Her entry begins:
At the moment I’m reading The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman – a book that’s been on my ‘to read’ list for a long time. The setting is Israel, and the story begins in the year 70 C.E. High marks to Hoffman for taking a dramatic historical event – the siege of Masada – and inventing a human story that takes place within the walls of that forbidding citadel. It’s a gripping tale of war, hardship and desperation told from the viewpoints of four women who endured it. She accomplishes what every historical novelist seeks to do – illuminate a time, a place, an event so vividly that the reader is sent scurrying to learn more. Her description of Masada was so compelling that I...[read on]About The Price of Blood, from the publisher:
Menaced by Vikings and enemies at court, Queen Emma defends her children and her crown in a riveting medieval adventureLearn more about the book and author at Patricia Bracewell's website and blog.
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.
The Page 69 Test: Shadow on the Crown.
My Book, The Movie: Shadow on the Crown.
Writers Read: Patricia Bracewell.
--Marshal Zeringue
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