"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."--"Publishers Weekly
" Emma, one of England's most remarkable queens, made her
mark on a nation beset by Viking raiders at the end of the Dark
Ages. At the center of a triangle of Anglo Saxons, Vikings, and
Normans all jostling for control of England, Emma was a political
pawn who became an unscrupulous manipulator. Regarded by her
contemporaries as a generous Christian patron, an admired regent,
and a Machiavellian mother, Emma was, above all, a survivor: hers
was a life marked by dramatic reversals of fortune, all of which
she overcame.
'Harriet O'Brien recreates this intriguing and complex world with skill and imagination' David Horspool, Daily Telegraph 'O'Brien's story is a dramatic one, and her Queen Emma a commanding, shrewd and manipulative figure ... genuinely powerful' Guardian 'The story of a determined, manipulative and forceful woman ... the account of her life reveals England as a rich nation with strong Christian tradition' History Today 'This is a lean and muscular narrative, often elegantly so ... She gives a potent reminder of how pivotal a role women could play even in such an ostensibly macho society - and of how contingent an entity England really is' Helen Castor, Guardian
