PDF Falls the Shadow A Novel Welsh Princes Trilogy Sharon Kay Penman Books

Product details Series Welsh Princes Trilogy (Book 2) Paperback 592 pages Publisher St. Martin's Griffin; First edition (August 19, 2008) Language English ISBN-10 9780312382469 ISBN-13 978-0312382469 ASIN 0312382464

Falls the Shadow A Novel Welsh Princes Trilogy Sharon Kay Penman Books Reviews

• 5 stars
  
  Richard “Dickon” Plantagenet of the House of York was a younger brother to Edward in 15th Century England during the War of the Roses. Their opponent in the field was Marguerite d’Anjou who was the brutal and vicious wife of the mad King Henry. She led her Lancastrian army against the House of York. Several bloody battles followed during which both sides lost kin.
  
  Edward was the ultimate victor and was crowned King Edward IV soon after. Dickon then became the younger brother of the King. This book traces Dickon’s life as a youngster, growing up with his family, including cousins.
  
  Edward’s secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, a Lancastrian, caused much anger with his relatives. They were also angered since they were lobbying for a French bride. Elizabeth’s relatives were a part of Marguerite’s army that faced them in the relatively recent battles for control of England. Elizabeth was also kin to Marguerite.Everyone was furious except Edward’s younger brother George. George was enjoying his elder brother’s fall from grace.
  
  George soon joined up with the Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville, one of the York cousins and a staunch supporter of Edward’s family. Warwick was called the Kingmaker because he was the main mover and shaker who helped put Edward on the throne. Together they went to war with Edward over Edward’s marrying Elizabeth Woodville; George because he hated Edward with a passion (and Edward favored Dickon), and Warwick because of Elizabeth.
  
  George and the Earl of Warwick flee to France. There in a surprising move they join forces with none other than Marguerite d’Anjou. This after some of her men killed some of Warwick’s kin. When they return to England, they take on King Edward (and Dickon), in battle. Things do not go well for Warwick, his troops are decimated. His daughters, Isabel and Anne, are afraid for their futures. Nan Neville, cloistered in an abbey Beaulieu Abbey and unable to leave per King Edward, has managed to alienate both of her daughters Anne and Isabel.
  
  In his early 40’s, King Edward dies. In his will he names Richard as the Lord Protector of King Edward’s young son Edward who is to inherit the throne.
  
  The old story that King Edward was betrothed to another woman before he married Elizabeth Woodville arose again. It was clear that the majority of the council thought that Edward’s children were bastards and could not, therefore, inherit the throne. Young Edward was thus dispossessed of the throne. Richard, Edward’s younger brother also known as Dickon took the throne as King Richard III. Ms. Penman offers a plausible explanation of what happened to the two young boys, sons of King Edward, in the Tower. It wholly exonerates Richard.
  
  Henry Tudor and his entourage are making a bid for the throne. They are aided by some of Richard’s supposed allies, such as Buckingham. Buckingham is found out, however, and things do not go well for him.
  
  Tudor flees England and all is quiet for the moment. Meanwhile Richard’s beloved wife Anne dies of consumption. He is bereft. Scandal and rumor are rife in London. In August 1485, Henry Tudor makes another bid and lands with his army in South Wales. Richard and the Royal Army head south to meet him in battle. They meet on Redmore Plain (now called Bosworth Field). Betrayal was the move of the day as man after man betrayed Richard and chose to either not fight or to openly join the Tudor cause. Even though Richard had started out with twice as many more men than Tudor, he ended up with far fewer than that number. Richard was killed on the battlefield.
  
  Henry Tudor took the throne and became King Henry VII.
  
  This story is richly detailed in describing daily life in mid-15th Century England. The reader can almost see the battles, the countryside and the people in their dress and armor. It describes what happened in the privacy of the bedroom, both the arguments and the love. The book is both well written and plotted. It is a retelling of a fascinating period in history about which I have only read little.
  
  Of course, as with anything written more than five Centuries after the events described in it, some speculation is needed, especially in the case of Richard III. So many lies and calumnies were printed about his life in the 16th through the 18th Centuries; it must have been very difficult to sort the untruths from what actually happened. Ms. Penman undertook a heroic and exhaustive task of research into her subject.
  
  Since the publishing of this book, King Richard III’s grave was discovered and he was found not to have been deformed.
  
  I have never read anything by Sharon Kay Penman before and now I wonder just how is missed this wonderful author. What a remarkable novel! I truly enjoyed this long read and was immersed in 15th Century England in a way in which I have never been before. I will definitely look into her other books.
• Every time I read one of Sharon Kay Penman’s novels I’m awed by her writing. I’d give my soul if I could write historical fiction the way she does.
  Falls the Shadow is the second book of her Welsh Princes Trilogy and continues the story where Here Be Dragons leaves off. Llewellyn Ap Iorwerth dies and leaves his domain to Davydd, his son by Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of England’s King John. Davydd’s reign is relatively short and the struggle for dominance of Gwynnyd falls to the sons of Llewellyn’s elder, but illegitimate son Gruffydd. Llewellyn favored his grandson and namesake Llelo, and has managed to impart to him both his military aptitude and his understanding of the need for Wales to be united against the constantly encroaching English.
  The book, however soon diverges to tell the story of Simon de Montfort and his family. King Henry III’s sister, Nell, widowed at a young age, forsakes her vow of chastity to marry de Montfort, much against her brother’s wishes. The relationship between the monarch and his brother-in-law is intermittently stormy and at one point he is exiled from England.
  Henry III proves a devastatingly inept monarch, both militarily and politically, and, although Simon de Montfort has sworn fealty to him, he eventually becomes the leader of a rebellion by the English barons. They attempt to impose a set of provisions on Henry which were a logical extension of the Magna Carta. The King, however, is convinced that he answers only to God and will brook no interference.
  Penman astutely illustrates how a mischance or a happenstance can dramatically alter the course of history. What if Simon de Montfort’s eldest son, Harry, had not been so trusting? What if his second son Bran had been more trustworthy and competent? The course of English history might have been entirely different.
  Penman paints a vivid picture of England and Wales in the 13th century. She relates the tragic plight of the Jews of that era who were the lowest and most vulnerable residents in the realm. One of the most remarkable characters in her story is Thomas Fitz Thomas, the mayor of London, a staunch supporter of Simon de Montfort, who tries to protect the Jews of his city.
  Prior to reading this book I knew absolutely nothing about Simon de Montfort and his noble struggle. One of the reasons I love reading Sharon Kay Penman’s books is that she fills in glaring gaps in my knowledge of English history. At the same time, she is a masterful story teller.
• This is the kind of book that has made me a fan of historical fiction. The characters are rich and complete, the amount of dedication it takes to write a book of this period, with the twist and turns of fate, and the hearts of English kings, barons and lords, flat amazes me!
  I don't often get so involved with a character in a book that I shed tears when that character dies on the pages. And I've cried several times reading this series. I love the way the author completes each character, showing the good side, as well as the bad, she has no favorites, but then neither does fate. From Llewelyn and Joanna, to Simon and Nell, I feel like I was there, in the cleaner world of the 12 century, the birds, the sky, the rivers, and mountains, all so crisp and clear.
  Every time I finish a book, I am reluctant to start another, for fear that because favorite characters have passed from the story, I will have a hard time starting the next one, but the transitions are smooth and easy to slip into.