Women in the Wall

Reader reviewed by Mairi

In sixth century Gaul, many women emtomb themselves in abbey walls rather than face loveless marriages and possible rape and death at the hands of conquering Franks. Such a choice does not exist to Princess Radegunda, though, as much as she might wish it did, for when she is merely a child she is captured by the Frankish king, Clotair, and forced to become one of his many wives. She had always wanted to become a pure woman of God but, with that dream destroyed, she dedicates herself to a young girl called Agnes.

I got this book out of the library because it looked decent. As much reading as I had done about the Middle Ages, I had never found one book about a religious woman of the times. And Radegunda was not just any religious woman, but a special one.

If you are looking for a stark view of the Middle Ages, one that casts them in a grim light, this might be the book for you, but it is not for those with a romantic view of Christianity or chivalry.