Customer Reviews

Hollow Crown

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've never had any interest in pre-1066 England or history really once the Dark Age sets in. I like some ancient history, before the Dark Age, and I like pretty much everything after the Norman conquest of England. But that space of time in between just seems like this vast era of lawlessness and chaos and no written records and it al seems so...bleak to me. Like how when I was little watching black and white movies made me think the world used to be in black and white. This is how I feel about the era between say 400 AD and 1066 AD. Like it's black and white. Possibly this sentiment comes completely from learning absolutely nothing about this era in school. But regardless, reading this novel was like taking some kind of expedition into the unknown world for me.

And I'm happy to report the realm of Saxon England is no longer the great unknown. "A Hollow Crown" is basically the life story of Emma (who lived in an era when people didn't have last names, only descriptions of jobs or location, or maybe their father's first name in some form) who was married to two kings of England and was the mother of two more. She was also daughter of the Duke of Normandy and great aunt of William the conqueror. She was married to King Aethelred of England when she was 13 years old and was married to him for 18 years, during which there were numerous Viking raids, several attempts to overthrow the King and a great deal of internal strife. Then after Aethelred dies, in order to keep her crown, she marries Cnut, a Viking himself who basically gains the crown by right of conquest and is later thought by the English people to be a saint. They were married for 14 years. Emma was also the mother of King Harthacnut (who I had never heard of before) and King Edward the confessor, who later was canonized.

It's an understatement to say this woman had a remarkable life. She was Queen for over 50 years, the power behind the throne in her sons' reigns and a true ruling partner during Cnut's reign. She was intelligent, brave and ahead of her time in many ways. During the time she was Queen there were 7 different Kings of England, and reading about her I learned a lot.

1. Under Saxon law once you were crowned Queen you were Queen until you died or resigned your title. So Emma was Queen even during the periods of time her first husband was in exile and there was a new King of England, and she was also Queen during her sons' reigns.

2. The horror of the Viking raids. It was just terrible, seasonal devastation that the English could never pull together a large enough (and brave enough) army to fight off. Whole villages were wiped out, people killed, raped, stolen away with their livestock and valuables and what was left was burnt to the ground. This could be avoided if they paid the Vikings to stay away, but that was only a short term solution. The Vikings were so powerful that eventually they became the Kings of England (which stopped the raiding.)

So, like I said, I learned a lot but I have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts that were very good, and parts that dragged on. The chapters in this novel are very short-no more than 6 pages-so it felt more than a little disjointed and I felt the characterization of some of the major characters was off. Cnut turned from pillaging-loving Viking to great and noble King so fast t made my head spin. Harthacnut goes from being potential sociopath child who enjoys killing animals and watching people be tortured to a pretty decent guy. That kind of mind set just doesn't go away. Edward is portrayed as almost mentally retarded he's so stupid and his brother Alfred isn't much better (though maybe they were that way-who knows?) Emma loved her children from her marriage to Cnut but by marrying him she could never see the children of her first marriage because they were a threat to Cnut's crown and he would kill them if he saw them (and she seemed to have no problem with that.) in fact her whole attitude about children was just weird and totally non-maternal. Like she wanted to drown Cnut's sons from his first marriage because they threatened her son's right to the throne. Also I never really understood why she wanted to marry Cnut in the first place. The idea in the book was so she could retain her crown, but it never made it really clear why that was so important to her, aside from the fact that she got so seasick that just going back to Normandy would be torture, which doesn't seem like a good enough reason to marry someone you consider a cruel, dangerous Viking.

All in all this is a good book. It just seemed to drag near the end and I really wanted to be done with it, which isn't a feeling I like to have with books. You should want to finish them to know what happens and how it ends, not just want it to be over so you can put it away. But the writing was pretty good and there parts that were edge of your seat action so...

Four stars and I look forward to reading more by the author.

"A wife of two kings and mother of two more" and thus begins the long and complicated tale story of Emma of Normandy, sent at the age of 13 to marry Aethelred of England who earned the well deserved nickname The Unready, and they have two sons Edward (The Confessor) and Alfred. England is constantly being bedeviled by the Danish Vikings, who come once a year to wreak havoc and demand money, and finally due to Aethelred's incompetence the Danish conquer England and Emma and her family flees in exile to Normandy. After Aethelred dies, Emma makes the choice to remain Queen of England and marries the Danish conqueror, Cnut, which turns out to be a much more successful marriage than the first one.

Although I quite enjoyed this tale of a strong Queen who was determined to hold onto her crown at all costs, I have to agree with another reviewer that it does tend to bog down and drag at times, and while this was an entertaining read, it doesn't quite come up to a five star read. I very much appreciated the author's notes at the end where she quotes her sources and points out what is known and what she has surmised, etc. Still, if you are interested in learning more about pre-conquest Saxon England, this is a very good start, along with the sequel, Harold the King which I plan on reading in the near future. Side note, the book info page states the page count at 500+ pages, it is actually 864 pages.

Hollick has written a doorstopper of a book about Emma, twice Queen of England and mother of two more Kings. Since I hadn't known very much about this period in English history, I picked this one up in the hopes that Hollick would make the time come alive. And she did! Emma became a three-dimensional woman with complex layers. Hollick gives us reasonable explanations for Emma's motivations and also does a good job of keeping track of all the confusing characters that dance across the pages. Though this is a very long book, it reads quickly and is fascinating. My biggest quibble, which keeps me from giving the full 5 stars, is that Hollick really needed some major editing toward the end of the book. Way, way too many comma splices and run-on sentences! Hollick has done a good job, however, of telling the tale of a woman with her own rich life whom all of us should know. Recommended.

I loved this book.It gave a lively yet deep insight to a period in history, I only vaguely knew through dry school books. Helen Hollick is a master story teller that gives her characters real , vibrant life. I was sad to reach the end, it was so gripping that I rushed out and bought her Harold the King.This is a sublime and moving account of pre-Conquest England and the charismatic man who should have been our greatest king.

This is a fantastic book. Don't let the length of the book scare you off. It is a fast-paced, well-written book. Emma of Normandy is a character that you totally admire. Hollick did a great job of bringing all of the characters to life--especially King Cnut. Other minor characters were also decidedly interesting: Edmund Ironside, Athelstan, and Estrith, just to name a few!

Emma of Normandy was born around the year 985, and was married to two different kings of England: Aethelred, called the Unready; and Cnut, the Dane who conquered England after Aethelred proved himself to be completely incompetent as a king. Emma greatly despised her first husband, but she was much more compatible with her second. Emma was also the mother of two kings: Harthnacnut and Edward, called the Confessor; and she was the great-aunt of William the Conqueror. Emma was Queen of England by dint of her marriages, but she emerges as an interesting figure in her own right, especially since she managed to remain Queen even while in exile. A Hollow Crown covers the period of her life from 1002-1042, from her wedding to Aethelred up through the death of Harthnacnut.

In addition to her other accomplishments, Emma had a biography written of her--the Encomium Emmae, which conveniently focuses on the reign of her son Hartnacnut and leaves out Emma's first husband--medieval propaganda at its finest! You have to admire a woman who had the audacity to do such a thing. The author portrays Emma's relationship to Cnut as a love match, but there was equally a lot of political maneuvering there as well.

In terms of reading, I'm a bit deficient in historical fiction set pre-Conquest. Although I know a lot about the late medieval period, I don't know much about the earlier stuff, and this novel was an entertaining, engaging way to learn about the 11th century as told from the point of view of one of history's forgotten queens. Emma is a strong, independent woman, but not too modern--I loved the scene where she finally stands up to Aethelred and throws a stool at him! Emma's definitely not a woman I would have wanted to double-cross! I really enjoyed following Emma's character development, from shy bride to a woman who, born Norman, became more English than the English themselves. Helen Hollick is a marvelous writer, bringing the events and people of long ago to life. It's hard to believe that all of this happened nearly a thousand years ago, since the author makes it seem as though the events of this book happened yesterday!

As the author says in her note at the end, "I find it very frustrating that the rich, varied and wonderful culture of England pre 1066 has so casually been swept aside by those who wrote of and recorded the post-1066 kings." It's said that history is written by the victors, and I think that was especially true of the Normans when they invaded England, sweeping aside Saxon history as though it had never happened. The time of the Danish invasions was a brutal one, to be sure, but I think a lot of good came out of that period as well. A Hollow Crown is a prequel to Harold the King, written before this one but of course set afterwards.

I am a big fan of historical fiction based on English history, but was not too familiar with anything predating the Norman Conquest. I first heard about AEfgifu aka Emma of Normandy on a BBC history documentary which described how she had married the fascinatingly-named King AEthelred the Unready, then somehow managed to remain the crowned Queen of England by subsequently marrying the victorious invader, Cnut of Denmark, when he won the throne, giving birth to sons by each king along the way. Not to mention, two of those sons themselves went on to become kings of England. This remarkable woman essentially retained royal power and influence her entire life despite widespread domestic upheaval, continuous foreign invasion, plagues and political murders. Pretty impressive in any age, but particularly so in the Dark Ages when women were little more than chattels. So here's a lady I wanted to learn more about!

Helen Hollick's fictionalized biography of Emma wonderfully fills the bill. I was fascinated from start to finish and could not disagree more with those who feel the narrative began to flag toward the end. I found the short chapter length made moving through this very long work much easier to manage as there were convenient "stopping places" along the way. Beautifully and expressively written, thoroughly researched, briskly paced, colorfully detailed and realistically depicted, I found this superb work of historical biography to be exceptional in every regard.

This ranks right up there with the very best of historical fiction and rivals Hope Muntz' "The Golden Warrior" which is the finest work of this sort about this time period which I have ever had the pleasure to read. Both works rate at the very top of "best of" lists IMO.

This is quite a book..it's a door stopper in terms of size, but you will never notice. It's engrossing, well written and illuminates a tumultuous and little know time in British history. This is the story of Emma of Normandy, married by her slimy brother the Duke of Normandy to Aethelred the English king. Aethelred is weak and ineffectual as well as cruel. He's incompetent at a time when the land was subject to constant danger from the Vikings. Emma, like Eleanor of Aquitaine, was married to two kings and was the mother of two more, but somehow very little was written about her. She is also the aunt of William the Conqueror. Her marriage to Aethered produces two sons and a daughter (the eldest would become Edward the Confessor, who built Westminister Abbey)but eventually the Vikings are successful under the son of Swein Forkbeard, Cnut. (His name is sometimes spelled Canute) Emma ends up marring Cnut, and exiling her sons by Aethelred to Normandy for their safety.

Hollick writes in a compelling style, one that keeps you riveted to the story. She explains at the end the liberties she took with the story, and they are very few. I really like the way she creates a story to explain Emma's motives and actions. She creates multidimensional characters, but never makes them feel modern in any way. She has written a wonderful portrait of a little written about time in history and a wonderful story.

Helen Hollick just continues to amaze me! I'm truly very glad that I discovered this so very talented and exceptional writer and lady! Again, I have to "steal" words written by Helen's fellow author and friend, Sharon Kay Penman: "Compelling, Convincing, and Unforgettable"! I can't say it any better! Helen has taken a long neglected time in English history and turned it into a story that takes the reader's breath away and is impossible to put down! Emma of Normandy was the wife of two kings (Aethelred II "the Unready" and the Great Cnut, King of England and Denmark) and the mother of two more (Harthacnut, son of Emma and Cnut and Edward "the Confessor", son of Emma and Aethelred). In so many ways, Helen Hollick's description of Emma, a very strong woman, reminds me of Eleanor of Acquitaine. Emma was indeed ahead of her time in that respect. Suffering for years through a forced bad marriage to a very poor king (Aethelred), Emma persevered. Upon Aethelred's death, Emma provided the leadership, along with support from Earl Godwine of Wessex which kept England afloat until her marriage to Cnut. The story of Emma and Cnut is a very compelling story of both love and at the same time frequent clashes of wills since both people were very strong-willed, stubborn, and outspoken. Yet they were, as described by Helen, a very admirable couple who complimented each the other.
I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy Historical Fiction at its best and at the same time wish to learn more about how life in England must have been prior to the conquest. This is NOT a "fairy tale" type story-book with damsels in distress and romantic descriptions of knights in shining armor and chivalry. Helen Hollick's books paint very realistic portraits of how life TRULY must have been in those times. Bloody battles, treachery, murder, intrigue all are a part of human nature and especially kingship during both the "dark" and "middle" ages. Helen, thank you! I'm so very glad that I "discovered" your marvelous works!

Hollow Crown sounded like an informative novel of early England. It is a long book and drags out a bit. I finally gave up on reading it, a disappointment to me because I love English history.