When I was offered the chance to review a new book, The Maids of Biddenden, I was instantly intrigued. Biddenden is a village in Kent not that far from my home town of Hastings and, although I've never had any reason to go there, I've seen road signs pointing to it. The book, inspired by a real-life story, is set in the year 1100, not that far from the 1066 battle that my hometown is famous for. While the epic tale of King Harold receiving an arrow in his eye and William the Conqueror taking over as king are well known, I'd never sat down and thought about the living conditions of real, normal people residing and working in the south east of England at that time. This glimpse into their daily lives and the mentalities of the time was fascinating.
I was intrigued to catch up with the latest book from author GD Harper too. In the past, I have read and reviewed two of his books,
Love's Long Road and
A Friend In Deed, but this newest book moves away from the world of politics and crime fiction into historical fiction. It is inspired by the real-life story of conjoined twins Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst, who were born into a wealthy family in 1100.
While modern medicine and biological knowledge now mean that many conjoined twins can be separated and live pretty normal lives, this was certainly not the case for the Chulkhursts. Not only were they destined to spend their lives side by side, they also had to fear for their lives, with many of their contemporaries, including some members of the clergy, seeing them as abominations surely created by the devil and therefore undeserving of life. The sisters spent their early years kept out of sight and raised by the nuns at Malling Abbey.
The abbey, however, is running out of money and the new prioress, Mother Avicia, contacts the girls' father to ask for more money. Despite their step-mother's reticence and hostility, it is decided that the girls will venture into the outside world and live alongside their father. It is fascinating to see the girls' boisterous, fun-loving nature. They frequently argue with each other and fall to the ground if one decides to run off or jump about excitedly without warning the other. Having witnessed many of the nuns in their individual bodies, they have decided that everyone is born with a conjoined twin and eventually grows to an age when they will be separated. As they move out of the convent and into their new life in Biddenden, they realise though that they were wrong and that nobody else looks like them. They are horrified, but maybe not as much as the locals, who are shocked when they catch sight of them. Their father goes through official channels, requesting permission from the church and the village elders for his daughters to live in the community, and this is ultimately allowed, with the girls put on display at various local events, with throngs of people gawping at them in complete shock.
The girls play the game, appearing at public events and learning to co-exist, both with each other and also the rest of the villagers. While Mary enjoys showing off her musical talents to the crowds, writing and singing songs and playing the lyre, her sister Eliza is fascinated by plants and their medical virtues, creating a healing garden inspired by the one at the nunnery they spent their early years at. They may be in the same body but their personalities are very different, especially to begin with, with Mary dominating her painfully shy sister.
I had never heard of the Biddenden Maids and it is unknown if they genuinely existed or were created as folk figures, but either way, their story is enchanting. The author has woven a captivating web of characters around the sisters, who open your eyes to the way people lived back then. The hostility and lack of compassion shown by the villagers, and even from within the church, is hard to accept but ultimately completely believable. I would like to think that society has evolved for the better, but even today, many people still see "different" as inferior, whether in relation to migrants, the homeless or those with physical or mental disabilities.
The girls ultimately find their happy ending, coming out as winners, whatever life can throw at them. It's definitely a great lesson for us all !
star rating : 4.5/5
- Publisher : Ginger Cat (2 May 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 432 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0993547877
- ISBN-13 : 978-0993547874
- Dimensions : 12.85 x 2.74 x 19.84 cm
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Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.
