A sword in her hand

This book was something I wanted to read for ages, a book about countess that is not very famous. A bit of a mystery. The book shows feminism in 14th century Flanders, a place above current France. You read about Marguerite from the day that she is born and lives as being the only daughter of count that needs a male heir.

Plot

The book starts a little weird. You read the night Marguerite is born. That chapter explains the most difficult thing in her life, the fact that she is a girl and not a boy. That is the biggest storyline in the book. 

   It is not a very mysterious book, like some medieval books are. That was a little disappointing. It is really the life a teenage girl. 

   Marguerite is a boy-girl. She loves pranking with the pages (knights in training), getting dirty, learning to fight with a sword and not following the rules. This shouldn’t suit a girl of nobility, but she still does it and that causes some problems. I think the pranking makes the book a lot more fun, it was my favourite part. 

   A part of the book also focuses on her marriage. She needs to marry a king or the son of a king. She also can’t choose who she marries, that is something her father does. The search for a husband is also a storyline. She also has a short love live outside of marriage.

The end is very spectacular, but I'm not going to give spoilers!

  

Historical accuracy  

You get a look inside the live on a medieval castle. That is very accurately written with details on how the people live and what their jobs are. What kind of jobs there are needed in the middle ages and the importance of being born in a high ranking family. Cause if you were not, it is very difficult to get a better life. Marguerite was fortunately born as the most important girl in Flanders. Her life is of course dramatised, like in every historical novel. That doesn’t bother me, I even appreciate it because otherwise it would be a very boring book.

  There are a few historical facts differently written. For example, Marguerite was married off at the age of seven, but that marriage wasn’t spoken about in the book. I think that is a good rewrite of history for a novel. Child marriage was very common between nobility in the middle ages, but not suited for the more romantic novel. 

Do I recommend it?

Yes, I do! It was a good book for the historical fiction lover. I don't know if the translation is good, because I read it in Dutch. It is sometimes a little bit of a teenage book because it is about a teenager. But my mom read it also and she liked it, so it is also suited for adults.