Her Dangerous Journey Home by Lee Swanson is a historical novel that revolves around a young woman named Christina Kohl. This is the third book in the No Man Is Her Master series, preceded by book one, No Man's Chattel, and book two, Her Perilous Game. Following the murder of her father and brother by pirates, Christina has taken on the identity of her brother Frederick to preserve her wealth and independence by disguising herself as a man. She is intelligent, cunning, and exceptionally skilled with the sword, which is proven as she maneuvers through the court of King Edward and holds her own in a barrage of attacks. She is less successful in love, attaching her heart to a married woman, Lady Cecily, who she pines for even as she is accosted on multiple fronts, including by the vulgar and devious Katharine Volker.

Historical fiction where women assume the identity of a man had its most recent heyday in the 1980s and 90s, soon falling by the wayside as readers turned to female heroines who stuck to the gender trappings of their sex. Her Dangerous Journey Home returns to the realities of 14th-century Europe where by law, and not just by culture and custom, women were not entitled to anything. No amount of robust spirit can change this and Lee Swanson steps back as authentically as possible into the period. There is some convenience in Christina spending a great deal of time in trousers, given her sexuality and the fact that she could, under the protection of her assumed identity as her brother, marry a woman and live happily ever after - if her lover wasn't married and people weren't constantly trying to kill her and steal from her. I was most satisfied by the fantastic period details and enjoyed the moments where a betrayal of Christina's sex was at risk. In one brief scene, Christina is shown a room in a tavern that turns out to be a medieval hostel, a dormitory complete with rope-strung mattresses and a couple “coupling”. These are the small but rich encounters that lend proof to Swanson's skill as both a historian and storyteller and to me these are even better than all of the fight scenes and political intrigue combined. Lovers of historical fiction will no doubt rejoice.

The machinations of late medieval England form the backdrop to Her Dangerous Journey Home by Lee Swanson, which is the third installment of the No Man Is Her Master series. Picking up in the aftermath of No Man's Chattel and Her Perilous Game, the gender-bending Christina Kohl remains disguised as her late brother and retains control of her business as Frederick. Christina/Frederick is separated from her married lover, Lady Cecily. She departs London soon after to deter pirates in Northern Europe. Three years have passed since the pirates murdered Christina's father and brother. The trip back to Lübeck to visit her mother could be as dangerous as ferreting out pirates. Christina/Frederick's cousin Katharine is also a threat who shows her hatred without restraint. “She waits like a poisonous adder for the opportunity to strike, to deal him a deadly blow. Do not trust her... Ever.”

When Her Dangerous Journey Home crossed my desk it was the first time I had heard of the No Man Is Her Master series, but Lee Swanson had me sold with two simple words: Medieval lesbian. I admit I started with book three but have since gone back to read books one and two as the writing is excellent and the historical detailing is among some of the best I've read. Christina is a compelling character and her motives do not stretch credibility. She is anatomically incorrect to be a knight, a merchant, and - if a way is found for her heart to find contentment - a husband. Her male identity is not optional but a lot of the situations that she sticks her sword into are. Swanson has made Christina a fallible character but not in the “I'm just a silly little woman” sense, but as a woman who is a man by default. Katharine is an intriguing enough character to have her own series and I'd love to explore her backstory in depth. Until then I am happy to carry on with Christina/Frederick and am sure others who set sail with the series will feel the same. Highly recommended.

Her Dangerous Journey Home by Lee Swanson is the third in a series of stories set in and around fourteenth-century Europe and Britain. Christina Kohl was a young woman perhaps destined to adopt the life of most medieval women, that of subservience to a man. Fate intervened when her father, her brother, and she traveled from their home of Lübek in modern-day Germany to London to marry a man her sister Marguerite was supposed to have wed. When her sister died, Christina was sent as a replacement wife instead. Attacked by Norse pirates and with her father dead and her brother missing, presumed drowned, Christina takes the daring step of assuming her brother’s identity and continuing to London to report the unfortunate death of her “sister” Christina. In England, the now “Frederick” Kohl assumes her father’s role as a successful merchant and trader. Building a life for herself, as Frederick, she is involved in several actions on behalf of the English king who knights her for her services to England. As Sir Frederick, Christina has fallen madly in love with Lady Cecily and although Cecily is well aware of Christina’s true gender and she is already married, the love is deeply returned. For Christina, she must constantly walk a fine line between the English monarchy, her Aldermen masters back home in Lübek, her intense desire to rid the Lady Cecily of her ne’er-do-well husband and wed the beautiful lady, and her daily battle to ensure her deepest, darkest secret, her true identity, is kept hidden from all but a few closest confidantes.

Her Dangerous Journey Home is a novel with an interesting premise, that of gender identity at a time when men truly were men and women were treated as mere chattels. Author Lee Swanson has created a fascinating character in Christina and one that allows a full examination and discovery of gender identity and the difficulties that would be faced by a woman assuming a man’s role in the fourteenth century. This story is full of humor and tricky situations in the gender identity switch and that is in part what makes it such a compelling read. On top of that, though, it is a fascinating adventure at a time when sea travel was extremely dangerous and fraught with difficulty. Pirates, weather, tides and currents, excessive time spent at sea, not to mention rebellious crews were just some of the problems these early mariners faced. There is action aplenty for the adrenaline-junkie readers but those with a romantic heart will enjoy the compelling love story, as well as some pertinent comments on the social structure and conditions in medieval Europe. The story weaves its way through these perilous social, political, and geographical waters beautifully and I loved the conundrums the author left in readers’ minds as to where the next iteration of this tale will take us. What will Christina do with Jost, for example; is there possibly a future together for Christina and Cecily; and what evil machinations does Katharine still have up her sleeve to thwart Christina? I, for one, cannot wait for the fourth installment of this adventure to have these questions answered. I can highly recommend this book.