The Price of Blood

Dramatis Personae

*Indicates a Fictional Character

Royal Family

Æthelred II, King of England

Emma, Queen of England

Children of the English king, in birth order:

Athelstan

Ecbert

Edmund

Edrid

Edwig

Edgar

Edyth

Ælfgifu (Ælfa)

Wulfhilde (Wulfa)

Mathilda

Edward

Emma s Household

Aldyth, niece of Ealdorman Ælfhelm

Elgiva, daughter of Ealdorman Ælfhelm

*Father Martin

*Hilde, granddaughter of Ealdorman Ælfric

*Margot

Wymarc

Robert, Wymarc s son

Leading Ecclesiastics

Ælfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury

Ælfhun, Bishop of London

Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, Archbishop of Jorvik

Leading Nobles

Ælfhelm, Ealdorman of Northumbria

Ufegeat, his son

Wulfheah, his son (Wulf)

*Alric, his retainer

Ælfric, Ealdorman of Hampshire

Godwine, Ealdorman of Lindsey

Leofwine, Ealdorman of Western Mercia

Eadric of Shrewsbury

Godwin, Wulfnoth s son

Morcar of the Five Boroughs

Siferth of the Five Boroughs

Thurbrand of Holderness

Ulfkytel of East Anglia

Uhtred of Northumberland

Wulfnoth of Sussex

Duke Richard II, Emma s brother

Duchess Judith

Dowager Duchess Gunnora, Emma s mother

Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Emma s brother

Swein Forkbeard, King of Denmark

Harald, his son

Cnut, his son

Hemming

Thorkell

Tostig





Glossary

Ætheling: literally, throne-worthy. All of the legitimate sons of the Anglo-Saxon kings were referred to as æthelings.

Ague: any sickness with a high fever

Breecs: Anglo-Saxon term for trousers

Burh: an

Patricia Bracewell grew up in California, where she taught literature and composition before embarking upon her writing career. She holds an MA in English Literature, and her historical research has taken her to Britain, France, and Denmark. She lives with her husband in Oakland, California.

Praise for The Price of Blood

The female characters in particular are as flesh and blood and they are a joy to read. Highly recommended Historical Novel Review

Historical fiction fans looking for a new noble heroine will embrace this excellent saga.   Library Journal

Set approximately one century later than Bernard Cornwell s popular Saxon Tales, Emma s intriguing and historically authentic saga will appeal to a similar audience.   Booklist 

In a splendid fusion of historical research and imagination, Patricia Bracewell's The Price of Blood thrusts us back a thousand years to the era of Emma of Normandy.  As Bracewell writes into the gaps of history, the sense of visceral tension never flags as she culls rare drama from the rivalries of court and record of brutal acts, while never failing to illuminate the private fears, affections, and struggles of her characters.  An extraordinary saga.   Adrienne McDonnell, author of The Doctor and the Diva

With skill and breathtaking research, Patricia Bracewell has given vibrant life to a fascinating but forgotten queen and to her role in a harsh, obscure time in the Middle Ages. Anne Easter Smith, author of A Rose for the Crown and Queen By Right

The stakes are unbearably high in the meticulously researched, fast-paced The Price of Blood, with Queen Emma of Normandy  struggling to survive in a royal court hurtling toward disaster. Torn between duty to her disdainful husband and a forbidden love, Emma fascinates: intelligent, proud and bold--and fiercely protective of those she cares for. This is a queen like no other. Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Crown

A deep and stirring novel, elegant in detail and convincing in execution. Cecelia Holland, author of The Secret Eleanor

In The Price of Blood, Patricia Bracewell proves once more that she is an alchemist. She turns the leaden chronicle accounts of Emma and Aethelred s embattled kingdom into a narrative