Katharina Fortitude
By Margaret Skea
'Beautifully
written and meticulously researched - historical fiction at its best.'
BooksPlease
Wittenberg 1525. The unexpected marriage of Martin Luther to Katharina von Bora has no fairytale ending.
A sign of apostasy to their enemies, and a source of consternation to their friends, it sends shock waves throughout Europe.
Yet, as they face persecution, poverty, war, plague and family tragedy, it is Katharina’s resilience and strength of character which shines through.
While this book can be read as a standalone, it is also the powerful conclusion to her story, begun in Katharina: Deliverance. (Runner-up in the Historical Novel Society New Novel Award 2018.)
Wittenberg 1525. The unexpected marriage of Martin Luther to Katharina von Bora has no fairytale ending.
A sign of apostasy to their enemies, and a source of consternation to their friends, it sends shock waves throughout Europe.
Yet, as they face persecution, poverty, war, plague and family tragedy, it is Katharina’s resilience and strength of character which shines through.
While this book can be read as a standalone, it is also the powerful conclusion to her story, begun in Katharina: Deliverance. (Runner-up in the Historical Novel Society New Novel Award 2018.)
If you like your historical fiction to be vivid, authentic and
absorbing, this book is for you.
Excerpt
Chapter
One
Wittenberg
June 1525.
The music stops, the sound
of the fiddle dying away, the piper trailing a fraction behind, as he has done
all evening. I cannot help but smile as I curtsy to Justus Jonas, his answering
twinkle suggesting he shares my amusement.
‘Thank you, Frau Luther,’
and then, his smile wider, so that even before he continues I suspicion it
isn’t the piping amuses him, ‘For a renegade nun, you dance well.’
It is on the tip of my
tongue to respond with ‘ For a cleric, so do you,’ but I stop myself, aware
that should I be overheard it would likely be considered inappropriate for any
woman, far less a newly married one, to speak so to an older man, however good
a friend he has been. And on this day of all days, I do not wish to invite
censure. Instead I say, ‘I have been well taught. Barbara saw to that. She did
not wish me to disgrace myself or her, and there is a pair of slippers with the
soles worn through to testify to the hours of practice she insisted upon.’
‘She succeeded admirably
then.’
All around us there is the
buzz of laughter and chatter, an air of goodwill evident in every flushed face.
Martin is waiting at the foot of the dais, and as we turn towards him, his
smile of thanks to Justus is evidence he too is grateful for the seal of
approval, of me and of the marriage, our shared dance a tangible sign to the
whole town that Justus Jonas at least has no reservations regarding our union.
Over his shoulder I catch Barbara’s eye and she nods also. I nod back, but am
unable to suppress altogether the inner voice, tonight there is drink taken, tomorrow some may feel differently.
As if he can read my mind,
Justus says, a new seriousness in his tone, ‘You have not made a mistake,
either of you.’ He waves his hand at the folk clustered in groups along the
length of the room. ‘Look around. When the difficult times come, as no doubt
they will, remember tonight and the number of those who came to wish you well.’
* * *
The first challenge is not
long in coming. We stroll home in the moonlight, accompanied by those guests who
will spend the night in the cloister with us, adding their acceptance to our
union. Among them are Martin’s parents,
and three councillors from Mansfeld, snatches of their conversation penetrating
my thoughts.
Hans Luder’s tone, though
gruff, cannot mask his satisfaction. ‘It is a good day’s work, and glad I am to
see it, however long the wait.’
Martin’s mother’s voice is
sweet and low, but bubbles with amusement, like a sparkling wine as it is
poured into a glass. ‘Old you may be, but I trust your end is not yet nigh.’
There is an answering
chuckle from one of the councillors,
‘Indeed,’ Frau Luder, ‘So do we all.’
Hearing him, I tuck my arm
into Martin’s, the momentary disagreement regarding Cardinal Albert’s gift
forgotten, and look up at the myriad stars: pin-pricks of light in an
ink-flooded sky, and my heart swells. Frau Luther – the spelling may be
different, but the status is the same and a title to be proud of, and though
our marriage is already two weeks old, it is the first time I have felt it
truly mine. The music still rings in my ears, memory of the dancing, the coin
in the chest: all symbols of the regard in which the doctor is held and in
which I now share, spreading a warmth through me from the top of my head to the
tip of my toes. Jusuts is right. This is not a mistake, or not on my part at
least. And, pray God, he is right about Martin also. We part from the company
at the door of our chamber, and the light from the oil lamp flickers on the
bedspread Barbara Cranach gifted to us. It is the last thing I see before
sleep, the first when I wake, a talisman-harbinger of good things to come.
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Margaret Skea
Margaret Skea is an award-winning novelist and short story writer. Short
story credits include Neil Gunn, Fish, the Historical
Novel Society and Mslexia.
Growing up
during the ‘Troubles in Northern Ireland it is perhaps inevitable that her
writing often focuses on the pressures of living within conflict. Her debut
novel Turn of the Tide, was the Historical Fiction winner in an
Harper Collins-sponsored competition. It also gained her the Beryl Bainbridge
Award for 'Best First-Time Novelist 2014'.
Katharina:
Deliverance, a fictionalised biography based on the early life of the reformer
Martin Luther’s wife, was placed 2nd in the Historical Novel
Society New Novel Award 2018.
The newly
released, Katharina: Fortitude, is the powerful conclusion to Katharina’s
story, but both books can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Thank you so much for the feature, Mary. That is lovely!!
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