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Books : Time and Chance
Rating: 
- Good book, but drags a bit at times
Another enjoyable book from SKP, but I didn't find this quite as interesting as her others, and a bit slower than When Christ and His Saints Slept. It's probably just me, but I didn't find the whole Thomas Becket saga all that fascinating, albeit it is an important part of English history.
I did like the fact that the author continued with the Welsh side of the story, as so many authors of English history paint the Welsh as pagen barbarians.
I am anxiously awaiting the publishing of the last in this series, The Devil's Brood, which I suspect will be the most fascinating, as it covers the period when the animosity between Henry and Eleanor heats up and the power plays for her sons. I read on the author's website that she's had health issues that have slowed down completion of the book, hopefully out in 2008.
Rating:
- Least convincing of Penman's tales
I loved The Sunne in Splendour but unfortunately Penman's books have been declining since then. The Welsh trilogy is still good, though it has it's weak parts, but the last two books (of another supposed trilogy) is significantly weaker. This is the weakest, which is quite odd as in Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine Penman has, arguably, two of the strongest and most fascinating characters of the middle ages, so in a way it's even more disappointing that she never manages to bring them to life or make them more than 2-dimensional cardboard cut-outs who do all the things they're supposed to from the historical sources but don;t ever manage to have an inner life of their own.
As some of the other reviewers here have said, the addition of the fictional welsh characters adds nothing to the book, and the political machinations never truly involve the reader. With stories such as the murder of Thomas Beckett and the romance/decline of Henry & Eleanor's marriage, there should have been far more substance to this novel but sadly it fails to materialise. Perhaps Penman felt that herself, as the supposed 3rd part of the trilogy still hasn't materialised - very disappointing.
Rating:
- Unstoppable force meets immovable object
"What miserable drones and traitors I have nourished and promoted in my household, who let their lord be mocked so shamefully by a lowborn clerk!"
Thus, in TIME AND CHANCE, is author Sharon Kay Penman's version of the angry words that compelled four of Henry II's knights to commit one of the most famous assassinations in Western European history, that of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.
The second in an ostensible series of three works of historical fiction - the last has yet to appear - about the first Plantagenet King of England and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, this volume spans the period 1156 - 1171. Woven into the plot are the four pivotal events (for historians, novelists and screenwriters, at least) of that period: Henry's subjugation of the Welsh king, Owain Gwynedd, Henry's taking of Rosamund Clifford as his mistress, Henry's disastrous relationship with Becket, and the crowning of Henry's oldest son, Young Henry, as Ol' Dad's heir apparent.
Judging from Penman's other novels, she has a fascination with medieval Wales. Here, she fleshes out much of the Owain Gwynedd subplot through a completely fictional character, Ranulf Fitz Roy, carried over from the first book in the series, WHEN CHRIST AND HIS SAINTS SLEPT, which dealt with that period of English civil war before Henry II's accession when his mother Maude, the daughter of Henry I, fought to dethrone the then English monarch, Stephen. As Sharon would have it, Ranulf was an illegitimate son of Henry I by a Welsh mistress, and therefore half-brother to Maude and half-uncle to Henry II. In any case, I accepted his presence in the first book because the main player in the series, Henry II, had yet to take center stage. Now, with the fully developed characters of Henry II, Eleanor and Becket, Ranulf's presence doesn't do much more than pad the novel to an unnecessary length and, for that reason, I'm reluctantly knocking off a star. Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor are, for me, the two most interesting individuals in history, and their dysfunctional family life provides more than enough entertainment without the introduction of a make-believe ringer.
For English history buffs, TIME AND CHANCE provides a gripping perspective on the calamitous collision between the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury, especially as the dialogues that occurred between the two men in the book, as well as the circumstances of Becket's murder, are, according to Penman, transcribed from numerous eyewitness accounts.
I've been looking forward to the release of the third book in the trilogy for quite some time, and I wish Penman would get on with it.
Rating: - Bliss
These books are amazing, Penman has a gift for bringing her characters back to life. The scope of the story is huge, and fascinating not least because these people actually lived, you get a real sense of the history and colour. The only criticism I have is the huge gaps between books, I wish the author would concentrate more on this series and less on the fictional medieval mysteries.
Rating: - They Do Not Come Much Better
I always look forward to a Sharon Penman novel that I have not read before. This one kept me interested throughout the book. She has the ability to make the reader feel they are there with the characters, no mean feat.
The story is about the turbulent relationship between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Starting in 1156 the couple have been married for four years. The birth of their sons has ensured the succession to the throne, but civil war has seen the country torn apart.
Henry needs to defend the borders of England against France and Wales, but his most daunting task is his fight with the church to stop them from infringing on his power.
This conflict culminates with his one time friend Thomas Becket, whom Henry has made Archbishop of Canterbury, being murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. (Something that is probably burned on the mind of school children throughout England).
Sharon Penman is not a prolific writer, which is understandable considering the amount of research that must go into each of her books. This book stands out among historical novels.
- Good book, but drags a bit at timesAnother enjoyable book from SKP, but I didn't find this quite as interesting as her others, and a bit slower than When Christ and His Saints Slept. It's probably just me, but I didn't find the whole Thomas Becket saga all that fascinating, albeit it is an important part of English history.
I did like the fact that the author continued with the Welsh side of the story, as so many authors of English history paint the Welsh as pagen barbarians.
I am anxiously awaiting the publishing of the last in this series, The Devil's Brood, which I suspect will be the most fascinating, as it covers the period when the animosity between Henry and Eleanor heats up and the power plays for her sons. I read on the author's website that she's had health issues that have slowed down completion of the book, hopefully out in 2008.
Rating:
- Least convincing of Penman's talesI loved The Sunne in Splendour but unfortunately Penman's books have been declining since then. The Welsh trilogy is still good, though it has it's weak parts, but the last two books (of another supposed trilogy) is significantly weaker. This is the weakest, which is quite odd as in Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine Penman has, arguably, two of the strongest and most fascinating characters of the middle ages, so in a way it's even more disappointing that she never manages to bring them to life or make them more than 2-dimensional cardboard cut-outs who do all the things they're supposed to from the historical sources but don;t ever manage to have an inner life of their own.
As some of the other reviewers here have said, the addition of the fictional welsh characters adds nothing to the book, and the political machinations never truly involve the reader. With stories such as the murder of Thomas Beckett and the romance/decline of Henry & Eleanor's marriage, there should have been far more substance to this novel but sadly it fails to materialise. Perhaps Penman felt that herself, as the supposed 3rd part of the trilogy still hasn't materialised - very disappointing.
Rating:
- Unstoppable force meets immovable object"What miserable drones and traitors I have nourished and promoted in my household, who let their lord be mocked so shamefully by a lowborn clerk!"
Thus, in TIME AND CHANCE, is author Sharon Kay Penman's version of the angry words that compelled four of Henry II's knights to commit one of the most famous assassinations in Western European history, that of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.
The second in an ostensible series of three works of historical fiction - the last has yet to appear - about the first Plantagenet King of England and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, this volume spans the period 1156 - 1171. Woven into the plot are the four pivotal events (for historians, novelists and screenwriters, at least) of that period: Henry's subjugation of the Welsh king, Owain Gwynedd, Henry's taking of Rosamund Clifford as his mistress, Henry's disastrous relationship with Becket, and the crowning of Henry's oldest son, Young Henry, as Ol' Dad's heir apparent.
Judging from Penman's other novels, she has a fascination with medieval Wales. Here, she fleshes out much of the Owain Gwynedd subplot through a completely fictional character, Ranulf Fitz Roy, carried over from the first book in the series, WHEN CHRIST AND HIS SAINTS SLEPT, which dealt with that period of English civil war before Henry II's accession when his mother Maude, the daughter of Henry I, fought to dethrone the then English monarch, Stephen. As Sharon would have it, Ranulf was an illegitimate son of Henry I by a Welsh mistress, and therefore half-brother to Maude and half-uncle to Henry II. In any case, I accepted his presence in the first book because the main player in the series, Henry II, had yet to take center stage. Now, with the fully developed characters of Henry II, Eleanor and Becket, Ranulf's presence doesn't do much more than pad the novel to an unnecessary length and, for that reason, I'm reluctantly knocking off a star. Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor are, for me, the two most interesting individuals in history, and their dysfunctional family life provides more than enough entertainment without the introduction of a make-believe ringer.
For English history buffs, TIME AND CHANCE provides a gripping perspective on the calamitous collision between the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury, especially as the dialogues that occurred between the two men in the book, as well as the circumstances of Becket's murder, are, according to Penman, transcribed from numerous eyewitness accounts.
I've been looking forward to the release of the third book in the trilogy for quite some time, and I wish Penman would get on with it.
Rating:
- BlissThese books are amazing, Penman has a gift for bringing her characters back to life. The scope of the story is huge, and fascinating not least because these people actually lived, you get a real sense of the history and colour. The only criticism I have is the huge gaps between books, I wish the author would concentrate more on this series and less on the fictional medieval mysteries.
Rating:
- They Do Not Come Much BetterI always look forward to a Sharon Penman novel that I have not read before. This one kept me interested throughout the book. She has the ability to make the reader feel they are there with the characters, no mean feat.
The story is about the turbulent relationship between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Starting in 1156 the couple have been married for four years. The birth of their sons has ensured the succession to the throne, but civil war has seen the country torn apart.
Henry needs to defend the borders of England against France and Wales, but his most daunting task is his fight with the church to stop them from infringing on his power.
This conflict culminates with his one time friend Thomas Becket, whom Henry has made Archbishop of Canterbury, being murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. (Something that is probably burned on the mind of school children throughout England).
Sharon Penman is not a prolific writer, which is understandable considering the amount of research that must go into each of her books. This book stands out among historical novels.