Hild

A Novel

By: Nicola Griffith

Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt

Award-winning author Nicola Griffith's brilliant, lush, sweeping historical novel about the rise of the most powerful woman of the Middle Ages: Hild.

In seventh-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging, frequently and violently. A new religion is coming ashore; the old gods are struggling, their priests worrying. Hild is the king's youngest niece, and she has a glimmering mind and a natural, noble authority. She will become a fascinating woman and one of the pivotal figures of the Middle Ages: Saint Hilda of Whitby.

But now she has only the powerful curiosity of a bright child, a will of adamant, and a way of seeing the world—of studying nature, of matching cause with effect, of observing her surroundings closely and predicting what will happen next—that can seem uncanny, even supernatural, to those around her.

Her uncle, Edwin of Northumbria, plots to become overking of the Angles, ruthlessly using every tool at his disposal: blood, bribery, belief. Hild establishes a place for herself at his side as the king's seer. And she is indispensable—unless she should ever lead the king astray. The stakes are life and death: for Hild, for her family, for her loved ones, and for the increasing numbers who seek the protection of the strange girl who can read the world and see the future.

Hild is a young woman at the heart of the violence, subtlety, and mysticism of the early Middle Ages—all of it brilliantly and accurately evoked by Nicola Griffith's luminous prose. Working from what little historical record is extant, Griffith has brought a beautiful, brutal world to vivid, absorbing life.

©2013 Nicola Griffith (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“You will never think of them as the Dark Ages again. Nicola Griffith’s command of the era is worn lightly and delivered as a deeply engaging plot. Her insight into human nature and eye for telling detail is as keen as that of the extraordinary Hild herself. The novel resonates to many of the same chords as Beowulf, the legends of King Arthur, The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones—to the extent that Hild begins to feel like the classic on which those books are based.” —Neal Stephenson

“Nicola Griffith is an awe-inspiring visionary, and I am telling everyone to snatch this book up. Hild is not just one of the best historical novels I have ever read--I think it's one of the best novels, period. It sings with pitch-perfect emotional resonance, and I damn well believe in this woman and everyone she engages. I finished the book full of gratitude that it exists, and longing for more.” —Dorothy Alison

“You could describe Hild as being like Game of Thrones without the dragons, but this is so much deeper than that, so much richer. A glorious, intensely passionate walk through an entirely real landscape, Hild leads us into the Dark Ages and makes them light, and tense, and edgy, and deeply moving. The research is flawless, the characters fully alive. If it wasn't like this, it should have been--and I'm sure that it was!” —Manda Scott

highly recommended

I've only listened to a few audio books and have given up on several, often because I can't make it past the first chapter due to the narrator's grating, irritating voice This narrator is leagues above any I've yet heard. I highly recommend her, as I do this novel. Engrossing and fascinating, with psychologically rich and well-developed characters and sophisticated plotting.

Excellent story!

Very believable characters so that I cared about what happened to them. I found it difficult not to keep listening all night because the narrator did such a great job.

Excellent research and good storytelling

Warning spoiler ahead. Griffith created a deep rich world that gives life to a woman during a time when women in history books are limited, if they appear at all. If you are interested in the early middle ages of Britain, this is a book to read. However (and here's the spoiler) there is a completely unnecessary extension of the Morgan La Fey metaphor that makes the end gross. Maybe Griffith is setting up for the next book? Either way, consider yourself warned.

Enthralled by the world of Hild

This world and these characters are as complete and real to me as Tolkien's Middle Earth. The first read was difficult and engrossing; to keep everything straight, and understand it, I looked up words (thrilling word choices), found maps, and kept notes. The book has a beautiful rhythm between descriptions of nature and place, inner thought life of the magnificent Hild from a precocious toddler to a commanding young woman, illuminating political intrigue of actual people in seventh century England, soothing scenes of domestic activities of those times, gripping dramatic scenes of danger and consequence, and many varied relationships revealed in moments that ring very true.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of England, history, historical fiction, Lord of the Rings, House of Cards, Wolf Hall. It is satisfying on many levels. I am pre-ordering Part Two the moment it becomes available!

This recording is wonderful as well. The reader makes each character distinct and recognizable with her voices, yet never detracts from the story by over-acting. It is perfect. I recommend reading the book first, before listening. All the similar sounding 7th-century family names could be confusing. SO WORTH sorting out though!

Hard work but worth it

If you could sum up Hild in three words, what would they be?

Intense, evocative, ambitious

What did you like best about this story?

Strong, multi-hued, female characters and their complicated relationship to each other and the men in their world. The sense of place, era, and history. The lovely, lyrical writing makes listening to the recorded version feel like immersion into a saga poem.

What about Pearl Hewitt’s performance did you like?

Initially, I did not like Ms. Hewitt's performance, thinking it sounded a little airy and lisp-y. As the story continued, however, the airiness and "lispy-ness" faded, and I grew to marvel at the many accents and nuances she brought to the characters, and her ability to pronounce all of the challenging names, words, and places featured in the story. Her excellent performance truly brought a challenging book to life for me.

If you could rename Hild, what would you call it?

The Light of the World

Any additional comments?

I listened to this book AND concurrently read a paperback version of it, which was extremely helpful to understand the characters' relationships to each other, the 7th century vocabulary and pronunciations, and the map of 7th century Britain where the action occurs. For me, it would have been difficult to get the most out of this book simply by listening to it alone.

An absurd attention to historical detail and a memorable main character.

A gorgeous look into the 7th century. Follows the young Saint Hild as she navigates a changing political landscape and religious turmoil. Readers beware! You will need a glossary, a character guide, and a good look at the maps involved. The author has pretty extensive resources on her website.

A strange and vivid look into 7th century England through the eyes of a girl with great power and intelligence

Hild is a great book with a strange writing style. Its vividly descriptive, the characters are likeable, if a little hard to remember who everyone is since there are many characters with ancient names. You learn the truth of her power from the start, but even so I was questioning if it was true or not. Hild's intelligence, cunning, emotions and willpower are amazing. She takes on many roles, from King's Niece, Seer, Butcher Bird, to wife of a prominent lord. Constantly in power play with the church and it's allies without outright battle. The politics are interesting and for the most part easy to follow. I'm looking forward to reading the second book.

Dry as an archaeological site

I am a student of this time and place and love the historical figure of Hild. We don’t know much about her but for some reason Griffith makes a very dull and long winded story of her youth. The immersion is great, though maybe too much in some cases. Overall if you want to feel a world with some speculation added in from the author’s hand, read this.

I'd give it 10 stars if I could

Where does Hild rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably the best.

What other book might you compare Hild to and why?

It's been described as "Game of Thrones without the dragons" and that's fairly accurate. But the writing is just beautiful, and the women are richly realized.

What does Pearl Hewitt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She's got a gorgeous voice, and does a great job with choosing various contemporary UK or Ireland accents for the characters. I particularly enjoyed her performance of the narrator's ditzy friend Begu. She also reads like she admires and enjoys the prose, which is indeed worthy of it.

Any additional comments?

There's no supernatural elements in this book, just people who believe in the supernatural (Christ included), so if you're expecting a fantasy book, bear that in mind. Also, there's a lot of dynastic politics and geopolitical maneuvering, which can sometimes be hard to follow in audio format as one tries to keep track of names and places. Griffith's website has lots of resources, including maps and a family tree. The book felt real and vivid, totally immersing me in its world. What a place to visit!

Hild by Nicola Griffith

Hild by Nicola Griffith was an interesting book. I'm very glad to have listened to the audiobook format as the pronunciation of certain words wouldn't have been enjoyable. I did find it hard to understand some of the words but could eventually figure them out. So this book was just a like for me not a book I love. The narrator, Pearl Hewitt, was amazing and made it easier to slip into the books world. As the reader can make or break a book, I would definitely recommend this narrator for any audiobook.