Promo: Return to the Eyrie by Katerina Dunne
Today, I'm delighted to welcome Katerina Dunne to Ruins & Reading. We're sharing a fascinating guest post about her main character, Margit, the hot-headed heroine of her fabulous novel, Return to the Eyrie.
I recently reviewed Return to the Eyrie for The Coffee Pot Book Club, and enjoyed the fast-paced adventure very much. Check out my full 5* review HERE!
Margit and my inspiration for her character
The young heroine of Return to the Eyrie is Margit Szilágyi, the daughter of a Transylvanian middle-rank nobleman related to King Mátyás’ mother. Margit’s mother was also a noblewoman of the Bátori of Ecsed family from Eastern Hungary. All these characters are fictional but act against a real historical background of mid-to-late 15th century Hungary.
Margit’s mother—a woman of remarkable beauty and intelligence—died giving birth to her while her father, Sándor, was killed when she was only four years old. Margit doesn’t know what exactly happened to him but is certain he was murdered on the day her cousin, Márton, and his mother, Anna, violently took over her family estate named Sasfészek (Eyrie) in Transylvania. With the help of Sándor’s best friend, Imre, little Margit escaped with her life and now lives in exile in Belgrade.
When her godmother tells Margit about her family and the tragedies that befell it, Margit swears to herself to punish the perpetrators and take back her land. On the other hand, Imre and his son Endre (Margit’s betrothed) wish to claim her land through a petition to the King. However, it all goes wrong and Margit has to face an uphill battle to prove her father’s innocence so that she can reclaim her inheritance.
A mirror image—or rather, a female version of her warrior father, Margit is a red-haired force to be reckoned with. She defies societal expectations with her fiery spirit and unyielding determination. Preferring the companionship of her trusty steed and the prowess of her bow to the confines of feminine pursuits, she scoffs (perhaps misguidedly so) at the notion of traditional lessons and education. Warrior blood surges through her veins, fuelling her unwavering pursuit to clear her father's tarnished name, avenge his unjust demise, and reclaim the stolen legacy that is rightfully hers.
However, beneath her fierce exterior lies the lingering shadow of childhood trauma, haunting her every step and weighing heavily on her soul. Margit resents the shackles of matrimony and the control wielded by men, but her cunning intellect allows her to skilfully manipulate with charm. Yet there appears one man she cannot bend to her will, a mystery that both infuriates and captivates her in equal measure. As Margit fearlessly carves her path, the question lingers: Will her relentless pursuit of justice and destiny lead to triumph, or will she perish in her daring quest?
Margit with her
horse and arrows (author's creation with Runway AI)
Margit’s character was inspired by my wish to present a strong female heroine in the male-dominated warrior world of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Medieval chronicles in Hungary did not concern themselves much with women (except in the case of queens or powerful wives of barons) And when they refer to women, it is usually either in a negative manner or they praise them by assigning masculine attributes to them.
The Memoirs of Helene Kottanner (mid-15th century) is a rare primary source from medieval Hungary, which was written by a woman, and where we can see a realistic depiction of Queen Erzsébet (Elizabeth) of Luxembourg, who although was King Zsigmond’s (Sigismund) only child, she could not inherit the throne but had to let her husband, Albert of Habsburg, take the crown instead.
The medieval period in Hungary was an era of constant conflict, and men—nobles and commoners alike—always fought somewhere, leaving the women to look after their estates or businesses. It would, therefore, be very likely that those women had to be strong by necessity and they probably knew how to fight. Some of them—a handful indeed—got involved in wars and rebellions, but we don’t know whether they literally fought on the battlefield until much later, during the famous siege of Eger in 1552.
The Women of Eger by Bertalan Székely.
Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons
In addition, Margit’s character is in a way a projection of my younger self. As a child, I was a tomboy and always played with toy swords and guns instead of dolls. Even in my adult life I took on “manly” hobbies, such as air rifle shooting, and trained in medieval combat. My favourite TV shows and movies always have warrior characters, either male or female. With the exception of the childhood trauma (which I never experienced, thankfully!) I saw myself in Margit. Since I left my own country to live abroad and rely on my own mental and emotional strength, I am a bit of a fighter like her. I immensely enjoyed writing Margit’s character, especially her fight scenes but also her determination and focus to pursue her destiny in a harsh and dangerous world.
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Honour, revenge, and the quest for justice.
Belgrade, Kingdom of Hungary, 1470
Raised in exile, adolescent noblewoman Margit Szilágyi dreams of returning to her homeland of Transylvania to avenge her father's murder and reclaim her stolen legacy. To achieve this, she must break the constraints of her gender and social status and secretly train in combat. When the king offers her a chance at justice, she seizes it - even if it means disguising herself as a man to infiltrate the vultures' nest that now occupies her ancestral 'eyrie'.
Plagued by childhood trauma and torn between two passionate loves, Margit faces brutal battles, her murderous kin's traps and inner demons on her quest for vengeance. Only by confronting the past can she reclaim her honour - if she can survive long enough to see it through. Return to the Eyrie is an epic coming-of-age tale of a young woman's unwavering pursuit of justice and destiny in 15th century Hungary.
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