Queen Elfrida’s Cockatrice

Set in the closing years of Anglo-Saxon England, at the beginning of the 11th century, Queen Elfrida’s Cockatrice tells the story of the Dowager Queen Elfrida, who is spending her autumn years in quiet seclusion at the abbey she has founded.  But the tranquillity of the abbey is shattered by the sudden appearance of a terrifying dragon-like creature, the cockatrice.  As Queen Elfrida struggles to understand why the creature has appeared and how it might be connected to her own difficult past, members of the abbey and the local community are threatened by mysterious disappearances and deaths among their number. 

Will Queen Elfrida be able to destroy the cockatrice?  And will she be able to overcome the terrors of her own past?  Or will she be overcome by both?

Judy Monckton has produced a suspenseful tale in which human frailties prove to be at least as frightening as otherworldly monsters.

The book will appeal to readers of historical fiction in Anglo-Saxon times and readers of mythology involving strong female characters. The book is set in Winchester, Bath, Glastonbury, Corfe Castle and Wherwell and is of particular interest to locals and visitors to these areas.

Reviews

‘Queen Elfrida’s Cockatrice captures very well the atmosphere of the period (inasmuch as we perceive that period’s atmosphere today) and the combination of history, fable, fact and fantasy works well’ 
Winchester Writers Competition 2009

‘It is a rare joy to discover a new book on Wherwell Abbey‘s dramatic history, and its very own "dragon" (cockatrice), so we are grateful to local historian, Judy Monckton. Living in Dorset, she has her own link to the story through the murder of "Edward the Martyr" at Corfe Castle. The original author of this version of the story was Vincent Godefry, a playwright of the 1930's.
Thrilling, this new book certainly is. Whether it is historically verifiable is another matter! Monckton's book shows the Queen near the end of her life, living peacefully at Wherwell, (around 1001), when all monastic peace is shattered by the appearance of the cockatrice (or lizard / dragon). It destroys the Abbey's ducks and moves on to members of the community and even to children.
The new and disturbing feature of this story is that it focuses on St Dunstan (Archbishop of Canterbury) and his extreme dislike of Elfrida for her part in violent events. The suggestion is made that this enmity is pursuing Elfrida beyond the grave in the shape of the cockatrice! Believe this or not, the bravery of the queen in pursuing the "beast" to its death, through a version of the mirror story we know well, makes exciting reading.
Sadly, the tale raises the question as to whether Elfrida truly repented or not, since the story ends with her advising her son Ethelred in his struggle against the Danes to slaughter all the Danes in the country... Thus, another escalation of violence followed. And so she died, with rising horror of what she had done. The reader is left with many questions to ponder.‘
Mary Grey, Chilbolton and Wherwell Community Magazine May 2011

Queen Elfrida’s Cockatrice publication date: 25th January 2011
Paperback: 93 pages
Language English
ISBN-10: 1843866889
ISBN-13: 978-184386688
Publisher: Pegasus Publishers (25 Jan 2011)
Available to order at Pegasus and Amazon