

He has no reason to doubt Moira’s claims of freedom, which many of the villagers are willing to corroborate. Initially, Addis appears to be selfish and tyrannical. At this point their romance, and their struggles with the concepts of freedom, equality, and servitude, begin. Furious, Moira attempts to escape, but she is attacked on the road and Addis rescues her.

But when Addis returns, he will not accept her claims of freedom and commands Moira to stay with him as his servant.

Edith died shortly thereafter, leaving the holding to Moira. Her mother Edith was Addis’s father’s lehman, and on his deathbed he freed Edith and Moira from serfdom and gave Edith some property. Moira Falkner is one person whose life has been disrupted by Addis’s return. Everyone has long presumed that Addis died on the crusade, and his return comes as a surprise to many. His wife has died, and his step-brother has seized his lands after accusing Addis’s deceased father of treason. When he returns home to England, it appears that his problems are just beginning. That being said, By Possession is a very good read, and Madeline Hunter addresses the troublesome inequality issue with thoughtfulness and insight.Īddis de Valence has spent the last six years in the Baltics after being captured during a crusade. Fundamentally, master/servant romances make me very uncomfortable, usually because of the inherent inequalities between the hero (who always seems to have the upper hand in these scenarios) and the heroine. Though her status as a serf is in question, she spends much of the book as his bondwoman. By Possession is a medieval romance about a knight and a woman who was born a serf, bound to his lands. I know an author is really talented when she makes me enjoy a book with a premise that I basically dislike.
