Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons
by Sharon Kay Penman

Here Be Dragons
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Book Summary Information

Author: Sharon Kay Penman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-27
ISBN: 0312382456
Number of pages: 720
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Book Reviews of Here Be Dragons

Book Review: Historical fiction
Summary: 5 Stars

I always have an interest in well written historial fiction featuring my ancestors. This novel is set during the time of King John, who was one of my more villainous anceestors - when he had a dispute with one of my female ancestors, he had her walled up alive in the wall of her castle. If anything, the novel may sugarcoat the characters a little bit. The novel generally follows the history of the times, with emphasis on King John, his daughter Joan/Joanna, and the Welsh Prince Llewelyn. This was a time when common people had few rights, and were trampled underfoot by warring nobles. The perks of an invading army were loot and captured women, so it was a time of pillage, rape, burn and kill. Amazingly, people survived and we are descended from survivors. Children of the principal players are known to have survived, including the children of Prince Llewelyn who eventually had descendents who married into the British Royal family. Kings quite commonly killed nephews, and King John's nephew did disappear. Some people were obsessed with power.

My brother calls our family ancestry a spider web. It is what rednecks call a family tree that does not branch. The various families repeatedly intermarried, and kings, nobels, and other high placed individuals often had numerous children by various women besides their official wives. King Henry I had 20 children that he acknowledged - illegitimate children could not inherit the throne (and neither could women at that point in time), but the king could give them titles, perhaps making a son an earl. King John was also known to have numerous children. Like Joan, illegitimate daughters could be married off to form alliances.

William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, fought valiantly for King John, once (at age 51) leading an assault over a castle wall while wearing full armor. While wealthy, via his wife, he had no claim or aspirations for the throne. He was made Regent during the minority of John's son, King Henry III, and defended the realm against invaders.

Summary of Here Be Dragons

Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England?s ruthless, power-hungry King John. Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce by marrying the English king?s beloved illegitimate daughter, Joanna, who slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband. But as John?s attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales---and Llewelyn---Joanna must decide where her love and loyalties truly lie.

The turbulent clashes of two disparate worlds and the destinies of the individuals caught between them spring to life in this magnificent novel of power and passion, loyalty and lies. The book that began the trilogy that includes Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning, Here Be Dragons brings thirteenth-century England, France, and Wales to tangled, tempestuous life.

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