Here Be Dragons
by Sharon Kay Penman
List Price:
Our Price: $4.73
You Save: $11.22 (70%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sharon Kay PenmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-05-11
ISBN: 0345382846
Number of pages: 720
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Here Be Dragons
Book Review: Meet the real people behind the legends of 13th century Wales and England
Summary: 4 Stars
Sharon Kay Penman's historical novels betray her background as an attorney. From "While Christ and His Saints Slept," to "Time and Chance," to "The Sunne in Splendour," Penman's novels teem with impeccable scholarship -- Penman's extensive research is only exceeded by her carefully chosen prose. For those looking for a "You Are There" historical novel of 13th-century England and Wales, you've come to the right place.
Penman writes in a straightforward, no-nonsense manner. You will not find the spiritual soaring you find in Manda Scott's "Boudica" series, or the riveting battle scenes from Bernard Cornwell's thousands of novels, or the tightly focused brevity of Cecelia Holland. Penman takes more after Colleen McCullough, who wrote the epic "Masters of Rome" series about the fall of the Roman Republic. The real meat in these stories lies in the characters, who are always revealed to be much more human than the legends we know today.
In "Here be Dragons," Penman focuses on England's inability to marshall their warlike-yet-outnumbered neighbors to the west, the mysterious Welsh. Penman writes in her Author's Note that "Here be Dragons" was a common description on maps for the lands beyond the knowledge of the mapmaker. This is an apt analogy for England's limited understanding of Wales, and their young prince Llewelyn.
The Welsh of the 13th century hated the English to no end, but they were much more likely to fight among themselves as they were to unite against the common foe. The English could never beat the Welsh in fixed battle, mainly because the Welsh rarely went toe-to-toe with the numerically superior English, but instead were masters of ambush and innovative tactics. The English, however, were masters at playing one Welsh prince against another. So how is Llewelyn, who dreams of uniting the Welsh, to do this?
Not only must Llewelyn battle his fellow Welshmen. He must do battle with one of England's most cunning monarchs, King John, who inherits when his less-than-beloved brother Richard the Lionheart passes on. "Here be Dragons" is also John's story, as Penman seeks to rescue John from the cesspool history has assigned to him. Here we see a John isolated, overshadowed, and underappreciated, but above all, human. This humanity will be sorely tested by Llewelyn and others.
John's humanity is personified by his illegitimate daughter, Joanne. Contrary to the norms at the time, John openly adores his daughter despite her scandalous background, and rescues Joanne from a life of tortured obscurity. But John is also a king, and kings use blood ties and marriage to cement kingdoms. While at first it appears to be a master stroke when John betrothes his daughter to Llewelyn (she never sees him until the day before the wedding), John ultimately learns that the spirited Joanne will help Llewelyn attain greater heights as an Angevin-in-law than he ever could on his own.
Much more focused on the court halls and bedrooms of royalty than the battlefield, "Here be Dragons" is an entertaining sojoun into a distant, mysterious land. If Penman's prose occasionally gets too workmanlike, and her jokes surprisingly flat, well, maybe that's forgiveable. "Here be Dragons" is not one of those books that you want to re-read right away upon finishing it, but I will definitely finish Penmans' Wales trilogy in short order. Here's to "Falls the Shadow" and "The Reckoning"!
Summary of Here Be Dragons
"A masterful picture of Wales in the 13th century...vivdly pictured as grandly beautiful, its people volatile, stubborn and mystic."THE SAN DIEGO UNION
Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales--and Llewelyn--Joanna must decide to which of these powerful men she owes her loyalty and love.
A sweeping novel of power and passion, loyalty and lives, this is the book that began the trilogy that includes FALLS THE SHADOW and THE RECKONING.
Wales Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Wales Books
The Kellys and the O'Kellys: Or Landlords and Tenants (The World's Classics)by Anthony Trollope
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1982-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.61
Hanes Cymru (Welsh Edition)by J Davies
Penguin Books; Published: 2007-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.69
Battleship: The Loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulseby Martin Middlebrook, Patrick Mahoney
Penguin UK; Published: 1994-02; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
The History of Scottish Literature: 1660-1800 (History of Scottish Literature,) Vol. 2Aberdeen Univ Pr; Published: 1987-10; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
A Resurrection of a Kindby Christopher Rush
Aberdeen Univ Pr; Published: 1984-12; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Scotland and the Lowland Tongue: Studies in the Language and Literature of Lowland ScotlandPergamon Pr; Published: 1983-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $31.50
Roses Round the Doorby Christine Mari Fraser
Harpercollins; Published: 1986-06-12; Paperback; Book
London Callingby Sukhdev Sandhu
Harper Collins; Published: 2003-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $238.98
Macbeth (Shakespeare in Production)by William Shakespeare
Cambridge University Press; Published: 2004-06-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $35.41
Price in other shops:
Here Be Dragonsby Sharon Kay Penman
Ballantine Books; Published: 1993-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.73
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Championby Elizabeth Chadwick
Sourcebooks Landmark; Published: 2009-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
Lady of the Englishby Elizabeth Chadwick
Sourcebooks Landmark; Published: 2011-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops:
Dragon's Lair (Ballantine Reader's Circle)by Sharon Kay Penman
Ballantine Books; Published: 2004-11-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.65
Price in other shops:
Devil's Broodby Sharon Kay Penman
Putnam Adult; Published: 2008-10-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.82
Price in other shops:
Lionheartby Sharon Kay Penman
A Marian Wood Book/Putnam; Published: 2011-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.74
Price in other shops:
The Sunne In Splendour: A Novel of Richard IIIby Sharon Kay Penman
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-01-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
The Reckoningby Sharon Kay Penman
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2009-04-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Time and Chance: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)by Sharon Kay Penman
Ballantine Books; Published: 2003-02-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
When Christ and His Saints Slept: A Novelby Sharon Kay Penman
Ballantine Books; Published: 1996-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.84
Price in other shops:
Falls the Shadow: A Novelby Sharon Kay Penman
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-08-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops: