The author should have pointed out that the historical background of Mercia was much more in line with the Britons (I.e, original Britons like the Welsh as opposed to the Saxons) in their perception of the concept of female rule. Not that Mercia wasn’t Saxon, but they were influenced by their closer neighbors. Aethelflaed very ably built up Merician defenses and came to the aide of her brother, the Saxon King Edward, on a number of occasions. As the daughter of Alfred, she had a lot of legitimacy for her rule after Aethelred’s death. It’s not inconceivable to believe that her legitimate rule was downplayed by her brother and subsequent Saxon rulers for their own political purposes.
So do I, of course remembering that this is a completely fictionalised version of events.
There's no reason to believe that Æthelflæd was captured by vikings and impregnated by Erik Thurgilson before marrying Æthelred. Or that Æthelred was any more a misogynist than any other 10 century christian king. However, we can be pretty sure that Uhtred the bold wasn't even born at this point, never mind Æthelflæd's lover.
