Queen Emma and the Vikings: Power, Love, and Greed in 11th Century England (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Imagine a flotilla of longships, brilliantly painted and splendidly gilded..." (more)
Key Phrases: chronicles record, dowager queen, Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Harold Harefoot, Swein Forkbeard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While much remains unknown about Queen Emma as an individual, her story offers a fascinating entrance into the tumultuous world of late Anglo-Saxon England. Daughter of the duke of Normandy, descended just a few generations from Viking invaders, Emma (985–1062) was the wife of two kings (the English Aethelred and, later, his Danish Viking successor, Cnut), the mother of two kings and great-aunt of the Norman William the Conqueror. Despite her secondary status as a woman, Emma can be seen as a key factor in this momentous transitional period, serving as a source of stability and continuity in uncertain times. London-based journalist O'Brien provides a lively account of the harsh realities of war and politics in this era, the vagaries of political marriage and the thin line between invaders and settlers. She examines without condescension the competing values of Christian and pagan custom. Unnecessary excursions into the present tense—mostly at the beginning of chapters—mar the tone of the narrative, which is otherwise nicely ironic about its self-serving and conflicting sources. These sources cannot definitively reveal whether Emma made her choices as a wife, mother and political actor out of calculation or necessity, but she was a woman who clearly took what fortune offered and built the best life she could from it. (Aug.)
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Review

A Book Sense Pick in hardcover

“Harriet O’Brien recreates this intriguing and complex world with skill and imagination.”—Telegraph

“Harriet O’Brien’s story is a dramatic one, and her Queen Emma a commanding, shrewd and manipulative figure.”—Guardian

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (July 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582345961
• ISBN-13: 978-1582345963
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #813,671 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars England before 1066, September 30, 2005

By	Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Many people these days believe that the history of England began in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. This book shows that there was a thriving society on that island for years before that event. Rather than see that time as a Dark Age, this book retells the history of a land and a culture that was subsumed after the Conquest. We get the stories of the Anglo-Saxon rulers, the Danish rulers, and the intermarriage with the Norman aristocracy that eventually led to Hastings. Queen Emma successfully bridged the gaps among those three disparate societies, and was the wife of two kings of England, and the mother of two onthers, not to mention the great aunt of Wiliam the Conqueror. It's an exciting story, one that often reads like fiction, but it is all true. Love, greed, murder, betrayal, and all of the other virtues and vices we know so well are present in this tale, and it is well worth reading!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, September 16, 2005

By	Z.A. (USA) - See all my reviews

This book is very well-written and well-researched. Plus, O'Brien writes in a reader-friendly way, so that even people new to the subject can "get it." She is very insightful in her assumptions about Queen Emma, adding just enough imagination with passages containing references to authentic texts. Her understanding of Kings Aethelred and Cnut are superb. This is a book well worth your while!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY INTERESTING. IT MEET MY NEEDS. , June 5, 2007

By	D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Queen Emma: A History of Power, Love, and Greed in 11th-Century England (Paperback)

There are a couple of facts we need to remember when reading this particular book. First, and this is important, it, the book, is not a Doctorial Thesis and it is not written as such. This is a popular historical work, meant to inform, but at the same time, to entertain. Secondly, I too, like a couple of other reviewers, was a bit disappointed that more was not written about the main character, Emma, her personal life, etc. This leads to the second fact we must remember. Source documents from this era, in particular personal histories, are very, very hard to come by. Most documents from this time have simply disappeared, have been destroyed, or are lost in some historical black hole. This being said and this being remembered, as the book is being read, might help.

The author has given us a fascinating look into the life and politics during the latter part of the first century. A very troubled time for England, and indeed, most of Europe. True, she, the author, does not go into the depth of her subject as many of us would like, but as I have stated, the author had very few source documents of refer to. This work is done in the "popular mode," and is quite readable. The author has taken great pains to let us know when she is stating documented facts and when she drifts into the realm of speculation. This is important to understand what the author is trying to do. I found the author's style far from dry, considering the subject matter. Queen Emma was indeed a complex and fascinating woman and the author has gone to great lengths to bring this across.

This is one of those book I like to call a "tickler," or "seed book." It gives information to those who are interested in a subject, but not fanatical about it. My primary interest is in New World History, but I do like to know where we came from. Works such as this give me as much information as I need for my purposes. Granted, if I were doing a research paper, or was extremely interested in the subject, I would indeed want more. As it stands though, this work gave me a wonder glance into those days and times. Now that I have this information, I find I do have an interest and this work has "tickled" me into checking other works out. This is a good thing. Perhaps one day I could land a nice juicy government grant, travel to England, and check out some of the source documents myself. Would not that be fun!

All in all, I found the work to be very well done, enjoyable to read and quite helpful. I do recommend this one for any individual interested in those days and times and the Queen Emma.