The Last Princess: The Daughter Of The House Of Dragons (Book One)

 

The Last Princess: The Daughter of the House of Dragons (Book One) by Ellen Alpsten.

Published 7th November 2024 by Sunbird Stories.

From the cover of the book:

Young and beautiful Gytha Godwinson is the envy of England when her father Harold seizes the country’s crown in early 1066. Soon triumph turns to terror as an evil star appears, heralding the end of an era and a new beginning for Britain. Her family and the country seem cursed. But even as she suffers loss, betrayal and humiliation, Gytha is determined to regain what is rightfully hers.

In a stunning re-telling of 1066, international bestselling author Ellen Alpsten has created a captivating new heroine in Gytha Godwinson: 'The Last Princess' is a bridge between myth and modernity. Witness the truth about the end of England's ancient house, the demise of a cursed kingdom and the emergence of a new empire. In a time when women were seen as cup-bearers, peace-weavers and memory-keepers, Gytha Godwinson is a true daughter of the House of Dragons and dares to write world-history.

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Beautiful, flame-haired Gytha Godwinson's life undergoes great change when her father's machinations lead to him seizing the crown in 1066, to become Harold II. Now a princess of England, this elevation in status brings with it the realisation that the price has been the betrayal of her mother, his hand-fasted bride Edith Swanneck, whose fortune has made him an important man - and his own family.

Life at court, with an alluring new step-mother from Mercia, takes some adjustment, and Harold's reign is under threat from the beginning. One invasion is repulsed, but Harold's fate is sealed when William the Conqueror is victorious at the battle of Hastings in 1066. The future of Gytha and her remaining family is now uncertain, but she is determined they will regain what they have lost...

Having adored both of Ellen Alpsten's previous novels, Tsarina and The Tsarina's Daughter, I could not wait to get stuck into The Last Princess: The Daughter of the House of Dragons - the first in a glorious new series about Gytha Godwinson, daughter of the ill-fated King Harold II.

Most of us are familiar with the tale of Harold II, of Battle of Hastings fame, whose brief reign was brought to an end by the invasion of William the Conqueror, but I confess that I knew very little about what happened to Harold's family. In this novel, Alpsten weaves a, intricate retelling of the events of 1066, and the aftermath, through the eyes of Harold's charismatic daughter, Gytha.

The book begins in 1065, when the Godwinsons' Christmas celebrations are brought to a shocking end, mired in recriminations and betrayals that mark trouble and sorrow for the whole family. In the months that follow, while Harold achieves his aim of taking the crown for himself, history tells that his reign will be cut short by violence. The toll on the family is hard, especially for the Godwinson women, who we get to know through Gytha - and we come to understand that she is far more than the meek maiden she is supposed to be.

Alpsten brings Anglo Saxon England with all its ambition-fed troubles alive, and she gives intriguing insight into the dream of Harold to unite the kingdoms under one banner - she also shows that the momentous events to come are caused by troubles within the Godwinson family rather than from outside enemies.

The story really takes off following Harold's demise, when Gytha and two of her brothers flee the country and head to Denmark, hoping to raise an army to regain their birthright. Old hatreds lurk behind the appearance of hospitality, and although Gytha's quest brings her love and friendship in unexpected places, it is also filled with perils she learns the hardest lessons from. I was completely won over by Gytha's courage and determination, and Alpsten weaves fact and fiction to create a stonking adventure tale that kept my heart firmly in my mouth.

I really enjoyed that Gytha and her fellow female characters are the focus of the novel, and leap fully-formed from the page. Some capture you heart with their everyday struggles under the toughest of conditions, and others chill you to the core as they plot the darkest of evil deeds. Alpsten beautifully captures this period in history too, with lashings of lovely social history in a time when old and new ways are uneasy bedfellows, especially when it comes to Norse traditions and the growth of the Christian faith. 

This is historical fiction as it is supposed to be consumed, and I devoured this book from cover to cover, my heart beating in time with the wonderful, flame-haired Gytha. It seems incredible to me that this is the first time I have heard of her, because her story is truly remarkable - and in a twist of epic proportions actually leads on to what happens in Alpsten's Tsarina years in the future! I cannot wait to read more of Gytha's story in the next book, The Sunrise Queen, coming in autumn 2025!

The Last Princess: Daughter of the House of Dragons is available to buy now in hardcover and ebook.

Thank you to Ellen Alpsten for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, where she dressed up her many pets and forced them to listen to her stories.

Upon graduating from the 'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris', she worked as a news-anchor for Bloomberg TV London. While working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work, a nap and a run. So much for burning midnight oil!

Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint, and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons, and a moody fox red Labrador.

'Tsarina' is her debut novel.​

For more information about her literary life follow her on social media.