The Steel Beneath the Silk
A Novel (Emma of Normandy, Book 3)
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Narrated by:
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Rachel Atkins
About this listen
The breathtaking conclusion to Bracewell’s Emma of Normandy Trilogy (Shadow on the Crown, The Price of Blood, The Steel Beneath the Silk), brimming with treachery, heartache, tenderness, and passion as the English queen confronts ambitious and traitorous councilors, invading armies, and the Danish king’s power-hungry concubine.
In the year 1012 England’s Norman-born Queen Emma has been 10 years wed to an aging, ruthless, haunted King Æthelred. The marriage is a bitterly unhappy one, between a queen who seeks to create her own sphere of influence within the court and a suspicious king who eyes her efforts with hostility and resentment. But royal discord shifts to grudging alliance when Cnut of Denmark, with the secret collusion of his English concubine Elgiva, invades England at the head of a massive viking army. Amid the chaos of war, Emma must outwit a fierce enemy whose goal is conquest and outmaneuver the cunning Elgiva, who threatens all those whom Emma loves.
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Celtic Britain is on the brink of collapse, and the kingdom's bloodiest days are upon it. For many years, the people of Briton have enjoyed peace and prosperity under the reign of King Arthur. He has ruled with dignity, honor, and humility. Arthur is now weakening with age, however, and the seeds of discontent are being sown. Seeking to cleanse the land of Christian belief, dissenters need a symbol with which to legitimize their pagan claim and gather malcontents together into a cohesive weapon.
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Worth your time.
- By Helen on 07-01-22
By: M. K. Hume
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Queen of the North
- By: Anne O'Brien
- Narrated by: Beth Eyre
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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1399: England’s crown is under threat. King Richard II holds on to his power by an ever-weakening thread, with exiled Henry of Lancaster back to reclaim his place on the throne. For Elizabeth Mortimer, there is only one rightful King - her eight-year-old nephew, Edmund. Only he can guarantee her fortunes and protect her family’s rule over the precious northern lands bordering Scotland.
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This book deserves a limited tv series!
- By Anonymous User on 11-19-18
By: Anne O'Brien
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The Tudor Crown
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass, Oliver J. Hembrough
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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When Edward of York takes back the English crown, the Wars of the Roses scatter the Lancastrian nobility, and young Henry Tudor, with a strong claim to the throne, is forced into exile. Recently widowed and vulnerable, his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, forges an uncomfortable alliance with Edward’s Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Swearing an oath of allegiance to York, Margaret agrees to marry the King’s shrewdest courtier, Lord Stanley. But can she tread the precarious line between duty to her husband, loyalty to her son, and her obligation to God and the King?
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Another excellent book by Ms. Hickson
- By C. Abbott on 09-26-18
By: Joanna Hickson
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Wars of the Roses
- Stormbird
- By: Conn Iggulden
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1437, the Lancaster king Henry VI ascends the throne of England after years of semi-peaceful regency. Named "The Lamb," Henry is famed more for his gentle and pious nature than his father's famous battlefield exploits; already, his dependence on his closest men has stirred whispers of weakness at court. A secret truce negotiated with France to trade British territories for a royal bride - Margaret of Anjou - sparks revolts across English territory.
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100% Fiction and 0% Real History
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 04-25-18
By: Conn Iggulden
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Come the Morning
- Graham Clan, Book 1
- By: Heather Graham
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In the days when Scotland lay under siege - from the Vikings who sailed from the north and the Norman English who came from the south - King David sought to unite his people into one nation. For this, he needed loyal warriors. Waryk de Graham soon proved the greatest of these fighters, and was knighted Lord Lion. But his honored position came with a price: a wife chosen for him by the king - a reluctant Viking bride.
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Unique, Funny and Exciting!
- By Lady M on 02-19-15
By: Heather Graham
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First of the Tudors
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Tom Clegg, Non Haf
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Jasper Tudor, son of Queen Catherine and her second husband, Owen Tudor, has grown up far from the intrigue of the royal court. But after he and his brother Edmund are summoned to London, their half brother, King Henry VI, takes a keen interest in their future. Bestowing earldoms on them both, Henry also gives them the wardship of the young heiress Margaret Beaufort. Although she is still a child, Jasper becomes devoted to her and is devastated when Henry arranges her betrothal to Edmund.
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War of the Roses, Again
- By Laurel on 03-27-17
By: Joanna Hickson
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A Rose in the Storm
- By: Brenda Joyce
- Narrated by: Rosalind Ashford
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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With warfare blazing through Scotland, the fate of the Comyn-MacDougall legacy depends on one woman. Recently orphaned, young Margaret Comyn must secure her clan's safety through an arranged marriage. But when an enemy invasion puts her at the mercy of the notorious Wolf of Lochaber, her every loyalty - and secret want - will be challenged.
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Far Exceeded My Expectations
- By Lady M on 07-31-13
By: Brenda Joyce
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By Right of Arms
- By: Robyn Carr
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The Black Prince of England hungers to capture the lands of France, and Sir Hyatt Laidley is just the knight for the task. In exchange for years of faithful service, Hyatt will receive both land - and lady - of De La Noye in Acquitane. When Hyatt and his men attack, both lord and castle fall, but the young and newly widowed Aurelie is not so easily conquered. Impassioned by the subjugation of her people, Aurelie pledges to forever honor her late husband. She may be condemned to marry the English bastard, but her heart will never yield!
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Don't be fooled
- By MickeyMarie on 01-22-13
By: Robyn Carr
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Captive Queen
- A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Renowned for her highly acclaimed and bestselling British histories, Alison Weir has in recent years made a major impact on the fiction scene with her novels about Queen Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey. In this latest offering, she imagines the world of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the beautiful twelfth-century woman who was queen of France until she abandoned her royal husband for the younger man who would become king of England.
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Why the Negativity?
- By E. Willaims on 06-28-11
By: Alison Weir
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The Boleyn King
- Boleyn Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Laura Andersen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Just seventeen years old, Henry IX, known as William, is a king bound by the restraints of the regency yet anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics sowing the seeds of rebellion at home, William trusts only three people: his older sister Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by William’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
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Great idea, bad story
- By S. D. Ristick on 09-22-14
By: Laura Andersen
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I, the Sun
- By: Janet Morris
- Narrated by: Chistopher Crosby Morris
- Length: 24 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the saga of the Hittite King Suppiluliumas, and rings with authenticity and the passion of a world that existed 1400 years before the birth of Christ. They called him Great King, Favorite of the Storm God, the Valiant. He conquered more than forty nations and brought fear and war to the very doorstep of 18th Dynasty Egypt, but he could not conquer the one woman he truly loved.
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Wonderfully Researched and Fantastic Performance.
- By Rev. Zombie on 07-08-15
By: Janet Morris
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The Blue Falcon
- By: Robyn Carr
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In love and war, some oaths are meant to be broken.… Riding into the arena under the furling blazon of the blue falcon, Sir Conan de Corbney accepts a token from the young beauty Lady Chandra, sparking a romance foretold long ago. That is, unless Conan’s mother can help it. Colluding with her son’s rival, Sir Tedric, Lady Udele secretly arranges a more lucrative marriage for her son and weds him to Edwina - Chandra’s older sister - while Sir Tedric claims the fiery Chandra for himself. Thus begins the star-crossed lovers’ quest, amidst treachery and betrayal, for the path back to each other’s arms.
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What a waste of time
- By MickeyMarie on 01-16-13
By: Robyn Carr
What listeners say about The Steel Beneath the Silk
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lou M. Nelson
- 07-09-23
Historical notes add veracity to best book in series
Book 3 in Queen Emma’s saga is, I feel, the best of the three. The changes in political fortunes are fascinating. Emma, as conceived by the author, is riveting as a character. And Rachel Atkins’ narration is varied and just right in expression. As with Book 2, the research notes at the end give wonderful underpinnings to the creative choices of the author.
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- MC
- 10-22-24
Great series
Best of the series. Couldn’t stop listening. It was weaved brilliantly. Too bad there isn’t a next book!
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- Elizabeth Ann Peel
- 06-05-23
Fabulous
Wish it had book 4. The story was intriguing. My only critique, would the narrator of this third book, had a voice that sounded too old. But the story itself was one that I wish it could have kept going.
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- Jim n April
- 07-16-23
I was unable to stop listening!
I loved how the author was as historically authentic as possible adding her own creativity where it was invited.
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- Stephanie Peña
- 05-19-23
I wish there was a fourth and fifth book
Great story, great characters. Didn’t want it to end. Narrator did a good job, also, giving the story even more dimension.
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- Amber edgerton
- 06-17-23
best narrator I've ever heard!
I absolutely adored this entire series. This last book was definitely the best of the three, and the narrator was without a doubt the best of any I've ever heard before, and I am constantly listening to audiobooks. I felt like I was sitting around a hearth fire in the 10th century, listening to an old woman spin tales. Stunning performance, and to be honest it will be hard to pick up a new book after this.
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- TOP
- 06-16-23
Same story line I read somewhere else. Not as good
I’ve read several other books of this. And this one is extremely lacking. Look around and find one. That’s a little bit better. It is pretty weak.
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