An interview with Patricia Bracewell

I plucked ‘the price of blood’ from a chilling reference to King Æthelred written by 12th century chronicler William of Malmesbury in his History of the English Kings: He was hounded by the shade of his brother, demanding terribly the price of blood. The chronicler goes on to describe the relentless Viking attacks on England, and Æthelred’s fruitless efforts to resist, all due to the unpunished murder of Æthelred’s brother. This is a good summary of what happens in my book. So I have William of

Malmesbury to thank, not just for the title of my novel, but also for the ghost that continues to haunt the king.

 

 

There were two things about Emma that intrigued me. First, her marriages to two different kings of

England who were mortal enemies. How, I asked myself, did a woman negotiate those relationships?

The physical and emotional impact of her marriages must have been huge and, certainly from a

novelist’s point of view, well worth exploring. The second thing that intrigued me about Emma was

that in mid-life she commissioned a book that recorded key historical events as she remembered

them. That this was done by a woman in the 11th century struck me as pretty remarkable, and it’s an

indication of just how politically savvy Emma was.

 

 

Researching Emma’s life during the years 1006 to 1012, the years covered by this book, was next

to impossible because there is almost no record of her at all. Her name appears on a few charters,

indicating that she was at court beside the king on those occasions. One charter in 1012 is a grant of

land from the king to Emma, and so historians conjecture that she gave birth to a son at about that

time. But where was she the rest of the time and what was she doing? Because there was no other

direct reference to Emma, all I could do was bury myself in the history of those years and make some

conjectures of my own based on what I was able to learn about a queen’s duties and Emma’s later

career.

 

 

Sometimes there was what I think of as ‘boots on the ground’ research. For example, I made a trip

to the Viking Ship Museum at Roskilde, Denmark where I saw the ancient bones of Viking ships;

modern, full scale recreations; and tiny models of Viking fleets. That visit answered a number of

questions for me including, when I saw models with tents rigged up mid-ship, where a queen might

shelter during a voyage. There was also painstaking research into chronicles and historical minutiae.

 

For example, an 1134 inventory of the treasures of Ely abbey listed precious textiles donated by

Queen Emma including a blood-red altar cloth. So in my novel, when Edward went to Ely for

schooling, Emma sent a red altar cloth with him. It’s a minor detail and probably no reader will

mark it, but I know that the altar cloth was real. Frequently the vagueness of historical records

forced me to invent. For instance, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle claimed that the Danes attacked

London several times in 1009, and that the Londoners always repelled them. But there was no

description of what, exactly, happened when the Danes attacked. I had to make it up based on my

imagination and what I could learn of the military tactics of the time. More research!

 

 

I’m a big fan of Vikings. I had great fun blogging about the second season and I’m looking forward

to the next one. My interest in the show was strong right from the start, but I liked it even more

when the Anglo-Saxon King Ecbert came on the scene in Season Two. I’m impressed with the

way writer Michael Hirst contrasts the Christian Anglo-Saxon world with the pagan Viking

world. I think the show’s appeal lies in its strong characters, both male and female. It doesn’t hurt

that along with the bloody action and adventure there’s a fine script, top notch actors, and some

incredible sets and costuming.

 

 

The obstacles they face are inherent in the history and in the society in which they find

themselves, so yes, the similarities are intentional. One of the central themes in the novel is how

women of that time attained and wielded power. Whether you were a queen or a commoner, your

access to power was through a man – a husband, a brother, a father, a son, a powerful ally. Both

Emma and Elgiva have to forge alliances in order to tap into the lines of power.

 

 

I think today’s readers can relate to many of the themes that run through the book: marriage,

family bonds, loyalty, honesty. The book also explores the use and abuse of power, and that is

something that echoes through every age right down to the present day. In particular, the value of

information – who has it? Who controls it? – will, I suspect, strike a familiar chord.

 

 

When I’m not writing I’m frequently researching the next book or up to my ears in social media. I like to connect with readers. But I also make time for tennis, the gym, the theater, travel, or just taking walks through my neighborhood.