I really enjoyed Shadow on the Crown, the first in the Emma of Normandy trilogy, so when I was offered a review copy of The Steel Beneath the Silk, I jumped at it. I even reread Shadow on the Crown to make sure everything was fresh in my head (it didn’t hurt that the British History Podcast is covering about this era) and it all paid off.

The Steel Beneath the Silk covers the last few years of King Æthelred the Unready and the transition from Æthelred to Edmund Ironside (for a very short time), and then to Cnut the great. Since this series is about Emma of Normandy, the book focuses on what she’s doing and how she’ reacting to all these events. If you want details on what’s going on, Emma’s Wikipedia page (and those of her husbands) can give you an overview.

The key difference between this book and Shadow on the Crown is that in the first book, Emma is still finding her footing in the English court. By the time The Steel Beneath the Silk starts, Emma has come into her own as a queen and she has managed to cultivate her own allies. She is truly a queen by this point and she acts like one.

Honestly, I loved this book so much. All the characters here are well-written and I find that I don’t have that many characters I hate even though everyone’s at war with everyone. The only one I dislike is Elgiva, who remains as power-hungry as she was in the first book, but I do appreciate her as a counterpoint to Emma’s character. The other characters who dislike Emma, such as Edmund and Æthelred, I could still somewhat sympathise with even if I disagreed with them.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was the character development of Cnut. He starts off as the villain, since it’s him and his father who’s invading England, but we gradually start seeing him as a pretty principled person. I don’t quite want to give spoilers but there was one relationship in the first book that had to end badly (because of what happens with Cnut – you could read Wikipedia/a summary of Emma’s life for the spoiler) and I thought Bracewell handled that transition seamlessly. Cnut gets rehabilitated pretty well in the reader’s eyes and I ended up really satisfied with the ending.

Now, one small confession: I mentioned this was a trilogy in my first review, but I forgot about the second book so I pretty much read the first book and then this. I have to admit, it felt pretty seamless but given how immersive and addictive these two books are, I’m definitely going to have to go back and read book two.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning the author’s note. If you’re interested in the history behind the books, you’ll definitely appreciate the discussion on why certain characters were written a certain way and when certain authorial decisions were made.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction or you just like really immersive books with well rounded characters, you definitely have to read the Emma of Normandy trilogy. I’m still learning about British history, but even without knowing much, I enjoyed these books so much and would definitely recommend them.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher but all opinions in this review are my own.