Aefled and Eleanor: A Poet’s Tale

Fifteen years after devastating regime change, England is in the grip of Norman rule. Alien laws, customs and language are transforming people's lives from the highest to the lowest levels of society. Only the poetry, tales, stories and songs from the old times remain in the collective memory as vestiges of a former life. In this world, Aefled, a young woman of intelligence and education, sensitive to the poetic tradition of her people, dares to harbour the unthinkable ambition of writing an epic poem about the Conquest. But when she is forced from her home by a Norman lord and finds herself caught up in the turbulence of conflicting loyalties and passions, the nature of her ambition takes a surprising turn. This is the story of Aefled's journey of discovery during the course of one unforgettable summer as she negotiates the perilous boundaries between real and imagined worlds.