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THERE WERE NO STARS. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
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Customer Reviews
Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, husband of Henry III's sister and the aunt of King Edward I, was one of the most powerful men in England. He was a warrior, great leader, and politician who despised Henry III for his incompetence and the favoritism he displayed for the foreigners in his court. King Henry was bankrupting England and estranging the peerage. Ahead of his time, Simon also espoused the idea that the common man deserved a voice in government. England was in the midst of civil war as factions split between Henry and his son and heir Edward. When Edward realized that de Montfort's reforms would limit his power and the Divine Right of Kings, he turned against him in the bloody battle of Evesham.
During this same period there was terrible unrest in Wales, including civil war. Charismatic Llewelyn Farr, Prince of Northern Wales had fought to unite his country's nobility and provide a strong front against the English. His grandson, Lwellyn ap Gruffyd, became Llewelyn's heir and inherited the staunch commitment to keep Wales united. The Welsh leader was a cousin to both the English King and the de Montfort family, and was betrothed to Simon de Montfort's daughter, Ellen. When de Monfort lost all at Evesham, Welsh politics changed. As Wales sought to consolidate its position and prevent being absorbed into a greater England, the new Prince's brothers were determined to wage war against him to gain power of their own. They sacrificed Welsh independence in the process.
This is a complex and tragic saga of historic characters, politics, intrigues, betrayals, bloody battles and wars, romance, lust, power struggles, princesses held captive, revenge and forgiveness. Yet once begun, this extraordinary epic is almost impossible to put down. Ms. Penman portrays Wales, its people, culture and landscape vividly with glorious detail. Ms. Penman joins the histories and characters of Wales and England to give the reader, not just a superb tale, but a look at the bigger historical picture.
This is truly one of the best historical novels I have ever read, and the trilogy by Ms. Penman is absolutely outstanding. She paints an unforgettable picture of medieval England and Wales and the characters who made history. I cannot recommend these books highly enough.
JANA
Sharon Penman writes very well, she is the greatest writer of medieval historical fiction writing today. The characterization is fantastic and believable and it is obvious that this book is well researched. For people interested in the period I recommend "Llywelyn ap Gruffudd" by J. Beverley Smith, and "The Age of Conquest" by R.R. Davies. Sharon Penman has made the effort to research Welsh law and customs, as well as Anglo-French ones.
The contradictions of medieval Wales and its princes are very well portrayed; the spirit of Wales shines through this book. Every readers hearts will be with Llywelyn... And be prepared to want to come and visit Wales. I did.
This book helps make Welsh history more accessible and lets Llywelyn take his place in history as a true Welsh hero.
In this tale - once again sweeping through years of historical events - we see Edward tightening his hold on Wales. Most of his predecessors had looked to the continent - to take control of Anjou and Poitou and Aquitaine, and the many other principalities that now form modern-day France. Edward was more than happy to consolidate his hold on the other countries that now form the United Kingdom - at the time, the Scottish King already paid homage to Edward as a liege lord and he was looking to Llewelyn to do the same.
Edward uses heavy-handed methods to achieve his goals, including imprisoning Llewelyn's bride - Ellen, the daughter of Simon de Montfort - and turning Davydd (Llewelyn's ambitious and loyally ambiguous brother) against him.
This was a much improved story (although I do dislike using the word 'story' when referring to historical fiction, since the events have at least a basis in fact) in comparison to "Falls the Shadow". There were strong and memorable characters, and the central love story between Llewelyn and Ellen is very sweetly written - since you end up feeling much empathy for the characters due to the way in which Edward deals with them, the very tragic ending to their relationship is all the more heartbreaking.
I had some minor complaints about the story - having said how sweet the love is between Llewelyn and Ellen, it is also a little cloying at times; the characters that Penman wrote herself with no basis in fact can be easily told from those who actually inhabited history; and sometimes Davydd's motives can be hard to comprehend being as he was from such a different age.
Having said that, these are very minor issues and overall this is a very strong novel from Penman.
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