The Price of Blood

Patricia Bracewell's second novel about Queen Emma of Normandy is out February 5th ... and the Anglo-Saxon Monk is delighted. 

You may remember,
blessed readers, that last year I interviewed Patricia Bracewell about the first book in her Queen Emma trilogy, Shadow on the Crown. It was a riveting read – brought me through a cold of Anglo-Saxon epic proportions, in fact.  No mean feat.

Her great story-telling brought life to a figure for whom there is only sparse historical documentation, and, I would say, also challenged the way we imagine the history of women of the late Anglo-Saxon period.

Well, beloved, I'm glad to say that Patricia sent me an advance copy of The Price of Blood (monkish privileges, you know), and, as with the first novel, it in no way 
disappointed.  Fabulous read, in fact.  I'm hoping very much that she gets her quill busy on the vellum so that I can read the final instalment.

The book is out from tomorrow (February 5th) in hardback and paperback in the USA, and also in various electronic formats.  (Lord knows what Kindle, MP3 Audio and i-Book mean!  Whatever next?)  Readers from Mercia, Wessex, Northumberland and the Danelaw, wishing to avail themselves of the more solid form, and via their local merchants, will have to wait until 
summer.  Alas.   

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