History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Rebecca Hazell. She has just released her latest novel, The War Queens . While researching her family heritage allowed her to discover a previously unknown link to Queens Brunhilda and Fredegunda. These women have been judged harshly at times throughout history. Thank you, Mrs. Hazell for the wonderful interview! What inspired you to write a novel about Queen Brunhilda and Queen Fredegunda? I was researching my family tree and discovered that I’m supposedly descended from both of them. Looking them up on Wikipedia , I came up with far more questions than answers and started digging into serious histories. Their biographies, which are full of gaps, fascinated me, especially since a close reading of the most reliable history tells quite a different story from what is commonly accepted about them. I wanted to tell their stories from a fresh point of view that humanizes them. Brunhilda and Fredegunda were not the traditional medieval women th...

The War Queens Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Tellwell Talent Release Date: 2023 Pages: 496 Source: This book was given to me by the publicist in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: By the sixth century, the Roman Empire is already lost to tribal invasions, brutal Merovingian Franks have seized Gaul from the civilized Romanized Visigoths, and a dark age has descended across Europe. Now a deadly rivalry arises between two Merovingian queens. Brunhilda and Fredegunda are equals in beauty and intelligence, but opposite in vision and temperament. When the Franks demand a royal bride, Visigoth Brunhilda marries into a world that despises women. Suddenly thrust into power and repeatedly facing loss and grief, she seeks to revive a new Rome based on justice and prosperity. Her implacable foe, Fredegunda, is a former slave concubine who lives only for personal power. Insanely jealous of high-born Brunhilda, she uses seduction, assassination, war, and even witc...

Please join Rebecca Hazell as she tours the blogosphere for the Tiger and the Dove trilogy Book Blast, from December 1 - 14, and be entered to win all three books in the trilogy! The Grip of God (Book One) The Grip of God is the first novel in an epic historical trilogy, The Tiger and the Dove . Set in the thirteenth century, its heroine, Sofia, is a young princess of Kievan Rus. She begins her story by recounting her capture in battle and life of slavery to a young army captain in the Mongol armies that are flooding Europe. Not only is her life shattered, it is threatened by the bitter rivalries in her new master's powerful family, and shadowed by the leader of the Mongol invasion, Batu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson. How will she learn to survive in a world of total war, much less rediscover the love she once took for granted? Always seeking to escape and menaced by outer enemies and inner turmoil, where can she find safe haven even if she can break free? Clear eyed ...

Consolamentum (Book #3 of The Tiger and The Dove Trilogy) Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Release Date: 2014 Pages: 355 Source: This book was given to me as part of a book tour in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the finale of Sofia's memoir, Consolamentum , both dramatic and poignant, her dreams of home are shattered when her own family betrays her. Raising her child on her own, mourning the loss of her beloved knight, and building a trading empire, she seeks safe haven for her child and herself. Her quest takes her from Antioch to Constantinople to Venice. A surprise reunion in Venice leads her to France where she runs afoul of the newly established Holy Inquisition, possibly the greatest challenge she has yet faced. Can a woman so marked by oppression, betrayal, and danger ever find her safe haven, much less genuine happiness?      My Review: Consolamentum is the final novel in The Tiger and The Dove  ...

Todays, guest writer is Rebecca Hazell. She is an award winning artist, author and educator. She has written, illustrated and published four non-fiction children’s books, created best selling educational filmstrips, designed educational craft kits for children and even created award winning needlepoint canvases.      She is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, and she holds an honours BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in Russian and Chinese history.      Rebecca lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1988 she and her family moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in 2006 she and her husband moved to Vancouver Island. They live near their two adult children in the beautiful Cowichan Valley. She has recently published The Grip of God and Solomon's Bride .  In her guest post, she talks about her  final novel in the trilogy, Consolamentum , which has just been released. Thank you, Mrs. Hazell. THE ...

Solomon's Bride (Book Two of The Tiger and The Dove Trilogy) Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Release Date: 2014 Pages: 384 Source: This book was given to me as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Once a princess of Rus’, now a fugitive from the Mongols with a price on her head, Sofia flees to Iran and what she thinks will be safety. Instead, she becomes a virtual prisoner in Alamut, capital of the feared, secretive sect called the Assassins. There she must answer to the Grand Master himself. In this gripping second journal of her adventures, she is confronted with a world that further challenges everything she thought she knew. And she like Solomon’s youngest bride, if she escapes, can she face a lonely death in the desert or might she finally find love?       My Review: This is a sequel to  The Grip of God . Sofia manages to escape from the Mongol war camp. ...

The Grip of God (Book One of The Tiger and The Dove Trilogy) Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Release Date: 2013 Pages: 380 Source: This book was given to me as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Sofia, a young princess of Kievan Rus’, is captured in battle and swept away to a Mongol war camp as a slave concubine. Can she survive in a world of total war while the bitter rivalries in her new master’s family threaten her from all sides? In this dramatic first journal of her saga, Sofia seeks her way through an alien and savage culture where a new world of ideas challenges her entire view of life. While her only goal is to escape and to find love again, what will she discover if she can break free .       My Review: Sofia is a young princess of Kyiv. When her kingdom is threatened of being attacked, her father devises a plan for Sofia to escape the palace unharmed. W...

     Todays, guest writer is Rebecca Hazell. She is an award winning artist, author and educator. She has  written, illustrated and published four non-fiction children’s books, created best selling educational filmstrips, designed educational craft kits for children and even created award winning needlepoint canvases.      She is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, and she holds an honours BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in Russian and Chinese history.      Rebecca lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1988 she and her family moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in 2006 she and her husband moved to Vancouver Island. They live near their two adult children in the beautiful Cowichan Valley. In her guest post, she talks about her recently published novels, The Grip of God and the sequel, Solomon's Bride . Her final novel in the trilogy, Consolamentum will be released soon. Thank you, M...