TITLE: Hild: A Novel
AUTHOR: Nicola Griffith
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PUBLISHED: 12/11/2013
RATING: ★★★★★
PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon
MOBILISM LINK: Mobilism
Review: There’s plenty of crossover space between fantasy and historical fiction, because so much fantasy is set in worlds very like some real-life historical periods. Which means that Hild, even though it has no outright magic, is just as perfect for fans of epic fantasy as it is for those who love really incredible historical novels.
Hild is Griffith’s attempt to write a fictionalised biography of the real-life Hild, a woman who lived in Britain during the Middle Ages and became both the most powerful woman of her time and one of the most influential women in British history, full stop. The daughter of a dead king and niece to a man who would make himself Overking, Hild is born with an incredible intelligence that builds her a reputation as a seer – one who is never mistaken. This makes her a valuable player in the seventh-century game of thrones (sorry, I had to!) where numerous British factions are at war with each other – and a new religion, that of the Christ, is beginning to get a hold on the country…
Does that sound dull? It isn’t dull. Nor do you have to worry (as I did) if you don’t know anything about the time period: Griffith has done a ridiculous amount of research into every possible aspect of seventh-century life in Britain, and without ever using the dreaded info-dump introduces the reader to a world completely different to our own. In fact, the first few pages can be a little overwhelming at times, but that smooths out very quickly and there’s a very handy glossary at the back of the book for the occasional quick reference.
So in that, it reads like the best kind of secondary-world fantasy – a wholly new culture, people, and even language for you to jump into. But as much as I adore world-building, there are many other aspects of the novel that I enjoyed even more. One was the frank discussion of female sexuality; Christianity is very new to Britain at the start of the book, and the assorted Brits aren’t yet prudes. When Hild’s friend Begu falls in lust for the first time, her description of her feelings is one of the best of its kind I’ve ever read:
Begu reached for Hild’s hand, laid it on her belly. “Here. That’s where I feel it. It’s like… It makes me feel wild as the autumn and nervous as a kitten, and the world is big and new. I smell everything, I hear everything, and inside I feel… It’s like, I feel like a leaf on a river pouring over a fall – I’m being hurried along, then sucked under. I look at his arms and his shoulders and I’m drowning. I want to lick them, I want to gnaw at them like a teething puppy. No, not like a puppy, like a wolf. I want to tear him apart, eat him up. You can’t stop teeth from growing. I can’t wait years.”
As is the moment when Hild puts her own sexual awakening into words, even though hers isn’t yet directed at any one person:
Hild…tried to tell her mother of the restlessness that rose like the tide, the formless longings, the dreams, the sleeplessness, the strange distance of the world, the urge to play with danger, to touch something she couldn’t reach. “It’s like…like climbing a great ash tree, higher and higher, and the boughs are bending, and I’m reaching, reaching for something, and part of me knows the bough will break, but I don’t care. I want it. I just don’t know what it is.”
There’s beautifully no-nonsense talk about female masturbation, as well, which Griffith gets mega points from me for (I can only name two other books that do so, and how many of us ever heard it discussed in sex ed.?)
“Today we need to sort you. You’re a danger to yourself and others.” She looked up. “Have you started touching yourself? …Next time you feel…restless, try it. It will help you sleep.”
Maybe that sounds like too much information to some people – but I would suggest you stop and consider why that is. The world likes to pretend that women don’t have sexual feelings, or else have too many; in Hild’s world, at least, sex and sexual urges are seen as perfectly natural and healthy (as they should be). The only concern for Hild is keeping her position as seer secure – or, in her mother’s words
“If they’re not your equal, they don’t matter, you will be seen to be you, still.”
Avoiding gossip is important; avoiding pregnancy, even more so. Thus, Hild’s mother advises her to sleep with her bodywoman, or female slave.
Why yes, there does happen to be LGBT content in this book. I was surprised too! Although I shouldn’t have been; it’s a pretty accepted historical fact that whenever women are cloistered away together with no men, or when pregnancy is not an acceptable risk, lesbianism runs rampant (such as in the Arabic harems or, apparently, in the women’s quarters of British lords). Another pleasant surprise was that Hild, and those around her, don’t label any of it; men marry women, but sexuality itself is wordless and very fluid. Although it’s pretty clear by the end of the novel that Hild herself is bisexual as we modern readers would understand it, no one thinks in terms of natural inclination. There are no boxes to put people into; people just love, and express that in varying ways. It’s a very simple, but very beautiful and effective approach to sexuality.
But without question, it’s the writing itself that makes Hild stand out as something truly special. Griffith is a sorceress with the written word; aside from the intricate plots that make this novel Game of Thrones without the dragons, Griffith’s description alone is enough to make you weep. In just a few words she can create the most perfect picture; her writing is evocative, lush, and gorgeous.
It glistened with fish eggs, perfect as the most delicate pearls on the queen’s veil. They shimmered with moonlit glamour, droplets of dreams.
She was brown and cream and tawny, like a lynx.
mist rose from the river, cool and smelling of secrets.
chased by whippets of wind
In short, Hild is an absolute masterpiece, and I’m unspeakably glad and relieved that Griffith has promised at least two sequels. If only she’d write faster, because I really can’t wait to dive back into Hild’s world.
