The Needle in the Blood
by Sarah Bower

Publisher: Snowbooks

Publication date: 1st May 2007

Paperback original RRP £7.99

ISBN: 9781905005390






January 1067. Charismatic Bishop Odo of Bayeux commissions a wall hanging, on a scale never seen before, to celebrate his role in the conquest of Britain by his brother William, Duke of Normandy. What he cannot anticipate is how this will change his life even more than the invasion itself. His life becomes entangled with those of the women who embroider the hanging, especially that of Gytha, once a waiting woman to the mistress of the fallen Saxon king and Odo's sworn enemy. Against either of their intentions, they fall in passionately in love, brining Odo into conflict with his king and his God. Odo's friends mistrust Gytha's hold over him, and his enemies exploit it. Friends and family become enemies, enemies become lovers. Nothing in life or in the hanging is what it seems. 'The Needle in the Blood' is a powerful tale of sex, lies and embroidery in a land devastated by conquest.

'Truly compelling...vivid, intriguing and masterfully portrayed' Susan Fletcher, author of 'Eve Green', winner of the 2004 Whitbread First Novel Award

'The author is brilliant at evoking all the senses, from the stench of blood on the battlefield, the taste of someone’s perfumed skin, the rasp of a needle against the finger.' Sally Zigmond, 'The Historical Novels Review'

'The Bayeux Tapestry will never look the same again.' Patricia Duncker, author of 'Hallucinating Foucault'

About the author:
Sarah Bower works as Literature Development Officer for Norfolk and teaches creative writing at the University of East Anglia. She was UK Editor of the Historical Novels Review for two years and remains a regular contributor. 'The Needle in the Blood' is her first novel.

Find out more about Sarah Bower on her website by clicking here

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