Coincidentally, as we discuss strong female characters who fight back over at the LBC, I have just written my review for Lisa Ann Sandell's novel in verse, Song of the Sparrow. Sandell's book is about Elaine of Ascolat who was known as the Lady of Shalott. This relatively small figure in the vast Arthurian mythology is brought to life in Sparrow and becomes a great teenage heroine and a true warrior woman. She accomplishes this not through magic or superhuman strength but by being smart and brave and risking her life to save those she cares about. Elaine is not an all powerful Xena type figure (would that she were) so there is no sword slinging here. What she does though, when the moment of choice is thrust upon her, is run for everyone and in running she changes everything.

The girl is awesome, plain and simple and I loved Sandell's story about her.

One of the things that really intrigued me about Song of the Sparrow was how Sandell did not shy away from the brutality of medieval battle. The book is about Arthur before Camelot; when he and his men (all of whom have become warriors through battle experience) faced off against the invading Saxons in an attempt to keep Britons free. Here's a bit:

Men scurry beneath
me and this tree,
running hither and fro,
like ants busy at work,
but their work is the work
of nightmares.
Men in battle leathers and armor,
running hither and fro,
swords and shields raised,
and they run at each other,
hacking and slicing,
thrusting this way and that.
I watch the warring unfold,
my stomach clenched and
biting, yet I cannot look
away.

So much for the romance of war, right?

The story of Elaine is just that - all story. And the same is true (still) of Arthur and Gwynivere and Lancelot and all the others. No one knows what was taken from oral history and is true and what was simply made up, perhaps as inspiration to the people, perhaps just as good fiction. But as Sandell writes in her afterword, that doesn't matter. These are simply great human stories and Elaine's is one of them that has been largely overlooked for the greater glamor of the Knights of the Round Table - for the men's stories. The way that Sandell resurrects her though is outstanding. She is not simply a convenient beautiful girl in this novel (as Tennyson saw her in his epic poem), but someone who was just as committed to the cause as the men; just as determined to do what was necessary to defeat the Saxons and to find peace. And that is not surprising - that is the way it should have been for anyone, man or woman, at that time.

Elaine did not want to fight - she did not want anyone to have to fight - but she would if she could. If she was strong enough, she would fight as well. And that makes her a most engaging and unique heroine in YA fiction. She's a girl who longs to fight back and who eventually finds herself in a position to change the tide of war. Elaine is more than just a pretty face - from start to finish in Song of the Sparrow she is much more. I loved how tough she was; that Sandell let her be as strong and tough as she needed to be. When attacked, Elaine did not hesitate to give her bloody best. She didn't win that fight but she did get her hits in and that was awesome to see.

When was the last time you read about a teen heroine who was more than just talk? Nicola Griffith has said in the Always discussion at the LBC that it is not enough to know how to make a fist - you have to know the right time to use it. When the time comes in Sandell's story, Elaine is ready. Hopefully, her example is the perfect one to make other young women eager to be just as strong if they have to be. I know she has made me think about so many heroines in historic fiction; all of this discussion on what it means to be a woman of strength in both the past and present has made me think a lot.

But more on all of that later.

Song of the Sparrow will be in my September column at Bookslut. The post picture is of Kiera Knightley as Gwynivere in the movie King Arthur. The post title is a quote from Lord Tennyson's poem, "Lady of Shalott".