Shadow on the Crown: A Novel

Interesting fictionalized presentation of the politics of post-Alfred (and pre-Norman) England. This is a time period of which I have read little historical fiction, but I would like to hear more. Details of daily life (especially for nobles) seem to be portrayed well. There is enough suspense, some gore, no gratuitous sex. It gives a pretty good sense of what it must have been like to live under the shadow of fear of Viking raids. Aethelred "Unred" Is shown as waffling and increasingly mentally unstable; but the story also gives a good feeling for what it must be like to hold power in a world where power-grabbers abound, and the way to power is violence. The way to power for women, make no mistake, is in relation to a man, and there is little enough even then. Overall, although not outstanding, I found it entertaining and somewhat informative. My main complaint is that it ends abruptly, and the next story is not yet available..

I absolutely loved this book. It was beautifully crafted and is a excellent listen. Since there weren't many reviews for this book I thought I would throw in my two cents.

Perspectives
There are a lot of things that I really enjoyed about this book and that brought it all together for me. One of them was that we got the story from the perspective of different characters; we got to know what they were thinking about, what was going on, and what they thought about all of the other characters in the book. Sometimes I have issues with the way authors make multiple perspectives flow, but Bracewell was able to transition fluidly to each character while still giving them a distinct personality.

Characters
Like I said above I thought all of the characters in the book were very well developed. I took a personal interest in each of the characters and the situation they found themselves in. I thought she did a realistic job of portraying what could have been going through Emma’s head and the decisions she had to make. In my opinion she didn’t fall into one of the greatest pitfalls that authors with female characters make by giving Emma an unrealistically strong personality that makes her everyone’s savior or make her weak and needy. Athelstan was also wonderfully written (and probably my favorite character) because of his struggle between doing his “fate” and what he wanted for himself all while trying to do what was right for his family. I could go on and on about what I loved about each character but that would take too long.

Storyline
They storyline was very engaging and although I am not an expert on England’s history it seemed pretty accurate from what I know about the time period. There isn’t too much I can really say about the storyline without giving away the book, but I can say that my biggest disappointment about this book is that it is a trilogy… I want to know what happens!

Overall
I don't typically listen to historical fiction, but I thought I would give this book a try since Patricia Bracewell and I go to the same tennis club. I have never met her so be assured that I am not writing this review because I am a friend. I am not her friend (I am sure she is very nice woman, but like I said I just have never met her). The only reason why I got this book is because she was going to be doing a book talk/signing at the club and there was a poster for it at the entry. I thought that it was really great that someone from the club published a book so I decided to take a listen. I wasn't really expecting much since this isn't the kind of book I normally go for, but it was absolutely wonderful. I have already listened to this book twice.

For me? Definitely. That may not be the case for all maybe.

Emma's character.

The chase with the King of Denmark for action! Emma's challenges at court for character!

“Margot” ! I was deeply touched by the way Margot becomes the embodiment and extension of the voice and hands of Emma’s mother. When Emma doesn’t know what to do, her "voice" is there. When Emma would give up in the midst of stormy seas, her "voice" is there. It’s the voice of her mother.

Bravo Katie! Great job reading this with the pronunciations and inflections! I hope you are there when the next book comes out!

This book has sex.

Yes I enjoyed the narrators voice

Emma. This the 2nd book about her I have read. She is a remarkable woman who takes controls and plays a part in her own destiny during a time so few women could

character voices

I like it so much I listened twice!

The idea was interesting and I like the ties to Queen Emma's true history. However, it's a bit shallow and at times I felt like I was plodding along just trying to find out what happens in the end. I'm hooked enough to complete the trilogy, but wouldn't rank it among my favorites.

I got through this book with limited distracted reading. The plot was good the voice was good but I was confused by the numerous characters and players.