The Price of Loyalty Malve von Hassell
- Paul Rushworth-Brown
- Dec 13, 2025
- 4 min read
Curated by Amanda Smith — Media & Literary Analyst, Down Under Interviews
The Price of Loyalty by Malve von Hassell
The Price of Loyalty is set in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and follows the life of Cerdic, a Saxon boy whose world is destroyed at Hastings and who is subsequently absorbed into the Norman court. Raised in the household of William the Conqueror, Cerdic grows up alongside the king’s children, forming a lifelong attachment to Adela of Blois — a relationship that will define his identity, his obligations, and ultimately his unhappiness.
As Cerdic matures, his loyalty draws him deeper into Norman aristocratic life. He serves Adela, then her husband Stephen-Henry of Blois, and eventually follows the Count into the First Crusade. Each step upward in status comes at a personal cost. His marriage to Giselle, arranged for political and economic security, becomes strained by absence, emotional neglect, and the competing demands of duty. What unfolds is not a story of heroic ascent, but of a man slowly giving his life over to obligations he no longer questions.
History as Lived Experience
What immediately stands out about The Price of Loyalty Malve von Hassell — and what readers repeatedly respond to — is von Hassell’s command of her medieval setting. The novel is richly grounded in daily life: the rhythms of estates, the labour of vineyards, the food, clothing, social hierarchies, and domestic responsibilities that shaped existence in 11th- and 12th-century Europe. This attention to detail does more than establish authenticity; it places the reader inside a world where survival depends on conformity, endurance, and silence.
Major historical forces — the Norman Conquest, the Crusades, aristocratic power structures — are experienced through personal consequence rather than spectacle. History here is not grand narrative; it is pressure.
Readers will find that The Price of Loyalty excels through its deep sensory immersion, its multi-perspective narrative with distinct voices, and psychological realism. Von Hassell masterfully ‘shows rather than tells,’ bringing the medieval world and its formidable characters to vivid life.
The Price of Loyalty Malve von Hassell: Adela of Blois and the Shape of Power
Von Hassell’s portrayal of Adela of Blois is one of the novel’s most compelling elements. Adela is neither romanticised nor softened. She is intelligent, strategic, and entirely aware of her authority. While her husband vacillates and ultimately fails during the Crusades, Adela steps confidently into governance, directing estates, loyalty, and political decisions.
In The Price of Loyalty Malve von Hassell: What is striking is how naturally her power is rendered. Von Hassell does not impose modern language or ideology onto Adela. Instead, she allows the historical record — and the logic of the period — to speak. Adela’s authority is credible precisely because it is exercised within the constraints of her time.
Amanda’s Perspective
What I found most effective about The Price of Loyalty is its refusal to simplify moral choices. Cerdic’s loyalty is not celebrated as virtue; it is interrogated as a form of self-erasure. His devotion to Adela is understandable, even moving, but it leaves him blind to the quieter strength and suffering of his wife, Giselle — a woman who manages land, raises children, and survives largely unseen.
This imbalance is where the novel does its most interesting work. Von Hassell shows how history remembers visible power while overlooking domestic endurance. Giselle’s life is not lesser than Adela’s — it is simply undocumented. That tension lingers long after the book ends.
The pacing is deliberate and, at times, demanding, but that slowness mirrors the reality of medieval life and the weight of long-term obligation. This is not a novel designed for easy consumption. It asks readers to sit with discomfort, compromise, and consequence — and rewards them for doing so.
Why the Novel Resonates
Readers describe The Price of Loyalty as immersive, beautifully written, and emotionally compelling. Many note how the novel humanises history, reminding us that behind conquests and crusades were people making constrained choices in unforgiving systems.
Ultimately, von Hassell’s novel is not about triumph or defeat. It is about what loyalty costs — to identity, to love, and to the self — and how history often remembers power while forgetting the lives shaped in its shadow.
____
About the Author
Malve von Hassell is a historical fiction writer whose work focuses on medieval Europe, particularly the Norman world of the 11th and 12th centuries. Her novels are grounded in extensive historical research and explore themes of loyalty, power, survival, and the often-overlooked roles of women in history. The Price of Loyalty: Serving Adela of Blois examines the human cost of allegiance in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and during the era of the Crusades.
About Down Under Interviews with Paul Rushworth-Brown
Portrait of author and interviewer Paul Rushworth-Brown wearing a khaki work shirt, ash-blond hair, and a grounded, thoughtful expression.
Down Under Interviews is an international author-interview platform created and hosted by Australian historical-fiction writer Paul Rushworth-Brown. The show features in-depth conversations with writers from around the world, exploring craft, culture, and the deeper truths behind each book.
Through long-form interviews, Paul brings a distinctive perspective shaped by his own historical-fiction work and his commitment to authentic, unvarnished storytelling. The platform now spans an extended network — including History Bards Podcast, Meet the Author – Indie Book Source, and a curated archive of written analyses by Amanda Smith.
Each episode offers more than a book recommendation. It opens a doorway into the stories we tell, the histories we inherit, and the lives shaped by the written word.
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A fascinating discussion of power and loyalty in the medieval period. The interview adds real depth to the history behind the book.