The Forever Queen Review

So I'm finally done with The Forever Queen. It really was an excellent book and I'm looking forward to the US release of its sequel. This book as I mentioned before deals with the life of Emma of Normandy. She was the wife of two kings and the mother of another two. When Emma arrived in England she came as the bride of a cruel man who cared nothing for her or her feelings. her only friends died young and she had no one to turn to. However, Emma was a survivor and extremely clever. She was able to get the love and support of the people, who passionately hated her weak husband. Emma braved exile and returned to England in triumph. Then when everything seemed lost Emma found true happiness with the man who was once her greatest enemy, Cnut, king of Denmark. Cnut appreciated Emma's spirit and character. Their marriage was a time of great happiness for her and his unexpected death left her heartbroken. All her hopes now went into their son. Her goal became seeing him made king of England, a positon he didn't want.Yet, at the end of the novel Emma's plans are destroyed by her son's death and the ascension of her eldest son by her first husband, Edward known to history as the Confessor. Throughout the novel, Emma's hatred for her children from her previous marriage is explained through her feelings towards their father. even the conception of the children was a source of pain. Finally, Emma never really got a chance to know the boy who was sent to Normandy for his safety. AT the conclusion of Forever Queen, Emma may be down, but she's not out. This powerful matriarch is not yet willing to give up her power and crown. 

The Forever Queen

Hellen Hollick.net

Have just started this book, but it seems great, one of the best reads in a while. The story is about the life of Emma, queen of England and sister of the duke of Normandy. I have always found her a fascinating woman and have questioned what it was that made her choose her second family over her first, in essence abandoning her own son to fate.  For me reading a book written from the perspective of a woman of power is really fascinating since so much of history seems to focus on men. This way the reader gets to see the other side of the story sometimes allowing so biases to be corrected. Hopefully the rest of the book doesn't prove to be disappointing, but it's definitely off to a good start.

HBO Series Rome

The  Full Wiki

Monsters and Critics

From CamMag

For some reason this series has been coming up in conversation so I thought it would be a good idea to blog about it. Rome which spans from the rise of Julius Caesar to the rise of Augustus, is told not from the view of the aristocracy, but from the common man. Two soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo by a stroke of luck or some might think misfortune, are noticed by Caesar and later develop close connections with his grand-nephew and his second in command. This series shows Rome not as an ideal society, but drags it from its pedestal revealing the rampant corruption and the scheming that occurs behind closed doors.   It makes the empire more relatible and its leaders more human. It's full of passion and lots of action plus there are some twists on historical mysterious such as was Caesar really the father of Cleopatra's son. For me the most interesting part was the relationships between the characters and the transformation of Octavian from a child to an authoritarian dictator as well as the way that his experiences led him down that path. Finally, the show highlights the power and ambition of Roman women. They are the movers of many key events and can be quite vicious. These are not submissive wives and mothers, but power brokers each lusting to be on top. In essence it is the actions of women like Atia of the Julia and Servilla of the Juni that help shape the course of history. Supporters of powerful women may at times be shocked, but definitely not disappointed.

Santa Sophia

From viajes.es

       It's really strange when something you think of as important only to you turns out to have a much greater meaning. I was born in Kiev and spent a part of my childhood there. The church of Santa Sophia was and still is one of the most ancient as well as beautiful religious buildings in the city. I went there several times as a child and it left a lasting impression on me. The church has an other worldly quality, you could tell instantly that it was a sacred space. Yet, for many years I believed that outside of the Ukraine it was a virtual unknown. Recently, I discovered that this was not the case, in fact Santa Sophia was a prime example of the influence Byzantium had on Kievan Rus. Seeing a photo of this church from the country of my birth just gave me a warm feeling. It made me realize that Ukraine is not as forgotten by the world as it often seems.