Release day for ‘Duchess of the New Dawn’

While I was researching my third novel, I came across this passage about Charlemagne’s aunt Chiltrude in the Continuation of Fredegar: she “did what her wicked stepmother told her: with friends’ help, she went secretly over the Rhine to Duke Odilo of the Bavarians, who married her against the wishes and without permission of her brothers.”

In an age when marriage among aristocrats was all about building alliances, high-born ladies did not up and elope. But she did, and it was a scandal decades later when her great-nephew’s biographer alluded to it.

Her father died in October 741, and Tassilo, her son by Odilo, was born before the end of the year. So, she might have been pregnant at the time, giving her more reason and urgency to run away from home and get married.

A word of caution about medieval sources: they are not above exaggeration, gross omission, distortion, and outright fabrication, but I have a weakness for bold women who dare to defy people in power. I had to explore Chiltrude’s story. Fiction is the way to do it.

The result is Duchess of the New Dawn, released today (June 16, 2026). It showcases a little-known era where religion, politics, and the dynamics of the dysfunctional ruling family intertwined. Readers will admire Chiltrude for her courage, her devotion to her husband and son, her intelligence and love of learning, and her tireless efforts to weave peace in difficult circumstances.

Here is a bit more about the novel:

741: Chiltrude, the daughter of Francia’s ruling family, aspires to wed her beloved Odilo, the Duke of Bavaria, and rule by his side. But her dying father forbids the marriage. As her brothers’ rivalry threatens to shatter the realm, she faces imprisonment in an abbey and fears for the baby in her womb.

Defying her kinsmen, she will risk everything to seize her heart’s desire, protect her child, and secure her new homeland’s future. Amid the shifting loyalties of the duchy’s influential clans, she must outmaneuver Odilo’s archrival, her hostile in-laws, and most of all, her own brothers.

Based on a true story, Duchess of the New Dawn brings to life forgotten historical characters and events from the days of Charles Martel and tells the story of one woman’s audacity to choose her own path.

“…a romantic adventure and a masterclass in medieval realpolitik.” —Peggy Kurkowski, Foreword Reviews

“Recommended for readers wishing to immerse themselves in the extremely dangerous but very compelling early medieval world...” Karen Bordonaro, Historical Novels Review

You can buy Duchess of the New Dawn now from Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Kobo, and many other booksellers. For more buy links, visit kimrendfeld.com.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.