Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107171 in Books
• Published on: 1991-09-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 800 pages

Synopsis
An historical novel of power and betrayal, loyalty and political intrigue in 13th-century England, Wales and France. The author also wrote "The Sunne in Splendour" and "The Reckoning".

Customer Reviews

One of my favourite books
Since reading Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett I have discovered a new passion of books set in medieval times. I find this period of history fascinating and I was attracted to this book as it is set in a similar period. It is slightly different in that most of it is based on actual events. I have to say, I couldn't put the book down once I had started it. Sharon Penman brings the characters to life and you actually find yourself becoming engrossed in their story.

I loved it and will buying the other books in the series, as well as her other novels.

Enjoyable but not perfect
I picked up this book as I really enjoy British history of this period (lots of scandal, lots of excitement and plenty of intrigue) and I'd been told that Sharon Penman really did her home work. Sure enough it started well. The pacing was a bit jerky (IMO). This was probably more to do with having to cover so many people over so many years than anything else but by half way through I really didn't care about any of the characters. Still, it was pretty enjoyable until I started spotting real school boy errors such as referring to 'Thomas a Becket'? Not that old chestnut. His contemporaries (such a Roger of Hoveden who chronicled the 'Disputes' between Henry II and Thomas) wrote of him as Thomas Becket and most reputable historians agree that the 'a' is simply an error which became a 'fact' following frequent repetition. I know its probably but silly things like this really pulled me out of the story and set me wondering about the other 'historical facts'.

Before anyone rips me to shreds I do know the difference between historial fiction and text books but I also believe that people who make claims to historial accuracy should back it up - otherwise we'd end up with nothing but Dan Brown style trash.

All in all it's still a diverting and interesting book but don't take it as an totally authentic history of this period (as some reviewers elsewhere seem to have done).

I loved this book
I`m welsh so I suppose I`m biased but this is one of my all time favourites! Having gone to a welsh school I learnt a lot about welsh history - I wish my teacher had told me about Sharon Penman! I became a recluse and virtually ignored my family until I finished this book. A brilliant book!