Breath of Kings

by Gene Farrington

Book Overview

This is the story of Emma, of the Ducal House of Normandy, the wife of two kings, the mother of two kings, who spent her life struggling to exert power and control over the English throne, much of it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 149372911X
• ISBN13: 9781493729111
• Release Date: December 2013
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 660 Pages
• Weight: 1.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The lesser known story

Wow - this was a good book. I have read extensively on the Battle of Hastings, King Harold II, Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. The part of the story leading up to those memorable figures, was what I lacked. Farrington has told that tale through primarily the eyes of Emma of Normandy, but also Earl Godwin, King Cnute, Edward and his siblings as children, and the rest of those who lived in the years just prior to the historical turning point of 1066. Farrington was thorough yet the book flowed and I never felt that he was "stretching" the story to fill pages. The characters were all very well developed and I found his interpretations of them similar to other tidbits of info I had seen yet at the same time unique in his descriptions. Emma begins the story as a rather sad, misunderstood woman in an incredibly unhappy marriage to Ethelred. She moves through the years as a powerful, intellegent woman at a time when women were to be subservient. Her power lies in her beauty, her family connections to Normandy and her ability to bear children - heirs to first Ethelred and then to Cnute. Through this one outlet of "power" however, she is seen by her contemporaries as a meddling, manipulative whore. She despises her children by Ethelred which thus shapes their personalities and their future relationships with the mother who never loves and then abandons them. Godwin appears as the supporter of King Cnute's claim following Ethelred's death and his character develops as the "man behind the throne" ambitious and cunning, yet keenly aware of his place in society. He marries well and fathers a large family including Edith (wife of Edward the Confessor) and Harold (future king), yet most of his time is spent trying to secure the empire into a peaceful reign. Edith has a part in the story as she grows up to become Edward's wife and is torn between her devotion to God, husband and father. However, when it comes to the actual turn of power from the supposedly promised heir William of Normandy to Harold - little is said. The story develops and occurs and then the better known history simply takes over as this book ends. I was a little unhappy with the character of Edward. He is described as an albino who loves his mother unconditionally despite her blatant hatred of him and her many attempts to have him killed. Where I found the story spinning off into a bit too much fantasy was the addition of Edward's ability to heal the sick and crippled. It makes the reader see Edward as a truly saintly figure who was simply misunderstood though loved and adored by those who had witnessed his miracle working. I rather believe that Edward was truly a very confused person having suffered a lifetime of psychological damage from his mother, the death of his brother, and society's reaction to his albinoism. He likely turned to God as a solice and became very pious as a result - not born with some mystical ability to heal and seizurs that allowed hi

The challenge

I have always felt that the middle ages have glossed over and romanced to much through fairy tales and such. But this book breaks that sterotype and shows the brutality and gruesomeness of what life might have been like back then. Everything about the book was facinating and real. The characters complex and alive, the culture harsh and tramatic, the plots were facinating and deep. It's also impossible to put down. I made a challenge to a friend of mine, who happens to hate reading. I said, "read the first chapter of this book, and then get rid of it forever." After reading just the first chapter, my friend decided he must read the entire thing, and he did. This is a long book, if just one chapter conviced a non- reader to read a 700+ page novel, it is amazing. I extend this challenge to anyone else out there, read just the first chapter, and see if you can put it down. If Mr. farrington ever writes anything else, I will be sure to read it asap.

Different

This novel took a different approach with the whole Danish Conquest of England. The characters were not stereotypical, but they were outlandish. Farrington shed light on characters like Ulf and Estrith, who are usually treated marginally. The most fascinating characters, of course, were Cnut, Emma, and Godwin.

Well-written!

This was certainly a hard book to find! If you can get a copy, it will be well worth your while. I really enjoyed the characterization of Cnut the Great, as well as that of Earl Godwin, Queen Emma, Lady Estrid, Lady Gytha and the rest. This novel is about 11th century England. It gives a lot of details without ever getting boring. Do try to find it! If you like this time period, also try to find "The Hollow Crown" by Helen Hollick, "Gildenford" by Valerie Anand, "Lord of Sunset" by Godwin Parke, and "The Golden Warrior" by Hope Muntz.

A great read!

This novel, which I'm sad to find is out of print, has caused me to become intrigued by England's Dark Age. The novel is quite well researched historically (according to many google searches I did to verify that fact) and is very humorous at the most unexpected times within the story of the clashes for power between the Danes and the Normans, then later the Normans and the Saxons, in England.The characters are fleshed out and not stereotypical at all. The women characters in this book, in particular, are complex and interesting. Mr. Farrington makes neither devils nor angels of these characters, but shows them as real people in how they chose to live their lives--just as you think one character is the devil incarnate, Mr. Farrington brings out a side to them that is sympathetic and touching. Yet, later in the story, they are the very devil again. A must read for all English history buffs, if it can be found.