The Good Wife of Bath
A Novel
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A provocative, immersive medieval novel starring one of literature's most unforgettable characters in her own words--Chaucer's bold and libidinous Wife of Bath.
"So damned readable and fun...This is the story of a woman fighting for her rights; it breaches the walls of history."--The Australian
In the middle ages, a famous poet told a story that mocked a strong woman. It became a literary classic. But what if the woman in question had a chance to tell her own version?
England, 1364: When married off at aged twelve to an elderly farmer, brazen redheaded Eleanor quickly realizes it won't matter what she says or does, God is not on her side--or any poor woman's for that matter. But then again, Eleanor was born under the joint signs of Venus and Mars, making her both a lover and a fighter.
Aided by a head for business (and a surprisingly kind husband), Eleanor manages to turn her first marriage into success, and she rises through society from a cast-off farm girl to a woman of fortune who becomes a trusted friend of the social-climbing poet Geoffrey Chaucer. But more marriages follow--some happy, some not--several pilgrimages, many lovers, murder, mayhem, and many turns of fortune's wheel as Eleanor pursues the one thing that all women want: control of their own lives.
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Reviews
"So damned readable and fun...This is the story of a woman fighting for her rights; it breaches the walls of history." -- The Australian
"In The Good Wife of Bath, the author's diligent work sorting fact from poetry creates a fictional but believable character who lives and breathes in every word of this satisfying, page-turning novel. Karen Brooks defiantly rewrites history into herstory. Cue the chorus: kudos!" -- New York Journal of Books
"The daughter of a merchant flouts 15th-century English convention to start a brewery in Brooks's illuminating epic....Brooks's attention to historical detail instills the novel with authenticity by including many historical figures and events, while Anneke's lively voice keeps a strong grip on the reader as she works to overcome social prohibitions against women in business and find happiness and contentment. Brooks's immersive page-turner does not disappoint." -- Publishers Weekly on The Lady Brewer of London
"Richly atmospheric, romantic, and chock-full of period details, this fast-paced tale and its many plot twists and turns are likely to keep historical fiction fans riveted." -- Booklist on The Lady Brewer of London
"Historian and novelist [Karen] Brooks shows her research and imaginative chops in a luscious and astonishingly affecting chronicle of family scandal, political unrest, and redemptive hope in 1660s London." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Chocolate Maker's Wife
"A sweeping tale brimming with historical details and figures...[this] sumptuous novel covers five eventful years that include a dreadful plague and the Great Fire of London." -- Booklist on The Chocolate Maker's Wife
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