"For a woman, living in the world of men is to always ready for battle. But we have no byrnies, no helms. There are no banners or crafts painted on shields."

The setting is 10th century Mercia. This place and time is brought fully to life. Little details and use of words from the time period fully immerse you.
The main character is Freda. She is a bright young girl and I enjoyed reading about her coming of age.
The story begins in a peaceful village which is suddenly attacked by Viking raiders, breaking Freda's life apart. She finds herself living in a nunnery, learning to read and write.
The themes of the novel and close to my heart - the importance of literacy, and the autonomy of women and girls.

I enjoyed this novel, but found it very slow to read. The writing was lovely and the setting really intrigued me, but for some reason I don't fully understand, I didn't look forward to picking this book back up each time I put it down.

As soon as I saw that By Her Hand was marketed to fans of Maggie O’Farrell, I knew I was going to be in for a good time but also a touching and emotional one. The story follows our main character Freda, who is heartstrong And skilled in writing. I am a big fan of historical fiction and especially those who explore the lives of women who go against the norms of the time period, as seen by some of my other recent reads.

Only thing was that it took some time to get into the story and read without distraction but in the end i read over half the book over the period of a day and stayed up late to see how the story would conclude.

'Some call it wyrd, fate, the great unseen web that weaves through all our lives'.

In 910 England, England was not England but a handful of kingdoms constantly vying for land and wealth. The kingdom of Mercia was sandwiched between the Viking controlled Danelaw and the almighty kingdom of Wessex, where an uneasy overlordship existed. When Freda's village comes under attack by marauding raiders, she is critically injured taking shelter in the woods. All seems lost, including her house and family. However, when she is eventually found and taken to an abbey, she is lured by the power and awe of the scriptorium. As she learns how to write, so too does she learn about the strength in words and the power of story-telling. Inspired by Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia, and the biblical story of Judith, she too dreams of writing her own destiny. 'He who writes the book, controls the world'.

I love this time and place in history. 'By Her Hand' gives us a glimpse of life as a woman during an age of violence and turmoil, and some of the ways in which they exerted their influence. Freda's story started off slowly for me, picked up, eased off, and then finished with a bang. In this regard, it is really a coming of age, and the indecision, lulls, wrong turns, and ultimately strength that comes with it. This is definitely a book I would have appreciated some endnotes from the author. I feel like it really would have added depth to the character and why her story was told the way it was.

'...stories are spears in the right hands. Even a lie can be shaped, tamed, turned into an elegy to make a man yield. A poem can forge a kingdom. A riddle can crush a mind'.

This book follows the lives of characters years after a traumatic home invasion, and it gets really interesting when their attacker is caught decades later. The character development is amazing!

By Her Hand is a feat of exquisite storytelling that gripped me from the first page. Set in 900s Mercia, we are immersed into Freda’s tumultuous world of navigating her complicated father and an even more complicated time of territorial conflict and brutal raids. When her own village is ravaged, Freda is injured and taken to an abbey where she is nursed back to health. There she finds solace and friendship and a new way forward in a world bereft of family. But Freda dreams of more than the domesticity and prayer of abbey life. She yearns to write—almost impossible in a world that is not the dominion of girls and women. When the powerful bishop observes something of value in Freda, he sees to it she learns her letters and trains to scribe. At first, Freda is unaware of the forces at play around her, that shape her and her world. But she grows in skill and courage, and is guided by Aethelflaed, the Lady of Mercia—she has challenges to meet and decisions to make. And now she is equipped.

Taffe is a dream of a writer, creating rich, immersive setting, complex characters and a stirring narrative, woven together by her sublime writing style. By Her Hand is a powerful story and a compelling read.

I was very much looking forward to reading this one but I must say I was a little disappointed. Although it was an interesting read it was very long and very drawn out. It seemed to take a long time to get anywhere. The writing is descriptive, but the language is hard to understand and it didn't keep me interested throughout (I put it down numerous times and also skipped through parts that dragged on).

I really wanted to like this one but in the end it just didn't have the magic and oomph I was expecting and I wanted.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I honestly don't know what it was about this book that pulled me in so much. I'm not a big historical fiction reader, let alone, one to do with religion. But the writing was so captivating, even with the hard to pronounce words.

I enjoyed the FMC growth and the friendships formed. The writing was so descriptive and gripping! It reminded me of the show Vikings with all of the names.

I thought I wasn't going to like this one however it surprised me and ended up a 4 star read. Congrats on the debut.