The Wild Hunt [Hardcover]

I agree with the second customer reviewer. Pay no attention to Kirkus Review. It almost sounds as if they read an entirely different novel.

This is the story of Judith and Guyon of Ravenstow & Ledworth. She was given into marriage with Guyon before even meeting him. Her image of marriage is not a pretty one. She imagines it to be like her mother's, full of violence. Her "father" is half-brother to the infamous Lord Robert de Belleme. Judith, for several months to a year is filled with distrust for her new husband, Guy, even though he has yet to exercise his "full martial rights." As time goes on, however, she learns to trust him in nearly everything.

However, there is a secret that even she does not suspect about herself, but others, including Guy, do. In addition, Guy suffers a personal tragedy and surprisingly Judith, is empathetic about it.

The characters in this novel are complex, compassionate, realistic human beings. The story is fast-paced and never dull. The details of what life must have been like during William Rufus' and Henry I's reign are wild, sometimes brutal, but always interesting. If you want to read a medieval book that does not disappoint, then this one is for you. Beware, however, the modicum of sex that does appear in this title is neither gratitious nor vulgar, it is appropriate to the storyline. It is out-of-print, but it can and should be found and read! Also, be sure to read the rest in this trilogy, "The Running Vixen," and "The Leopard Unleashed." "King of the Wood" is also an excellent novel by Valerie Anand that uses William Rufus' reign as a backdrop.

Continuing on my adventures with British author Elizabeth Chadwick, January's pick was her first novel, The Wild Hunt. Usually, I don't expect much out of a first novel, knowing that they're usually not that good, or that they're going to be that brief flash in the pan, and the author rapidly sinks into mediocrity afterwards. But every now and then, an author makes that big leap, and just keeps getting better. Alas, that doesn't happen too often.

Fortunately, Ms. Chadwick is among the latter.

Set during the turn of the twelfth century, The Wild Hunt opens in a dramatic fashion. Guyon, a young knight, finds out that he has been ordered to marry a young heiress, Judith of Ravenstow. If he doesn't marry her, the king will give the girl's lands to someone else, and Guyon will fall very far from the king's favour -- a necessity in the rough years following the Norman Conquest. For Guyon, to have such a rich holding for himself is a lifelong dream, a means of establishing power for himself, far away from the serpentine politics of the royal court -- and especially the sexual attentions of the king, William Rufus.

As for his bride, Judith is little more than a child, only sixteen when she marries Guyon, and she is terrified of the physical aspects of marriage. But then, the only example of a marriage that she has experienced is that of her parents -- and her father was a very brutal man, beating his wife and daughter whenever the whim took him. Adversity builds strength, and despite her young age, Judith is determined to stand up to her new husband, and not be a weakling.

Marriage turns out to be a surprise for both Guyon and Judith, with a very rough start for them both, never have met each other before their wedding day. What with the Welsh raiding over the border, and Judith's uncle Robert de Belleme determined to make mischief, it's almost too much to handle for the young couple. Judith however fears the worst, especially when she discovers that her husband had a Welsh mistress by the name of Rhosyn, and that she is pregnant. Even before the marriage settles, there are some rough patches to overcome and a mutual distrust between the partners. Can they possibly find a middle ground before their enemies overtake them?

Some elements of the novel I really enjoyed, such as Guyon's dog and Judith's cat, not to mention that Ms. Chadwick has a very good sense of how life was lived in the medieval period. That is one of her strong points and she can create a very vivid sense of 'being there' in her storytelling. Another strong point is her use of historical people and places, without making them overly romantic or sentimentalized. My only real complaint with this one is that Guyon and Judith are nearly too perfect, but fortunately, Ms. Chadwick doesn't fall too far into that trap, and I found myself actually liking the pair of them by the end of the book.

While this novel does fall into the category of a historical romance, there is plenty of history for the reader to enjoy as well. Nearly everyone besides Guyon and Judith and their families actually lived and breathed, and there is very little in the story that is fictional. There really was a Robert de Belleme in history, and he was just as terrible and feared as Ms. Chadwick makes him out to be. He was later on immortalized in opera as Robert le Diable -- Robert the Devil. So too is William Rufus and happily, Ms. Chadwick doesn't hold back on his character either -- the events of the New Forest really did happen that way, and it has remained one of the more interesting mysteries to come out of the middle ages.

Another touch that I liked here was the addition of the Welsh to the story. Yes, they were anything but romantic in the middle ages, and a constant thorn in the side of England's Marcher barons. One trap that many historical authors have fallen into is glorifying the underdog as it were, and have turned them into noble freedom fighters against Norman agression. That's somewhat true, considering that the English were trying to take over their lands, but they were equally bloodthirsty and ready for a fight if the odds were in their advantage.

An interesting sidenote is that this book won the Betty Trask award, given for first novels with a historical or traditional setting by authors under the age of thirty-five.

All in all, this earns a very solid four star rating from me. It's not quite as good as Ms. Chadwick's later novels, but compared to most of what gets passed off as historical these days, it's a very fine, very good read, and worth a reread or two. This is just the first novel in the Ravenstow trilogy with The Running Vixen and The Leopard Unleashed coming next. I don't know if these two books will be republished, but if they are anything like the first book, they'll be worth seeking out in the future.

Four stars. Recommended.

I have had this author recommended to me so many times and I wanted to read the series in order so I started with this one. This is my first Chadwick title. Another reviewer here wrote that Ms. Chadwick's inexperience shows in this early book and that her later works improve vastly.

The story is very good and beautifully worded to create stirring images that travel through danger, political intrigue and a love triangle that surprisingly has no villains. The characters are very realistic and well developed but I'm not very patient and REALLY wanted Judith to mature quicker. Guy was a great hero with brains to match his brawn.

It was a very good book and I understand that her later books get better and with the author's intelligence and use of the English language, I'm not surprised. If this book is a "rough draft" of her later works, I'll be sure to continue on and read more.

Even for its faults, it's definitely worth reading. I read it in one sitting and was smiling at the end.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars