Sharon Kay Penman - Plantagenet Series

Plantagenet Series

The Plantagenet series focuses on the Angevin King Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, beginning with Henry's childhood in "When Christ and His Saints Slept." Of Henry and Eleanor, Penman explains:

Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were larger than life, legends in their own lifetimes. He was one of the greatest of the medieval kings, and she was the only woman to wear the crowns of both England and France. They loved and fought and schemed on a stage that stretched from the Scots border to the Mediterranean Sea. Their children were branded by contemporaries as "The Devil’s Brood," but they founded a dynasty that was to rule England for three hundred years. My first novel in their trilogy, When Christ and His Saints Slept, traces the beginning of their tempestuous union. Time and Chance continues their story at high noon. From the greenwoods of Wales to a bloodied floor at Canterbury Cathedral, theirs was an amazing story, and I very much enjoyed being along for the ride!

When Christ and His Saints Slept introduces the genesis of the Plantagenet dynasty as Queen Maude fights to secure her claim to the English throne. In the 15 years she spent writing three novels and four mysteries set during the period of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine Penman claims she found no villains. Instead she focused on the human characteristics: she believes Henry II was a brilliant king but a bad father. Of Eleanor of Aquitaine, she claims she was a "law unto herself", and Penman was intrigued by the role a medieval queen.

Time and Chance (2002), a New York Times Bestseller, continues the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband, and focuses on the rift between Henry II and Thomas Becket. Time and Chance spans a 15-year period from 1156 to 1171 as Henry II became estranged from his wife (although Eleanor and Henry have eight children during thirteen years), and from his close friend and advisor Thomas Becket. King Henry's decision to elevate Becket to the Archbishop of Canterbury becomes a fulcrum for discord between Henry and Eleanor.

The Devil's Brood (2008), was originally intended to be the final volume in the Plantagenet trilogy, concluding the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The Devil's Brood opens with the conflict between Henry II, his wife, and their four sons, which escalates into a decade of warfare and rebellion pitting the sons against the father and the brothers against each other while Eleanor spends the period imprisoned by Henry. Penman places the characters against a tightly woven tapestry of medieval life, personal conflict, and dramatic characters.

The Devil's Brood was supposed to be the final volume in Penman's Plantagenet series, but the "Angevins were not ready to go quietly into that good night." Lionheart (2011) is about the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The book focuses on Richard the Lionheart's Crusades in the Holy Land and on what happened to Eleanor when she was finally released after spending sixteen years in a confinement that was ordered and enforced by her husband.