![]() ![]() 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. Yet how much to we actually know about it? Who had it made, and why? Who made it, how and where did they work? Why are its margins full of mythological beasts and rampant naked men, and who were Aelfgytha and her unnamed cleric? Nearly a thousand years after the event, it's unlikely we shall ever know the answers to such questions for sure, but in The Needle in the Blood, I have tried to imagine what they might be and how this great and unique work of art might have changed the lives of the people who brought it into being. The Bayeux Tapestry is so familiar to most of us we might almost think of it as our history's wallpaper. This is no wallpaper history but the real thing, full of the pleasures, horrors, obsessions and passions of the era - an eleventh century tale of sex, lies and embroidery. ![]() She was UK Editor of the Historical Novels Review for two years and remains a regular contributor.Īs you might expect from Sarah's background, her first novel 'The Needle in the Blood', is absolutely steeped in the sights, sounds and smells of the middle ages. Sarah works as Literature Development Officer for Norfolk and teaches creative writing at the University of East Anglia. ![]() We are delighted to welcome Sarah Bower to the blog as our guest blogger of the month. ![]()
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