Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons
by Sharon Kay Penman

Here Be Dragons
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Book Summary Information

Author: Sharon Kay Penman
Edition: 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.

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