This is the second book in the author's projected trilogy of novels covering the colourful and dramatic life of Emma of Normandy, queen to both the Saxon king of England, Ethelred II the Unready and the Danish conqueror king Canute. This novel covers the crucial years as England is ravaged by successive waves of Viking invasions, only finally driven away by the payment of enormous bribes, for example 48,000 pounds of silver. There are many interesting characters on both the Saxon and Danish sides, and some shocking and horrific incidents. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first book, as I got a little tired of Ethelred's bloody-mindedness (if he was really like this, he was not just ill-advised, but completely lacking in judgement and what we would now call people management skills), and his being haunted by the spirit of his murdered step brother, king Edward the Martyr. I wonder how much of Emma's life is to be covered by this trilogy, as she has another 40 years of life left to be potentially covered in book three. ( )

I gotta say, the author chose her story well and told it with incredible skill. I’m surprised there isn’t more historical fiction out there for this time period. What a soup of betrayal, shifting alliances, political intrigue, and high emotions!

The author’s skills at world-building, atmosphere, and historical research are top notch. She brings the world of an Anglo-Saxon England in flux to vivid life. Beset by foreign enemies and cracks within the cohesion of the country’s own leaders, this was a time of very serious danger to the people of England.

Bracewell incorporates the time period’s great events such as battles and raids, also incorporating passages from the actual Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, to great effect in making her world breathe. She also doesn’t cringe from using the intimate as well; describing life in Athelred’s Saxon court as well as the sparse life of the remote keep like where Elgiva holes up in such a way that the reader lives the setting, not just reading it.

I adored the author’s characterizations as well. Every character shined with life and was three-dimensional. Even the characters that I grew to hate (Elgiva and Athelred), I grew to love. Bracewell gives us motivations and personalities that stick out against the harsh and shifting landscape of court and Anglo-Saxon life. I loved learning to appreciate every individual, both the scheming and the virtuous.

This is a perfect example of historical fiction done right. The time period is brought to vivid life. The people inhabiting that world have their own personalities and reasons for doing things. This is a time period rarely explored in fiction, and I, for one, am anxious as hell to explore more. Knowing where history takes us from the leaving off point of the book, I can only imagine that the last book in this trilogy will be as awesome as the first two. Is it 2016 yet?! ( )

My interest in Emma of Normandy is growing as I read this series. The author has done an excellent job of portraying a very distant and different time period (11th century Anglo-Saxon England) in compelling and understandable terms and peopled with characters one can love and hate. understand and relate to. In this book, the second of the series, England is increasingly threatened by Danish invaders and Emma struggles to maintain her position as queen despite a strained relationship with her husband. This is an essential read for historical fiction fans! ( )

This book continues on from Shadow on the Crown. It is 1006, Emma is Queen of England, her husband Eathelred rules. He is a man frightened of the shade of the brother he saw dead in order to become king. The vikings are a constant threat to the English people. The king sees threats everywhere he looks. He places his trust in questionable people.

Emma is trying to gain some power in this conflicting time in order to ensure the safety of her son Edward.

Elgiva is up to mischief as usual, with more trouble to come in the third book I would imagine.

I loved the first book in this trilogy. This one I liked, I didn't think it was quite as good as the first. Even so, I will be reading the third book when it becomes available. ( )

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Upon finishing The Shadow on the Crown, I had but one wish: a sequel. I loved that book entirely, but it didn’t feel complete. There were rumors of a sequel, but nothing definitive. Two years later, the sequel finally has come out. The usual questions drifted through my mind about whether it would live up to its predecessor and whether I would still remember enough to care, which, with me, is a real consideration. If, like me, you’ve been eagerly awaiting a sequel to The Shadow on the Crown, The Price of Blood was well worth the wait.

After two years, I’m amazed at how much I remembered from The Shadow on the Crown, particularly when most of the names are so strange and similar to one another. Yet, even just flipping through the dramatis personae at the start of the book, it came rushing back. The credit goes to Bracewell for her realistic characters and her skillful reminders of crucial plot points and relationships from the prior book.

Though I didn’t get the feels from The Price of Blood the way I did from The Shadow on the Crown, it’s no less brilliant of a book for that. My emotional response came from a romance, doomed by history not to last. Also, I sort of spoiled myself on the outcome of that with a little history googling. Oops. Still, I care very much about Emma. Many of the characters are vile and hateful, but they remain oh so interesting.

Æthelred, for example, is a fascinating case. He’s the king, as he wished to be, but, because he killed to attain the position he coveted, he trusts no one. Most especially, he fears Athelstan and his other adult sons. At the same time, guilt over his brother’s death is driving him mad; he’s seeing his brother’s apparition much like Lady Macbeth saw the blood on her hands. Because he doesn’t trust his sons, he ends up allying with men who flatter him, but end up leeching more of his power than his sons likely would have.

Emma and Elgiva, though worlds apart in temperament, are both powerful women, as much as they could be in eleventh century England. To have even the influence they do, they have to rely on marriage and babies. Though Elgiva’s a villain and Emma’s the heroine, I have a sort of respect for both, so clearly chafing against the mores of the time. I also find Emma’s choice between truly raising her children and being able to impact politics surprisingly touching.

The history I find endlessly compelling. This is a period of history I know nothing about, so I’m learning a lot. I love that the epigraphs at the start of the sections contain snippets of the history she was drawing from in writing the novel. I’ve no doubt that much of the novel is fictionalized, but that also lets me know how close she’s following the texts that remain for the big stuff. The early eleventh century was a complete mess. Bracewell does an amazing job making the politics interesting. Her writing is engaging and explains the various forces involved very clearly.

Patricia Bracewell’s trilogy is wonderful historical fiction. I hope it won’t be two years or more for the final installment, but you can bet I’ll be reading it, however long I must wait. ( )