Beheld: Godiva’s Story
A darkly twisted psychological thriller exploring the legend of Lady Godiva’s naked ride
Having survived a grave illness to become one of 11th-century England’s wealthiest landowners, Godgyfu of Coventry (Lady Godiva) remains forever grateful to the town whose patron saint worked such miracles. She vows to rebuild Coventry’s abbey and better the lives of its townsfolk. But the wider kingdom is descending into political turmoil, and her husband, Earl Leofric, starts to break under the strain. Godgyfu finds her own plans unravelling the moment she meets Thomas, a Benedictine novice with perverse secret desires. Three lives become dangerously entangled in a shocking web of ambition, voyeuristic lust, and horrid obsession. Can Godgyfu escape the monk’s menacing wiles and Leofric’s betrayals to secure her future in a changing kingdom? Perhaps, but first she faces a dark test of wills leading her perilously closer to a legendary ride…
Now available from Lethe Press!
Praise
Bronze Winner
“Historical – Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland” category of The Historical Fiction Company’s 2022 Book of the Year Awards.
[T]he emotional turmoil of this young woman, of Godgyfu, whose inner conflict places her in a very vulnerable position … reveals the author’s ability to reach deep into a character’s soul and extract an extraordinary narrative…. From a storytelling aspect, this book is first rate. Cevasco has a sensational ability to tell a story rich with beautiful phrasing and well-selected verbiage to give a reader the true sense of character and place.
5 Stars and the Historical Fiction Company’s ‘Highly Recommended’ award for excellence
[P]lenty to savor here … Godgyfu is an engaging, driven character who has no issues with expressing herself, whether encouraging her husband to speak to the king about taxes or being proactive in her lust … Excellent, descriptive storytelling rooted in history and legend.
…an intriguing story, firmly couched in medieval history and culture. The novel is highly recommended…
What a brilliant read! Christopher Cevasco is a truly gifted story-teller, and the 11th century has never felt darker or more alive. Beheld is one of the best historical thrillers I’ve read in a very long time.
—Michelle Moran, international bestselling author of Nefertiti
In this swiftly moving story with spectacular attention to period detail, Christopher M. Cevasco removes Lady Godiva from the chocolate box and deftly returns her to historical context—a distant, brutal age when viking was a verb and secret pagan cults littered England’s forests. Beheld‘s two obsessed lovers risk all in an erotic, forbidden affair, climaxing in an explosive plot that is nothing less than a battle for the soul. Fans of TV’s The Last Kingdom will swoon. Highly recommend.
—Karen Essex, national and international best-selling author of Leonardo's Swans and Kleopatra
Cevasco lays bare the extraordinary history and myth of Lady Godiva and her age, melting them into a stirring vision of the birth to a legend.
—Michael Livingston, award-winning medieval scholar and historical fantasy novelist
Murderous passions and the battle for power are intertwined in Christopher M. Cevasco’s Beheld: Godiva’s Story. His compelling storytelling brings the world of 11th Century England to life in visceral and vivid detail. A remarkable debut.
—E.M. Powell, author of the Stanton and Barling medieval mysteries
Beheld draws the reader deeply into the world of medieval England for a moving tale of vision, and visions, exploring revelations both sexual and spiritual. Beautifully drawn characters and vivid details bring to life the story of a woman known for a single deed, asking what it means to be seen and by whom. Fans of Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth in particular will revel in Cevasco’s expertly portrayed eleventh century. Highly recommended!
—E. C. Ambrose, author of Drakemaster
Christopher Cevasco channels a darker Bernard Cornwell in this audacious debut. At the same time a convincing and evocative historical thriller, a study of lust and obsession, and a bizarrely off-kilter love story, Beheld blew me away. A unique read.
—Alan Smale, Sidewise Award-winning author of the Clash of Eagles trilogy
Media
Watch this June 9, 2022, event hosted by the Historical Novel Society’s New York City chapter.
—I read a short excerpt from Beheld: Godiva's Story and chat with the event moderators about Lady Godiva, the Anglo-Saxons, the research for my book, and historical fiction generally.