He fought long and hard against Henry for parliamentary reform, and this part of the book becomes one of plotting and civil war. The second half of the book concentrates on the dramatic rise and fall of de Montford. The storytelling here is so good that it was easy to forget it was based on fact, and I enjoyed it for itself as much as for history. We also meet his late wife’s siblings, Henry III of England and Eleanor (Nell), who in turn marries Simon de Montford.

This first half tells the tale of the bitter ongoing struggle for control of Wales between Lleweyln’s sons (and later his grandsons), and the marriages of his daughter. The first starts just after Here be Dragons finished, so we are reacquainted with Llewelyn the Great, his warring sons, his daughter and his awful daughter-in-law, as well as meeting his adorable little grandson Llelo. and Down Under by Macmillan and co the publication date is early March, 2020. She has just finished The Land Beyond the Sea, set in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century. Henry and Eleanor's celebrated and controversial son, Richard the Lionheart is the major character in both books, although Eleanor, John, and Richard's favorite sister, Joanna, also get to spend time on center stage. She soon realized that there was still more of the Angevins' story to tell and the result was Lionheart, followed by The King's Ransom. In 2008, she published Devil's Brood, which was to be the final book in her trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The mysteries did not enjoy the same success as her 'straight' historical novels, to which she returned in 2002, with Time and Chance, again covering the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II.

In 1996, following the success of When Christ and His Saints Slept (which dealt with the Anarchy and the early career of King Henry II of England), Penman ventured into the historical whodunnit with four mysteries set in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine during the reign of Richard I. The Sunne in Splendour, a novel about Richard III of England is one of the most popular books on the Historical Novel Society's list of best historical novels. Penman received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, she majored in history, and also received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Rutgers University School of Law, and later worked as a tax lawyer.

Falls the shadow by sharon kay penman