25.09.2014 – Shadow On The Crown.

Thursday, 25th September, 2014.

Shadow on the Crown.

This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I’ve recently discovered a love for historical fiction, and I think I’ve found me era – Just before and just after the early 1000s. You’re probably well aware that I’m currently knee-deep in Viking stories, and I love learning about the ancient Gods and rituals. If I could choose to believe in a God, I’d choose Ódin and the other Viking gods, no questions asked.

I remember when I first arrived that I learned Patricia Bracewell’s book was a Viking-era one. I impatiently waited for us to get the book in stock, and eventually got the hard back for my birthday anyway. It’s a beautiful binding (check me out with my conservator words!) and it really makes you feel like you’re reading something substantial.

I was a little disappointed when I learned that although it was Viking era, it was on the side of the Anglo-Saxons. My disappointment didn’t last long, though.

We are first introduced to Emma when she is growing up in Normandy, with a very Viking-y influence – her brother is forced to allow Swein Forkbeard (what a name!) and his Viking men to dock for the winter on his shores. We learn that her sister is sickly while Emma herself is wildly independent. She is the younger sister, so when rumours of an impending marriage to King Aethelred of England abound, both sisters assume it is aimed at the elder. Emma is shocked to learn that she will essentially be used as a bartering tool between her brother and the King – she is to wed him, but also gain the title of Queen. I can’t say much more without giving it away, but the story chronicles the life of Queen Emma of Normandy, as she is loved by the public and then scorned, as her health fluctuates, as she finds a wildly romantic and utterly over-the-top love (all the bits I love – deep blue eyes, soft lips, chiselled features!) and as she finds her footing, fighting against her tyrannical husband and deals with the Viking (yay!) attacks.

The story is written from several points of view, so we learn of plot twists sometimes before Emma. This book gives a voice to the Queen who has been largely forgotten – I at the very least had never heard of her.

The book has only added to my growing secret desire to learn history – maybe I can be a library assistant who is an expert in eighteenth century writing, romanticism and Vikings?!

25.09.2014 – Shadow On The Crown.

Thursday, 25th September, 2014.

Shadow on the Crown.

This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I’ve recently discovered a love for historical fiction, and I think I’ve found me era – Just before and just after the early 1000s. You’re probably well aware that I’m currently knee-deep in Viking stories, and I love learning about the ancient Gods and rituals. If I could choose to believe in a God, I’d choose Ódin and the other Viking gods, no questions asked.

I remember when I first arrived that I learned Patricia Bracewell’s book was a Viking-era one. I impatiently waited for us to get the book in stock, and eventually got the hard back for my birthday anyway. It’s a beautiful binding (check me out with my conservator words!) and it really makes you feel like you’re reading something substantial.

I was a little disappointed when I learned that although it was Viking era, it was on the side of the Anglo-Saxons. My disappointment didn’t last long, though.

We are first introduced to Emma when she is growing up in Normandy, with a very Viking-y influence – her brother is forced to allow Swein Forkbeard (what a name!) and his Viking men to dock for the winter on his shores. We learn that her sister is sickly while Emma herself is wildly independent. She is the younger sister, so when rumours of an impending marriage to King Aethelred of England abound, both sisters assume it is aimed at the elder. Emma is shocked to learn that she will essentially be used as a bartering tool between her brother and the King – she is to wed him, but also gain the title of Queen. I can’t say much more without giving it away, but the story chronicles the life of Queen Emma of Normandy, as she is loved by the public and then scorned, as her health fluctuates, as she finds a wildly romantic and utterly over-the-top love (all the bits I love – deep blue eyes, soft lips, chiselled features!) and as she finds her footing, fighting against her tyrannical husband and deals with the Viking (yay!) attacks.

The story is written from several points of view, so we learn of plot twists sometimes before Emma. This book gives a voice to the Queen who has been largely forgotten – I at the very least had never heard of her.

The book has only added to my growing secret desire to learn history – maybe I can be a library assistant who is an expert in eighteenth century writing, romanticism and Vikings?!