The Steel Beneath the Silk: A Novel
Written by Patricia Bracewell
Narrated by Rachel Atkins
4/5
()
About this audiobook
A breathtaking conclusion to Bracewell’s Emma of Normandy Trilogy, brimming with treachery, heartache, tenderness and passion as the English queen confronts ambitious and traitorous councilors, invading armies and the Danish king’s power-hungry concubine. In the year 1012 England’s Norman-born Queen Emma has been ten years wed to an aging, ruthless, haunted King Æthelred. The marriage is a bitterly unhappy one, between a queen who seeks to create her own sphere of influence within the court and a suspicious king who eyes her efforts with hostility and resentment. But royal discord shifts to grudging alliance when Cnut of Denmark, with the secret collusion of his English concubine Elgiva, invades England at the head of a massive viking army. Amid the chaos of war, Emma must outwit a fierce enemy whose goal is conquest and outmaneuver the cunning Elgiva, who threatens all those whom Emma loves.
Patricia Bracewell
Patricia Bracewell grew up in California where she taught literature and composition before embarking upon her writing career. She holds an M.A. in English Literature, but has always been fascinated by English history – an interest that led her to a brief course in Anglo-Saxon history at Downing College, Cambridge University. She has two grown-up sons, and she lives with her Canadian husband in Oakland, California.
Related to The Steel Beneath the Silk
Related audiobooks
The Queen's Choice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To the Tower Born: A Novel of the Lost Princes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bright Shadow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tudor Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jane the Quene Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Price of Blood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lives of the Queens of England Volume 3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fortuna's Queen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Silken Rose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stone Rose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daughter of a Thousand Years: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen of the North Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Royal Ambition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Queen’s Lady Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Damask Rose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Stolen Crown: It Was a Secret Marriage--One That Changed the Fate of England Forever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Royal Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twice Royal Lady Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Thyra Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Agincourt Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elizabeth of Bohemia: A Novel about Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lion of Mortimer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Rose, White Rose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Champion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady Carey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wedding Shroud Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Son of York: A novel of Richard III Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Royal Griffin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Medieval Fiction For You
The Lady of the Loch: A page-turning, unforgettable timeslip novel from Elena Collins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Agincourt 1415: Field of Blood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Falling for the Highlander: Highland Brides Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Iron King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Wife of Bath: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road to Jerusalem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lawless Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady's Gamble Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dance Tree: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Between Two Fires: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Queen Hereafter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Highlander Takes a Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last True Templar: Tales of the Lawless Land, Book 2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learwife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Horse Goddess Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lion of Ireland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eleven Minutes: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daughter of Time: Prequel to the After Cilmeri Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harlequin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lily and the Lion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Berserker: An action-packed Viking adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dreamland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Night in Hartswood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Night to Surrender Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sorcerer and the Assassin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Alewives: A plague-era tale of murder, friendship, and fine ale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secrets of Saffron Hall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Steel Beneath the Silk
18 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I think I started reading this trilogy ages ago and I'm satisfied by the conclusion, although I do wish the author had decided to continue Emma's story. In this volume, England is conquered by Cnut and Emma struggles to find a way for her family and her self to obtain safety. The ups and downs of the Anglo-Saxon royalty and plenty of exchanges of thrones dominate this novel, leaving me impressed with how well the author manages to make a thousand-year-old story fresh, relevant, and compelling. In the future, I hope to find more books, fiction and nonfiction, about Emma of Normandy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the third book in the author's trilogy covering the colourful and dramatic life of Emma of Normandy, the only woman in English or British history to be Queen to two different Kings of the country, and a powerful and influential figure in her own right. The events of this novel cover the years 1012-17 when King Ethelred (the Unready)'s England is increasingly threatened by Danish invaders led by their king Sweyn (Forkbeard) and his son Cnut (Canute). Ethelred's weakness and stubborn mistrust of his several sons undermines the country's defence. Treachery and bloodshed abound and Sweyn's forces capture most of the country and he is recognised by many as king before his sudden death, whereupon Ethelred recaptures his country. Eventually the Danes, now led by Canute, win through, and after Ethelred dies, his surviving son Edmund finally has to agree to share the country with Canute. But Edmund too shortly dies of wounds in battle and Canute wins the day. Emma, desperately wanting to prevent further bloodshed, marries Canute, while her sons by Ethelred (including the future King Edward the Confessor) go into exile in Normandy. The themes from the previous novels continue here, Ethelred's being haunted by the ghost of his murdered elder brother King Edward (the Martyr), and Emma's romantic attraction to her stepson, Athelstan. The novel ends as Canute and Emma are crowned in early 1017 and there is relative peace in England. The author's note states that she has decided not to pursue the story through the remaining dramatic 35 years of her life and politicking.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is not my first time reading the tale of the formidable Queen Emma of Normandy and given the story she has left to history I somehow suspect it might not be the last. I did not read the first two books in this series but I discovered that I do have the first one on my bookshelf. I have read about this fascinating woman in other books and was thrilled to again visit with her.England in the 10th and 11th centuries is dealing with raids from the Danes who want to lay claim to England. It’s a time of almost constant war. King Æthelred, married to Emma of Normandy to strengthen his alliance with William of Normandy is hoping for help from that quarter but William has his own designs on England. He sees Emma as a way in – little does he know that his sister is not a wilting flower.As Emma navigates court, her aging husband, almost constant war, a brother who is reluctant to send aid, along with an overwhelming fear for her children she finds a strength she didn’t know she had. She is the Queen of England and her people need her.The Steel Beneath the Silk is a well researched, well written novel that brings Emma’s world to vivid life. It’s the last book in the series but one wishes there were more as Emma’s story does not end with Æthelred’s death. In some ways it only just begins. It’s a real page turner of a novel about a woman who refused to be lost to history and who left her mark in a time when women were considered chattel and only good for the sons they could give to their husbands.