Cathie Dunn writes...

Fancy a free Kindle read? Ascent , the first in my new House of Normandy series,  is *free* to download  on June 8th & 9th! "A wonderful heroine" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Discover the emergence of a new, powerful dynasty, the House of Normandy, in Ascent , a fictionalised story of Poppa of Bayeux, handfasted wife of Rollo (Hrólfr) the Viking! Blurb: A brutal Viking raid heralds the dawn of a new, powerful dynasty – the House of Normandy Neustria, Kingdom of the West Franks AD 890 Fourteen-year-old Poppa’s life changes when Northmen land near Bayeux. Count Bérengar, her father, submits to them, and she is handfasted to Hrólfr, the Northmen’s heathen leader, as part of their agreement. To her relief, Hrólfr leaves immediately in search of further conquest, only returning to claim her years later. In the face of retaliating Franks, they flee to East Anglia, where she gives birth to their son and daughter. When Hrólfr and Poppa return to reclaim Bayeux, his new campaign strikes at the heart o...

I'm so thrilled to share my latest release with my followers: Ascent , the story of Poppa of Bayeux. Set in the early days of the new county of Normandy, it's a tale of danger, adversity, and love. Ascent is the first in a new series, House of Normandy , detailing the lives of the women behind the famous men who forged Normandy. Little is known about them, so I made it my task to bring them back to life. Whilst the series is fictional, I include real events, which they likely witnessed or heard of.  Poppa of Bayeux is a fascinating woman. Following a Viking raid on Bayeux by the (in)famous Rollo, she is wed to him in the Danish custom – by handfasting outside Church grounds. She must have been very young – too young to bear children, as their son and daughter were both born years later. Statue of Poppa of Bayeux, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain The Catholic Church had little to do with it, and although priests were not happy, they still accepted it in the early days. That did...