Do you like Vikings? Do you want to increase your Anglo-Saxon vocabulary by fifty words, thereabouts? Do these chilly nights make you long for a thrilling romp through the byways of really Olde England? Do wish to time travel to shires where aethelings hunker down in burhs to await the arrival of the dreaded Norsemen?If you answer yes to any of these questions, Patricia Bracewell's THE PRICE OF BLOOD, the sequel to SHADOW ON THE CROWN, is the novel for you.
This new novel centers of the relationship between King Aethereld of England and Emma of Normandy whom he married in 1002. As such, it is a bittersweet romance and a treat for readers who do not mind being served up historical personages who left behind so little data they must needs be recreated from a a piece of bone and a hank of hair.
Readers who prefer fiction based on documented historical facts will do well to focus on Aethereld, commonly known as the Unready--according to experts in the Anglo-Saxon language, unræd actually means ill advised. He is better documented than his wife. Bracewell does a superb job of turning the dry facts of his life into vibrant text. She leads her audience into a time when Danish marauders-- the ISIS of the twelfth Century--subject an already ravaged England that to a scorched earth strategy. They burn, rape, pillage then ask for higher and higher tribute. Aethreld's reaction to these events is less than intelligent. He finds it wise to create wider fissures in the body politic, as he orders the assassination of formers allies, severely limits his sons' participation in government and rejects Emma's counsel. Meanwhile, his Danish opponent, Sweyn the Forkbeard, plots greater mayhem.
Throughout the story, Bracewell's sweet and gentle Emma tries, tries, and tries again to reason with her husband though, frankly, she would just as soon dally with his son Athelston. At the same, her foil, Elgiva, concubine of Sweyn the Forkbeard's son Cnut, has dangerous plans for England's royal house. Leave your garth, buy the book, fasten your headrail and prepare for a wild ride aboard a longship.A glimmer of the high Middle Ages is yet to shine, but I doubt you will be disappointed.
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