Godiva: A Novel

By Nicole Galland

Nicole Galland, author of The Fool’s Tale, turns her clever pen toward re-imagining the famous legend of Lady Godiva in this expertly crafted historical novel set in Anglo-Saxon England.
 
A 12th-century noblewoman, Lady Godiva is infamous for riding naked through Coventry to relieve her people of her husband’s unfair and oppressive taxation. Leofric, Earl of Mercia, said he would ease the tax burden if she would ride through the streets, wearing only her glorious, long hair. In doing so she risked everything, including her home and well-being.
 
Told with humor and precise attention to detail, Nicole Galland’s Godiva brings to life the adventures of the legendary lady, her husband and her best friend the Abbess Egdiva in thrilling detail. It’s an entertaining tale of courtly intrigue, deceit, and romance that is sure to captivate fans of literary and historical fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062250254

Nicole Galland

Nicole Galland is the author of the historical novels Godiva; I, Iago; Crossed, Revenge of the Rose; and The Fool’s Tale; as well as the contemporary romantic comedies On the Same Page and Stepdog, and the New York Times bestselling near-future thriller The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (with Neal Stephenson).

Reviews for Godiva

[amelia_smith-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this one. It's a much lighter read than the author's previous book, I, Iago, and I like the way it focuses so well on the relationship between the two women, Godiva and Edgiva. Although you know, going in, that she's going to make the naked horseback ride, the journey to that point is still interesting.

[nomadreader_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The basics: Godiva is fictional retelling of the infamous Lady Godiva, her husband, and best friend Lady Abbess Egdiva.My thoughts: I'm particularly fascinated by old, old history. There's something about trying to imagine life more than a few hundred years ago that challenges my mind. This phenomenon is at least partly attributable to my lack of knowledge about the actual history of these time periods, but Lady Godiva is a name I've heard for years and was curious to learn more about someone who definitely fulfills the bumper sticker, "well-behaved women rarely make history." Nicole Galland, a new-to-me author, makes Godiva come alive from the novel's first pages. I love dynamically drawn historical characters based on real people, and Godiva is a delightful one.What I liked and appreciated about this novel even more, however, was how lively Galland drew the setting. Often I struggle with how to picture the world in old historical fiction, but as I read Godiva, I was so caught up in the story, I never stopped to ask myself if I was making false visual assumptions. Throughout this novel, I felt like I was watching a movie almost as much as I was reading a book, and this sensation is not normal for me.The verdict: Godiva is a fun, adventurous, and fascinating historical romp. Galland brings both Godiva and the time period to life in a beautifully visual novel.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Godiva by Nicole Gallant is a novel of historical fiction that the author based on the legend of Lady Godiva and her naked ride through the village of Coventry. I really enjoyed this story and admire how the author was able to place prominent people of the day in such a way that the drama that played out was realistic and had purpose.Although historians now believe that this ride never took place, it is firmly planted in our minds. In this story, the author depicts Godiva, Countess of Wessex as a powerful, politically astute woman who has received the displeasure of King Edward for her meddling ways in the affairs of men. He is not strong on his throne and in an effort to gain some control of Godiva and her husband, Leofric, he demands they turn the village and lands of Coventry over to him, when they refuse, he then demands that Coventry pays a severe tax and when they again refuse, he, wanting to humiliate both Godiva and her husband, demands that she rides through the town naked. When she successfully does so, Edward has one more trick up his sleeve, and tries to have Godiva excommunicated.Although the author freely admits that much of this book was taken from her imagination, she certainly breathes live into the legend by making Godiva a believable person who is independent yet secure in her love of Leofric. She and her husband are opposing the payment of an unjust tax imposed by an insecure king who had a personal vendetta against this couple. I was captivated by the story and will certainly be on the lookout for more historical fiction by this author.