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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Turning so many names and dates and battles into vivid, memorable and touching characters - quite apart from an enjoyable novel, it's a masterclass in epic. I also lovex the focus on various female roles in mediaeval society, as well as the treatment of disability.
I enjoy stories about kings and queens, chivalrous knights, deceptive clergymen, and all the intrigue that usually surrounds royalty. And I thought this book would give me all that I enjoy. Well,it tried, but just couldn't. It was too long, granted the fight between Stephen,Maude(Matilda) and Henry for the English crown was a long fight, but the author didn't have to make reading this book take almost as long. This book had too many side stories that went nowhere and only detracted from the main story. None of the characters were particularly likable and the one I did like wasn't an actual historical figure. I really just couldn't wait to get to the end and be done with this book.
Clunky Prose, Pointless Misrepresentation of History
Um, holy hell! It's been a while since I read a truly epic story; 37 hours of amazingly well researched material, all sewn together into a beautiful, stunning, heartbreaking... beginning of the Plantagenets rein in England. My library doesn't own any other audiobooks in this series, so hopefully they will purchase them at my request. One way or another, I'll finish the series because I can't stop now!
I really enjoyed this book. I had just finished reading [b:The Plantagenet Prelude|865347|The Plantagenet Prelude (Plantagenet Saga, #1)|Jean Plaidy|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179008561s/865347.jpg|850749]and now I don't know if I will ever be able to read another [a:Jean Plaidy|6590|Jean Plaidy|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1237699211p2/6590.jpg]book. This book had such a wealth of information, and it was so well put together. I really like all the different characters in the book, including England itself. It is amazing to me the hardships that the common English people were put through, when they really didn't care who was King or Queen. Maude and Stephen were brought back to life in this book.
I will say that I wasn't expecting to book to be like this. When I picked it up I was wanting to read about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and she really wasn't in the book until the last hundred pages or so. I don't think that the subject of this book should be called Eleanor and Henry. It was really about Maude and Stephen. It would be hard to read the next book in the series, which is about Eleanor and Henry, because you kind of need this for background information. I am very excited to read the next one. [a:Sharon Kay Penman|24655|Sharon Kay Penman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234237583p2/24655.jpg] had yet to disapoint me.
Great Book
I will say that I wasn't expecting to book to be like this. When I picked it up I was wanting to read about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and she really wasn't in the book until the last hundred pages or so. I don't think that the subject of this book should be called Eleanor and Henry. It was really about Maude and Stephen. It would be hard to read the next book in the series, which is about Eleanor and Henry, because you kind of need this for background information. I am very excited to read the next one. [a:Sharon Kay Penman|24655|Sharon Kay Penman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234237583p2/24655.jpg] had yet to disapoint me.
Great Book
Awesome historical novel. Captures the major events and everyday life for the elite of England and France in the 1100's
I really wish Goodreads would let us use 1/2-star increments to rate books, because my rating for [b:When Christ and His Saints Slept|43841|When Christ and His Saints Slept (Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, #1)|Sharon Kay Penman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333577582s/43841.jpg|6417933] is really 3-1/2 stars. Nevertheless, this isn't a very favorable review. As much as I enjoyed the story that unfolded in this one of Penman's epic historical novels, I was a bit disappointed by the storytelling and the writing. I should preface this critique by saying that I love historical fiction, so I'm not put off in the least by artistic license ... assumptions about the personalities of historical characters or the creation out of whole cloth of entire events, of interactions between characters, or of minor characters — that's the STUFF of historical fiction; it's how a good storyteller engages you in what would otherwise be a dry historical account. However, the stitching has to be good. In this novel, in fact, I was bothered repeatedly by two things: (1) the occasional narration of historical events in stilted and unnatural conversations between characters, and (2) the introduction, development, and sudden disappearance of minor characters.
Regarding the first point, when telling a story as complex as the birth of the Angevin (Plantagenet) dynasty, you're bound to tell the story in fits and starts ... with an irregular rhythm and the passage of time that jumps, moves rapidly ahead and then slows down to a crawl for the most interesting developments. Otherwise, the novel would be three times as long. However, having intervening historical events and background information explained in dialogue between two characters who would probably never exchange that information (certainly not in the way in which it's portrayed) seemed too distracting and artificial to me. I'd have much preferred a straightforward narration by the author to get us up to speed.
Regarding the second point, I'm not sure why Penman did this, but she seemed to invest a good bit of energy in introducing minor characters along the way (the young blacksmith at Barfleur before the departure of the White Ship, the two sisters who were Geoffrey's lovers, the Jewish brothers who encountered Ranulf in the Marches, among others) only to have them disappear completely into the shadows. I wondered if I would encounter them again, because they seemed too detailed and important at the time to play no further role in the story to come, and it was disappointing when they didn't reappear. Eventually, when a minor character appeared with his or her own story line, I started to assume that this was just "another one of those."
Finally, this is the third of Penman's novels I've read. The first was [b:The Sunne in Splendour|119829|The Sunne in Splendour|Sharon Kay Penman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361649213s/119829.jpg|2046265], which I absolutely adored and rated 5 stars, in part because of its uncommonly sympathetic portrayal of Richard III, and the second was [b:Falls the Shadow|77448|Falls the Shadow (Welsh Princes, #2)|Sharon Kay Penman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298193016s/77448.jpg|991472]. I can't recall right now if Penman used the same quirks of language in those books — I suspect that she did because they seemed very familiar — but certain expressions and words from this novel were rather irksome. As an amateur linguist, I love the history of the English language and it bothered me when Penman used archaic words and expressions, presumably to help set the scene in the right time period but which postdated the time period in which the story unfolds. A few examples that I found particularly awkward and recurrent : "If needs must" (c. late 14th century), "for certes" (c. 1250), "mayhap" (c. 1530-40), and "passing strange" (c. 1750).
These issues aside, the story is an engaging one ... and is clearly meticulously researched. I always found myself anxiously anticipating the next turn of events because I already new the general contours of the story. If you're a fan of English historical fiction and you're interested in the rise of one of England's greatest dynasties, I recommend this book to you ... with the caveats I've outlined above, of course! Happy reading!
Regarding the first point, when telling a story as complex as the birth of the Angevin (Plantagenet) dynasty, you're bound to tell the story in fits and starts ... with an irregular rhythm and the passage of time that jumps, moves rapidly ahead and then slows down to a crawl for the most interesting developments. Otherwise, the novel would be three times as long. However, having intervening historical events and background information explained in dialogue between two characters who would probably never exchange that information (certainly not in the way in which it's portrayed) seemed too distracting and artificial to me. I'd have much preferred a straightforward narration by the author to get us up to speed.
Regarding the second point, I'm not sure why Penman did this, but she seemed to invest a good bit of energy in introducing minor characters along the way (the young blacksmith at Barfleur before the departure of the White Ship, the two sisters who were Geoffrey's lovers, the Jewish brothers who encountered Ranulf in the Marches, among others) only to have them disappear completely into the shadows. I wondered if I would encounter them again, because they seemed too detailed and important at the time to play no further role in the story to come, and it was disappointing when they didn't reappear. Eventually, when a minor character appeared with his or her own story line, I started to assume that this was just "another one of those."
Finally, this is the third of Penman's novels I've read. The first was [b:The Sunne in Splendour|119829|The Sunne in Splendour|Sharon Kay Penman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361649213s/119829.jpg|2046265], which I absolutely adored and rated 5 stars, in part because of its uncommonly sympathetic portrayal of Richard III, and the second was [b:Falls the Shadow|77448|Falls the Shadow (Welsh Princes, #2)|Sharon Kay Penman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298193016s/77448.jpg|991472]. I can't recall right now if Penman used the same quirks of language in those books — I suspect that she did because they seemed very familiar — but certain expressions and words from this novel were rather irksome. As an amateur linguist, I love the history of the English language and it bothered me when Penman used archaic words and expressions, presumably to help set the scene in the right time period but which postdated the time period in which the story unfolds. A few examples that I found particularly awkward and recurrent : "If needs must" (c. late 14th century), "for certes" (c. 1250), "mayhap" (c. 1530-40), and "passing strange" (c. 1750).
These issues aside, the story is an engaging one ... and is clearly meticulously researched. I always found myself anxiously anticipating the next turn of events because I already new the general contours of the story. If you're a fan of English historical fiction and you're interested in the rise of one of England's greatest dynasties, I recommend this book to you ... with the caveats I've outlined above, of course! Happy reading!
adventurous
informative
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I didn't like some of the affections in Penman's writing style, but otherwise it was a solid work of historical fiction fiction. Penman is obviously well-versed in medieval history. The result is an interesting and engaging story.
More than 2 stars, but not quite 3. Her writing style really annoyed me at times, and to be honest i doubt I would have finished the book if I didn't find the subject of the book so interesting,