A Hollow Crown [Paperback]

Eventually England is invaded by the Viking King Swein Forkbeard and his son Cnut. Aethelred loses the eventual battle with both father and son. Aethelred was called the Unready for being an exceptionally inefficient king (and husband).

This book paints an exceptional portrait of Emma, who is a very complex woman and ruler throughout the years. She withstands amazing hardships in her personal and professional life. Many people have thought her a hard uncaring mother to King Edward, however, the reasons behind the hardness of her actions and emotions are revealed in this enormous volume of 864 pgs. I felt as though I knew her inside and out after reading this book! It was an extremely excellent read and I, for one, am very sorry it had to end this soon! Read this title, it is well worth the time as this book is a virtual page turner! Once you begin reading this novel you won't want to stop until you absolutely have to! I'm eagerly looking forward to the next prequel or sequel in this series! Bravo Helen Hollick! Keep up the great work!

Every fan of medieval history fiction and of Anglo-Saxon England should read this book.

Tal K.

So who is this Queen Emma:
Emma was the daughter of Richard I Duke of Normandy and sister of Duke Richard II. In 1002 she became King Aethelred's second but first Christian wife. This marriage created the dynastic link between England and Normandy which, in the end led to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. She had two sons by Aethelred: Alfred the younger son was murdered in 1036 while on a visit to his mother in England, and Edward ("the Confessor") was king of England from 1042 to 1066. Her second marriage, to Cnut, the King of Denmark who claimed the throne of England, was politically advantageous to both parties:
it prevented the Norman court from intervening in England on behalf of Alfred and Edward, and it protected Emma's sons from murder by Cnut. Harthacnut, Emma and Cnut's son, was king of Denmark and of England (1040-42). Following Cnut's death in 1035, Emma supported Harthacnut against his half-brother Harold "Harefoot". In 1037 she was forced into exile by Harold, only to return with Harold's death in 1040. Emma seems to have become estranged from her son Edward and in the year following his accession to the throne: He confiscated her lands and property. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggest that Emma's crime was to have kept her wealth from Edward, but it is also believed that Emma supported Magnus of Norway's claim to the English crown. Emma died in 1052.

"A Hallow Crown" covers Emma's life from her arrival in England till the accession of Edward the Confessor. The rest of her life the interested reader will have to read about in the author's previous book "Haraold, the King". This is not the most fortunate solutions as I would have preferred to read about the life of Queen Emma in one go.

Helen Hollick sheds light into this "dark age" of English history. Step by step she develops the character of this Saxon Queen whose life was a huge struggle - on a personal and political level. It seems that was influx - Christianity has not fully conquered the life of the English. Her husband's first wife was not joined with the king in a Christian sense. Nevertheless their off-springs had a claim to the crown. She herself was the king's Christian wife and crowned queen. Her crowning became of up-most importance to herself and the country as the kings died and had doubtful claims to their crowns she remained the only undisputed legitimacy source of legitimacy. Emma grows stronger and stronger through the years, a female force in a male world: strong, but still very much dependent on the males.

As with the life of Emma the book (more than 800 pages!) grows stronger as one gets on. The first 100 pages I have to admit I found a hard struggle and I was nearly giving up on the whole book. But I am glad I did not. Step by step it becomes more interesting and gripping. The end is a bit odd. While the book sometimes explores details in epic length, the end is rather sudden and as said before not satisfying as it does not end with Emma's death.

All in all a good book, but with certain flaws, but still 4 stars.