I've read all three of Ms. Bracewell's series of books on Emma of Normandy and each on has been an inspiration. To me Emma is more of a queen than many other famous queens I have read of. The battles upon battles alone throughout the years going back and forth between England and the Danes and her part as peaceweaver Norman Queen during all of them is simply breathtaking. First she is sent to Englalnd from Normandy as a child bride to an obstreperous, unwielding, and stubborn king Athelred who spend no time listening to her advice at all for years.. Then he finally dies, and she makes peace and marries her son who is soon killed in a balltle by treachery through one of his own Englishman. And then finally England is divided under Kind Cnut, the Danish king, with part of the land remaining English and the other Danish but peace for a time is finally established. Oh by the way Queen Emma marries King Cnut and the future of the English and Danes is reconciled. A lot of work was put into the research of this novel and I sincerely thank Net Galley, Ms Bracewell and Bellastoria Press for giving me the pleasure of reading this fantastic novel.

Patricia Bracewell - The Steel Beneath the Silk [English]

The final installment of the series about Queen Emma deals with the last few years of King Æthelred´s reign. The Danish king Swein Forkbeard and his son Cnut still haven´t given up on invading England; they are supported by Cnut´s English concubine Elgiva who has hated Æthelred ever since he had members of her closest family killed. The ageing and ailing king doesn´t find the energy to fight against the Danes which leads to conflict with his grown-up sons from his first marriage who don´t want to be robbed of their heritage by Danish invaders. Queen Emma meanwhile doesn´t only fear the Vikings, she also fears for the lives of her young sons Edward and Alfred, who might be in danger of being harmed by their elder half-brothers as well…

Ideally this novel should be read following the first and second volumes, because otherwise it might be difficult to understand the current developments concerning the English-Danish relations. Fortunately, the novel is preceded by a list of acting characters (Dramatis Personae) and a glossary which facilitates keeping track of the unfamiliar Anglo-Saxon names.
As in the preceding novels the author occasionally uses citations from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, informing the reader about the most important events in the forthcoming chapters.
The characters in “The Steel Beneath the Silk” are historical figures, but of course parts of their personalities are fictionally embellished. Most of the characters are well differentiated, this holds true especially for Cnut, others are painted in a very unfavourable light like the weak and craven Æthelred and the malicious Elgiva. Eadric, one of the king´s sons in law, is the arch villain: lying, treacherous, without any sense of loyalty, he serves those he can profit from most.
Due to these intrigues and power struggles the plot is full of suspense.
“The Steel Beneath the Silk” is a highly readable conclusion to a trilogy allowing interesting insights into the Anglo-Saxon era.