Böcker av Lee Swanson

The thought of trading her subservient role in her father's home for that of being the dutiful wife of someone she had never met caused her to shudder with revulsion. 'No,' she thought to herself, 'What I crave is the opportunity to adventure across the sea, to behold strange and wondrous sights far beyond the city walls of Lübeck.' To do that even once would almost be worth submitting herself to a loveless marriage based solely on familial advantage. 'But not quite,' she admitted to herself. For if there is one thing of which Christina Kohl is certain, it is that she craves her independence even more than adventure. Yet, these could only be childish dreams for a daughter of a wealthy merchant in the 14th century German imperial city of Lübeck. Even at sixteen-years-old, Christina grudgingly accepts her existence is to be shaped and limited by the men who do and will control her life. When unexpected tragedies befall her family, however, she is presented with an unlikely opportunity to at last become her own person. The freedom of her new life is fraught with peril as she attempts to succeed in a role for which she is ill-prepared, all the while keeping secrets that, if exposed, will certainly bring shame, financial ruin, and perhaps even death. No Man's Chattel is an exhilarating coming-of-age novel set in the medieval commercial centers of Lubeck and London, England. It is not so much a story of the societal norms of the era as of one young woman's struggle to defy them.

1310, Berwick-upon-Tweed, England - Edward II knights Frederick Kohl for his bravery fighting the Scots. But Sir Frederick is not the man the king believes him to be; instead, it is his sister, Christina, who assumes her dead brother's identity and receives his spurs.Still posing as Frederick, Christina escorts Lady Cecily, a young noblewoman joining Queen Isabella's court at Westminster Palace, to London. Unexpectedly, Christina and Cecily fall in love. Their joy is short-lived, as their future together is seemingly impossible.The wife of one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the city is Christina's bitter enemy. Katharine Volker, whose lascivious advances Christina rejects, goads her into voyaging from her London home to the Baltic waters of her birthplace. Christina journeys not to engage in trade, as one would expect of a master merchant. She sails for a far more deadly purpose--to exact revenge on the pirates who killed her father and brother.What will transpire in London during her absence and is there any hope for her lasting happiness with Cecily?Christina must employ all her courage and fighting skill, as well as a secret weapon, to survive her adventure quest through pirate infested waters.