- Publisher: Saddle Horse Press, LLC
- Available in: Digital
- Published: 2014-03-01
Happily Ever After doesn’t always start as a fairytale romance…
Take a step back in time when marriage choices were nearly non-existent for women. Noble marriages were arranged by king and family, not for love. What happened if the woman’s consent was not freely given?
Four medieval romances
The Troubadour
Courtly love, as sung by troubadours, was often a refuge for Medieval wives. Yet, its basis was fantasy, a far cry from the harsh realities of everyday life. Will an unwilling bride find courtly love and satisfy the longs of her romantic heart?
The Novice
Can a Medieval woman who doubts her vocation to the Church find true love in an arranged marriage?
The Betrothed
Marriage based on love was foreign to the Medieval mind. Yet consent had to be freely given for a marriage to be valid. Can a reluctant bride dare refuse her betrothed without suffering the consequences?
The Duke
A trip to the British museum in London catapults a modern exchange student back in time to a tragic life shrouded in secrecy, lust, and true love.
Reviews
I thoroughly enjoyed these four Medieval romances. I was reminded of what I already knew, but in a poignant way, that Medieval women had little control over their choice in a marriage partner. These four short romances tell four different tales of what four Medieval women did in refusing to give free consent to the matchmaking their parents or sovereigns did on their behalves. The results of their either running away or reluctantly succumbing to passion with their betrotheds or dreaming back in time with their beloved made for some wonderful stories about their wisdom, strength and passion. I recommend this anthology highly. – Amazon Review
Freely Given gives us a glimpse into this time in history through the eyes of four ladies that found themselves facing unwanted marriages. These stories are not the typical flowery romance that glosses over the lack of choices available to females. I find the topic interesting to look back upon and enjoyed Jan’s take on how four such situations may have played out. Amazon Review