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A review by nomadreader
Godiva by Nicole Galland
4.0
(originally published at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com)
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.
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.