Patricia Bracewell

Although I have been a devotee of historical fiction for decades, this book made me fall in love with the genre all over again! As a lifelong Anglophile, I have previously chosen novels mostly from the time of King Henry II (1133-1189) to the present. SHADOW ON THE CROWN is the first time I've read about Emma of Normandy (984-1052) and was delighted to immerse myself in an entirely new period.

As the daughter and sister of the powerful Dukes of Normandy, and like all women born into show more nobility, Emma's marriage was always going to be determined by males in her family, as a way to enhance the wealth or prestige of the family. And so Emma was sent away to England to become the second wife of the much older, King Aethelred the Unready (966-1016) -- a suspicious, brutish, and sometimes violent man who already had a pack of ambitious, grown sons. Despite Emma's efforts, and not surprisingly, it's not a happy marriage.

This is the first book in this author's three-novel series about Emma's life, covering Emma from childhood to the birth of her first son (later known as Edward the Confessor 1003-1066). If you know your English history, you know where this is headed. Aethelred's inept governing makes him a target of both rebellious nobles in the North and Viking King Sweyn Forkbeard (963-1014). Conflict is coming.

What I so love about historical fiction is the way it turns dry names from history into people. Good authors make them come alive and behave just like we do. Facing challenges, learning to live with the consequences of their decisions. And this novel skillfully breathes life into a host of characters, including Aethelred, Emma, Aethelred's oldest son Aethelstan (982-1014), a scheming lady-in-waiting (Elgiva) and her family, and many secondary characters -- all are multi-dimensional and believable.

Since little is written about this time period, Patricia Bracewell had the opportunity to create much of the story, as she explains in her Author's Note. I, for one, loved what she did with these little known figures. And I enthusiastically recommend this novel and now plan to go on to read the rest of the series.
Part II is THE PRICE OF BLOOD.
Part III is THE STEEL BENEATH THE SILK. show less

This is not my first time reading the tale of the formidable Queen Emma of Normandy and given the story she has left to history I somehow suspect it might not be the last. I did not read the first two books in this series but I discovered that I do have the first one on my bookshelf. I have read about this fascinating woman in other books and was thrilled to again visit with her.

England in the 10th and 11th centuries is dealing with raids from the Danes who want to lay claim to England. show more It’s a time of almost constant war. King Æthelred, married to Emma of Normandy to strengthen his alliance with William of Normandy is hoping for help from that quarter but William has his own designs on England. He sees Emma as a way in – little does he know that his sister is not a wilting flower.

As Emma navigates court, her aging husband, almost constant war, a brother who is reluctant to send aid, along with an overwhelming fear for her children she finds a strength she didn’t know she had. She is the Queen of England and her people need her.

The Steel Beneath the Silk is a well researched, well written novel that brings Emma’s world to vivid life. It’s the last book in the series but one wishes there were more as Emma’s story does not end with Æthelred’s death. In some ways it only just begins. It’s a real page turner of a novel about a woman who refused to be lost to history and who left her mark in a time when women were considered chattel and only good for the sons they could give to their husbands. show less

A visit to the former capital of Anglo Saxon Wessex, Winchester, over Easter prompted me to read this novel, the first in a trilogy about Emma of Normandy, a pivotal figure in the politics of England and indeed north west Europe in the first half of the 11th century, and queen to two Kings of England, Ethelred II the Unready, and the Danish invader Canute. The novel covers the first few years of Emma's time in England, from when she is shocked to be told she is being sent to Winchester on show more the other side of the Narrow Sea to wed the King of England, following the death of his first wife; through the horrors of the St Brice's Day massacre in 1002 when Ethelred ordered the indiscriminate slaughter of all Danes living in England; of Danish invasions, including the brutal sacking of Exeter; and through to Emma's eventually fulfilling the destiny of any queen before the modern era, that is of giving birth to a son, the future King Edward the Confessor, a potential rival to the many sons Ethelred already had by his first wife, particularly to his eldest son and heir, Athelstan. The novel is very well written, if perhaps a little long at 500 pages, full of colourful incident and characters. I have already downloaded the next book in the series. show less

Although I have been a devotee of historical fiction for decades, this book made me fall in love with the genre all over again! As a lifelong Anglophile, I have previously chosen novels mostly from the time of King Henry II (1133-1189) to the present. SHADOW ON THE CROWN is the first time I've read about Emma of Normandy (984-1052) and was delighted to immerse myself in an entirely new period.

As the daughter and sister of the powerful Dukes of Normandy, and like all women born into show more nobility, Emma's marriage was always going to be determined by males in her family, as a way to enhance the wealth or prestige of the family. And so Emma was sent away to England to become the second wife of the much older, King Aethelred the Unready (966-1016) -- a suspicious, brutish, and sometimes violent man who already had a pack of ambitious, grown sons. Despite Emma's efforts, and not surprisingly, it's not a happy marriage.

This is the first book in this author's three-novel series about Emma's life, covering Emma from childhood to the birth of her first son (later known as Edward the Confessor 1003-1066). If you know your English history, you know where this is headed. Aethelred's inept governing makes him a target of both rebellious nobles in the North and Viking King Sweyn Forkbeard (963-1014). Conflict is coming.

What I so love about historical fiction is the way it turns dry names from history into people. Good authors make them come alive and behave just like we do. Facing challenges, learning to live with the consequences of their decisions. And this novel skillfully breathes life into a host of characters, including Aethelred, Emma, Aethelred's oldest son Aethelstan (982-1014), a scheming lady-in-waiting (Elgiva) and her family, and many secondary characters -- all are multi-dimensional and believable.

Since little is written about this time period, Patricia Bracewell had the opportunity to create much of the story, as she explains in her Author's Note. I, for one, loved what she did with these little known figures. And I enthusiastically recommend this novel and now plan to go on to read the rest of the series.
Part II is THE PRICE OF BLOOD.
Part III is THE STEEL BENEATH THE SILK. show less