The Tribute Bride

Theresa Tomlinson

Acorn Digital Press 2014

In this fascinating tale, Tomlinson brings to life Acha of Deira, the real-life Princess of Deira (in the 7th century this was the southern realm of Northumbria).

Tomlinson has crafted a convincing and multi layered narrative for her heroine that brings many moments of high drama. The early flooding scene was dramatic and grabbed my attention from the start.

I found the writing style a pleasure to read throughout, the style reminded me of one of my favourite authors, Rosemary Sutcliff, who Tomlinson merits as an inspiration in her Author’s Note. Like Sutcliff, Tomlinson narrates the story in third person past tense with careful attention paid to historical detail and with fully drawn characters who are easy to connect with.

The role of a queen, a second wife, and a concubine are all considered sensitively within the story and the women are complex and strong characters in their own right, living within the restraints of the time period and their status.

The King is power hungry and ruthless, and his portrayal feels accurate to the time period.

I would love to listen to this novel as an audio book, there was something about the writing that made me want to read it aloud and share it with others.

I have learnt a lot about the time period from Tomlinson’s research, for example the use of heated smoothing stones for ironing clothes, and I found the writing around horses to be of excellent quality.

The references to Woden, Freya and a ‘Goat headed Freya’ are intriguing, we also meet Donal Brecc, a Prince of Dalriata who is a Christian. I enjoyed the references to ‘Freya’s midnight cats,’ and ‘Woden’s ravens.’

I found the front matter quote Tomlinson shares with us from an Anglo-Saxon verse ‘The Wife’s Lament’ to be extremely moving, and I would like to share it with you too:

‘I make this song for myself, deeply sorrowing,

Through my own life’s journey I am able to tell

All the hardships I’ve suffered since I grew up,

But new or old, never worse than now –

I suffer the torment of my exile.’

I really enjoyed reading ‘The Tribute Bride’ and I would recommend this book to everyone, definitely to Young Adults, and especially to fans of historical fiction and women’s lit.

This book was my favourite read of the year so far (2025).