In writing Æthelred the Unready I drew upon the knowledge and wisdom of friends and colleagues. If the book has errors, it is not because I was unræd. I am particularly indebted to Nicole Marafioti and Jill Fitzgerald for reading and critiquing several chapters, and to my fellow biographer Ryan Lavelle, who read the penultimate draft of the book in search of factual errors. I am grateful to Simon Keynes, Rory Naismith and Mary Rambaran-Olm for sharing the fruits of their research. Discussions with Chris Lewis, Steven Isaac, Mary Frances Giandrea and Richard Ruth helped me think through problems of content and structure. The book has greatly benefited from my copy-editor Kate Parker’s painstaking attention to detail, insightful queries and suggestions. Above all, I owe thanks to my wife Ellen. Ellen read and commented on each draft of the book and listened patiently as I obsessed about things that happened a thousand years ago. It is to Ellen, my best friend and my best editor, that I dedicate this book.