Name: The Price of Blood
ISBN: 9780525427278

Patricia Bracewell

A follow-up to Shadow on the Crown finds reluctant queen Emma of Normandy forging dubious alliances to protect her children and her crown in the early 11th century while her beleaguered husband governs through brutal policies. Includes two maps.

The Price of Blood

Menaced by Vikings and enemies at court, Queen Emma defends her children and her crown in a riveting medieval adventure Readers first met Emma of Normandy in Patricia Bracewell’s gripping debut novel, Shadow on the Crown. Unwillingly thrust into marriage to England’s King Æthelred, Emma has given the king a son and heir, but theirs has never been a happy marriage. In The Price of Blood, Bracewell returns to 1006 when a beleaguered Æthelred, still haunted by his brother’s ghost, governs with an iron fist and a royal policy that embraces murder. As tensions escalate and enmities solidify, Emma forges alliances to protect her young son from ambitious men—even from the man she loves. In the north there is treachery brewing, and when Viking armies ravage England, loyalties are shattered and no one is safe from the sword. Rich with intrigue, compelling personalities, and fascinating detail about a little-known period in history, The Price of Blood will captivate fans of both historical fiction and fantasy novels such as George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.

A Novel

Sheila

This is good historical fiction right here. The 2nd book in a trilogy about Emma of Normandy & it is a tough time. The start of the 11th century was a seriously fractious period in England's history, but also one in which primary sources are extremely rare. The Author's Note at the end reflects the seriousness in which Bracewell cobbled together as much factual information as possible, and filled in the gaps between events to create her story as one possible, clearly fictional, explanation for the activities of the royal family and their allies at the time. 

At the same time, it's not bogged down with minute details or bricks of information (likely because there's hardly enough information left from the period to constitute a brick!). The atmosphere of 11th century Anglo-Saxon England comes alive in the writing - though it wasn't very pretty. I really appreciate the characterization of Emma, her hidden nemesis Elgiva, the æthlings Athelstan & Edmund, & many of the tertiary characters that don't get much screen time but their actions are felt throughout the story. 

I hope it's not a few years before I get to read the finale, because despite the fact that I generally know how it ends, I need the book!!

The Price of Blood

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