Synopsis
Sharon Penman's Here Be Dragons is an absorbing historical novel of power and betrayal, loyalty and political intrigue in thirteenth-century England, Wales and France.
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.
Beginning the medieval trilogy that includes Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning, Here Be Dragons brings thirteenth-century England, France, and Wales to tangled, tempestuous life.
Details
Reviews
A masterful picture of Wales in the thirteenth century . . . vividly pictured as grandly beautiful, its people volatile, stubborn, and mysticThe San Diego Union
With a fidelity to historical detail, a deep understanding of the period, a lucid, felicitous prose style, a sensitivity to nuances of character, and a sure sense of drama, the new novel by the author of The Sunne in Splendour is an engrossing talePublishers Weekly
Remarkable . . . Her writing is faultless, deftly interweaving the threads of the various story lines into a glowing, living tapestry . . . This is storytelling at its finestUnited Press International