Wonderful telling of the story of Beowulf from the perspective of Queen Wealtheow. I was privileged to get to hear the author talk about her process at a local book club meeting. This story vibrates with the feminine tone and keeps you engrossed in the characters and the unfolding story of each. ( )

This is a first-person account from the point of view of Wealtheow, wife of Hrothgar. It begins when she comes to the meadhall called Heorot. She was a teen-aged bride to the much older King of the Danes. She knew the rituals and things that were needful for a queen. She became comfortable in this new, married life. Among other things, she helped the women in the weaving shed, and started a tapestry of her own, she gathered herbs in the forest, and she visited the mere not far away and made offerings to Freya. She and her husband had children.

But then the troubles began. A monster invaded Heorot, killing their warriors, sending terror to their people.

In like manner, the storyteller follows Grendel and his mother as outcasts from his very birth onwards, until they settle in that mere, and the monstrous son ravages Heorot. Beowulf does show up eventually, but he appears in the context of her life, not his - he is not the protagonist of this story. The familiar events happen, but again focused on Wealtheow's experience, as a woman of the time, not the hero's story.

The author has done a good job weaving her tale, and using the tapestry and loom images through the story. The cadence of the language is reminiscent of the Burton Raffel translation, echoing the elegant prose. It is a fast read of a simple but powerful story. I enjoyed it. ( )

Review located at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/wealtheow-ashley-crownover/ ( )