a rural setting. She's got enough money to buy her elder daughter Bea an apprenticeship with Mistress Brouderer.
Sixteen-year-old Bea is an apprentice to Sibylla Brouderer, who charges parents of her apprentices for their daughters' training. Sibylla has lost all her family in the first wave of the plague. She had survived "in a strange world, emptier of people, in which women had more chance to make a mark in their own right". And while embroidery is a decent job, Sibylla's running a more lucrative job on the side, prostituting her young wards to the willing menfolk of the town.
Bea is wilful and vivacious, and has hopes of succeeding in this world. According to her mistress, she has a great potential and would bring in good money. Bea is a vulnerable teenager, exploited by her immoral mistress and men who pay for her services.
Bea is confused. On one hand, she is ashamed of her new "job", and cannot confide in her mother or sister. On the other hand, she enjoys the attentions of rich and handsome Riccardo Marchant. She is also happy with the money and gifts she receives.
"Bea battled with her feelings. It was clear she'd been tricked into Riccardo's bed, first by her mistress, then by the man himself. She should be angry as well as sahamed, somehow, she wasn't either. Or not much".
And when Riccardo compliments her and hints that she would make a good wife, she is happy to be deluded. It still rings true. Centuries pass, but women are willing to be duped by men's smooth talk.
When Emma hears the rumours about Mistress Brouderer, she is shocked and bewildered. She blames herself for her daughter's misfortune. She often regrets her decision to leave Meonbridge, though she convinces herself that she is building a new, more prosperous life for herself and her children. Yet, at what cost? Bea is in grave danger. Her youngest, Bart, is a little thug, who runs wild in the streets of the town and keeps dangerous company with the thieves. Only middle child, Ami, seems to be doing well, working as a servant in the merchant's household.
Emma's heart is breaking and she takes a decision of taking her children back to Meonbridge, away from the sins of the city. At first, Bea doesn't suspect her mother's motives, she is pleased to see her old friends and get new admirers. Soon enough she struggles to get into the rhythm and hardship of rural life. She is now used to higher standards of living. Missing her rich lover and their cosy arrangement, Bea escapes back to the city.
When the plague returns to Winchester, Bea flees back to her village, only she is not welcome any longer.
Hatred born out of fear erupts into violence. Emma has to choose between her children and re-think her own position in the village. These are scary, challenging times for everyone involved. Will she be able to defend her daughter, or does she need to make a heartbreaking choice?
As mentioned above, Children's Fate is the fourth book in the Meonbridge Chronicles series. Though it reads as a standalone, I found it a bit confusing to start with. There are many female characters, pregnant or with children, and I had to check out the list of characters several times to understand who is who. Some of the plotlines and life stories of the main characters which appeared in the previous books, are mentioned in this novel, and make you want to discover the world of Meonbridge. I would love to read the series from the first book, and get acquianted with the main protagonists better.
I remember reading years ago an article in one of the history magazines about what it was to be a parent in the middle ages. From what I recollect, there were two schools of thought on the matter, one of them being that parents in those days were pragmatic about their children's deaths, as the rate of childhood mortality was very high. Women had one child after another, and not many of the infants survived. There was another school of thought though, that not all parents were philosophical about their children's demise, and many of them were destroyed with grief.
Children's Fate made me think about it. It was not a comfortable reading at times. Some scenes in the novel will make you feel like someone's ripped your heart out.
With the current pandemic, you can draw parallels with the pestilence of the middle ages, both ultimately sweeping across the world with the cruel natural selection of the human species.
The novel is deeply researched. It transports you to another time and place, and shines a light into the 14th C England's social and cultural history.
Eileen Power talks in Medieval Women that "medieval industry was open to women and they played a by no means inconsiderable part in it. There was hardly a craft in which we do not find women. They were butchers, chandlers, ironmongers, net-makers, shoe-makers, glovers, girdlers, haberdashers, purse-makers, cap-makers, skinners, bookbinders, gilders, painters, silk-weavers and embroiderers, spicers, smiths and goldsmiths, among many other trades".
It's fascinating to see the wide range of jobs and positions which women were involved in in the aftermath of the Black Death, from Emma and Mariota who are weavers to Lady de Bohun who's the "lord" of Meonbridge after the death of her husband, from Sibylla Brouderer, embroideress and procuress, to Eleanor who inherited her father's flock of sheep. Some of the widowed women re-marry, while some prefer to stay independent and rely on their own labour for income.
Children's Fate is not a prettified, bucolic fantasy from the days of Ye Olde England, and damsels in distress, saved by lovable rogues. This is an honest, harsh account of what it was like to be a woman in the Middle Ages, what options you had and what choices you had to make in order to survive.
This review is part of the blog tour.
Purchase Links:
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Childrens-Fate-Meonbridge-Chronicle-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B08LZLW9S1
US - https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Fate-Meonbridge-Chronicle-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B08LZLW9S1
Many thanks to Carolyn Hughes, Riverdown and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
If you like the sound of this book, scroll down to enter a giveaway to win an Amazon voucher to spend on The Meonbridge Chronicle or any other book of your choice.
Author Bio –
CAROLYN HUGHES was born in London, but has lived most of her life in Hampshire. After completing a degree in Classics and English, she started her working life as a computer programmer, in those days a very new profession. But it was when she discovered technical authoring that she knew she had found her vocation. She spent the next few decades writing and editing all sorts of material, some fascinating, some dull, for a wide variety of clients, including an international hotel group, medical instrument manufacturers and the government.
She has written creatively for most of her adult life, but it was not until her children grew up and flew the nest several years ago that writing historical fiction took centre stage in her life. She has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.
Children’s Fate is the fourth novel in the MEONBRIDGE CHRONICLES series. A fifth novel is under way.
You can connect with Carolyn through her website www.carolynhughesauthor.com and social media:
Social Media Links –
Facebook: CarolynHughesAuthor
Twitter: @writingcalliope
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2hs2rrX
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