Emma was one of England's most remarkable queens: a formidable woman who made her mark on a Europe beset by Vikings. By birth a Norman, she married and outlived two kings of England and witnessed the coronations of two of her sons: Harthcnut the Viking and Edward the Confessor. She became an unscrupulous political player and was diversely regarded as a generous Christian patron, the admired co-regent of the nation, and a ruthlessly Machiavellian mother. She was, above all, a survivor: her life was punctuated by dramatic falls, all of which she overcame. Her story is one of power, politics, love, greed and scandal in an England caught between the Dark Ages and the Norman invasion of 1066.

About the Author

Harriet O'Brien is a writer and editor working in London for a range of newspapers and magazines including The Independent and Conde Nast Traveller. Her first book, Forgotton Land - a Rediscovery of Burma won the Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award in 1991.

Prizes

Fantastic narrative history for fans of Arabella Weir

Reviews

'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