Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman

 

Publication Date:  October 7, 2008

Length:  753 pages

It has taken me a very long time to finish this book. Not because it isn't wonderful (it is!) and not because I wasn't excited to read it but because it really takes your full concentration. I have found this to be true with all of Penman's books but especially with this one. I also was reading the paperback copy instead of the Kindle version so I needed extra light with my old eyes. So here we are nearly six months after finishing the second book in this trilogy, Time and Chance, and I am finally reviewing book three. 

Our story picks up where Time and Chance left off. Henry II is King of England and has returned from his self imposed exile in Ireland after the death of his frenemy Thomas Becket, former Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry is still trying to work through his complicated feelings about the Archbishop's friendship that turned sour after the two could not agree on how to balance church rules with divine right of Kings demands. He is feeling guilty and frustrated and needing to be redeemed from his role in Becket's death. He throws himself into the quest to create and hold onto a kingdom that he can proudly pass on to his sons, Hal, Geoffrey, and Richard. John is too little at this point but will factor in later.

Eleanor is focused on her home, the duchy of Aquitaine. She wants to bequeath it to Richard who increasingly becomes her obvious favorite of the offspring. Henry and Eleanor spend a lot of time at odds with one another about who should rule what and where and it causes continual strife within the family.  Henry errs on the side of Hal, the eldest son, whom he eventually gives the title of the Young King in order to solidify his role as heir and this causes rifts between all three sons. Eleanor is eventually imprisoned by Henry when he finds evidence of her plotting against him and there is a constant back and forth between the sons who are all scheming and plotting against one another. Add in the wives and it's a family with the dysfunction of a modern day soap opera. That is the book in a nutshell but wow does it give a lot of detail as to how it all unfolds. 

I found the level of research to be truly amazing. Penman must have spent hours upon hours thinking through how each scenario must have played out between the characters because the dialogue and thoroughness is remarkable. I felt like I was actually living with these characters. Without giving away anything important let's just say that when anyone died I felt sadness and pity. More than any of her other books I've read so far I felt like I could reach into the past and really know these people. The causes of family strife are meticulously explained and developed so much so that I found myself sometimes as exasperated as if they'd been real friends and family. You can see the train wreck coming and want to shout at everyone to stop being so stubborn and get along. That is not to be.

As I've thought about writing this review I think what comes to mind is background knowledge. If you know nothing about Henry and Eleanor and their family squabbles or haven't read the first two books this might not be the place to start. You can, it just won't be as personal to you. I'd recommend either reading the first two books in the trilogy or maybe another, simpler, but still thorough book on their lives. The Courts of Love by Jean Plaidy is a great book to learn more about them before diving into this one with such detail. Setting up the background for this story would help me not to feel lost and to enjoy it. Otherwise it could be a bit tedious and boring for the casual reader. 

I absolutely loved this book but it did take a lot of time and dedication to read it. Penman continues to amaze me and I am excited to read Lionheart and A King's Ransom. These two books are not technically part of the original trilogy but continue the story of Richard and his mother, Queen Eleanor. I have no doubt they will be just as amazing!

Lionheart by Ben Kane

Publication Date: September 15, 2020

Length: 400 pages

 I have to admit that reading historical fiction written by men has always been hit or miss for me. No disrespect to men....I love men! But sometimes their writing can lack all romance or personal touches beyond dates and battles. So the cover for this book is what really hooked me into trying it, shallow I know but I'm a sucker for all things Crusades and Richard the First.

This was a well written piece of historical fiction. The author plans to make this a three part series and I will definitely be reading the next two books. We open Lionheart with a fictional character named Rufus. This is not his real name but one given to him by his captors. Right away I liked the style of the book, written in first person and giving us a running glimpse into the character's thoughts. Rufus is an Irish boy who has been given as a hostage to the English after his father and kin rebelled against them. He is lonely and depressed and treated horribly by one of the knights at the castle where he is being held. Gradually, through a wild turn of events, Rufus becomes a trusted squire, and then eventually, knight of Richard the Lionheart.

This book spends a lot of time setting up the relationship between Rufus and the common squires around him and focusing on the struggles between Henry Plantagenet and his sons. Our main character is always there in the middle of battles and action, often through coincidental twists of fate that stretch the imagination a bit. I know some of the reviews I read took issue with this but with fiction I always give a lot of wiggle room to authors trying to let their readers in on as much of the history of the day as possible. After all, it is called historical fiction for a reason. 

After many years of service Rufus is eventually knighted and becomes a loyal follower of Richard. He is grateful and humbled to be given the opportunity to serve a man he greatly admires and respects. There is still a tension involving the original knight who beat him when he was newly arrived from Ireland (whom he calls Boots and Fists) and Rufus that has yet to be resolved. In the sequel I expect there to be more fireworks between these two. 

Lionheart does not follow Richard and Rufus to Outremer and the Crusades as that is the basis of Book 2. Rather it sets up the characters, real and imagined, and their personalities and qualities that make them unique to their place in history and the story. Major battles and skirmishes are told with plenty of detail but not so much that you lose interest or find it hard to follow. I greatly enjoyed the way the author gave us an inside view into how Henry is betrayed by his sons and how Richard manages to gain the trust and loyalty of his men. Kane does a good job of showing how Richard defends his rightful territories while adding personal touches that make us want to know what happens to these characters later.

If I had one negative about this book it would be that it could get a bit simplistic in its dialogue. I have reviewed books by Sharon Penman about this same time period and she is superb at the vocabulary and dialect that would be realistic for the time and place. I think Kane does well but does not have as good a grasp on this area of his writing and so I occasionally found myself thinking the characters sounded a bit twenty-first century. But this is minor and not so glaring that it detracts from the overall feel of the story.

If I want to read Book 2 in a series then it is a good sign that the first book was a job well done. I have already ordered Crusader and am excited to begin it soon. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about how Richard the Lionheart went from a seemingly minor third son of Henry the Second to master of Aquitaine and eventually King of England and Crusader. 

Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

Length: 544 pages

This is my fourth novel to read by Sharon Kay Penman. It is a sequel and begins after The Anarchy period in 1100's England. I admit going in I was already partial to anything about Eleanor of Aquitaine so this was going to have to be really awful for me not to enjoy it. I love Penman's style and her stellar research. She is known for being rock solid with historical facts and I am comforted by that when I read her books. It is not enjoyable for me to read a long epic historical fiction novel only to find out most of it was embellished or distorted for the purpose of the writer's narrative license. 

The story begins with the newly married Eleanor and Henry and how they are navigating his reign as King of England. Penman does a good job of setting up the story through the eyes of several main characters, one of which is fictional. His name is Ranulf and my impression is that throughout the story and the previous book he is there to give us a glimpse into the lives of the Welsh people. He is descended from a Welsh mother and is a bastard of King Henry the first. He is also married to Rhiannon (also fictional) who is Welsh. I do confess that I wish she'd stuck to real characters as I think Ranulf and Rhiannon have way too much of a part in the two books I've read so far in this series. Eleanor and Henry have enough drama between the two of them that I think we'd have been better served by reading more of their lives than adding a character that doesn't even exist. But over time I grew to enjoy Ranulf more and even found myself wondering what will become of him in the next book, Devil's Brood.

Much of this book is centered on Henry's rift with his Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. I found this to be the most compelling part of the book. I know some might find the material a bit confusing and dry but it is a complex subject and requires concentration. I felt well rewarded by the end of the book in that I finally understood what caused such a power struggle between the two former friends. Penman does a good job of setting it up in chunks interspersed with lighter moments between Eleanor and her ladies, Henry and his relatives, and Ranulf and Rhiannon's lives so that it isn't too much to process at once. I found myself really beginning to see both sides of the conflict and to know why there is no real hero in the end here.  Henry and Thomas both come across as incredibly stubborn and entitled and you just know it isn't going to end well.

Eleanor gives birth many times throughout the book and at the end we see the birth of her last son, John. Without giving too much away we also see the cracks beginning to form in her and Henry's romantic relationship as Eleanor ages and Henry grows restless with being her husband. Clearly, the time they spend apart is a huge factor as to why their marriage continues to flounder.

In addition to Henry, Thomas, and Eleanor's lives we get a glimpse of some of the Welsh leaders of the day which I found really interesting. I know next to nothing about this part of history so I was happy to learn something new. 

I really enjoyed this book but feel it was sort of a bridge to the next one. The following book will delve more into the children of Eleanor and Henry and their final marital break. It is the middle book of what was originally a three part series so this makes sense and from what I've seen it is the shortest book in the series. I'm looking forward to continuing and will write a review of the next book when I complete that read.