Time and Chance

I always look forward to a Sharon Penman novel I have not read before, this one kept me interested throughout the book. She has the ability to make the reader feel they are there with the characters in the book, no mean feat. The book is about the turbulent relationship between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Starting in 1156 the couple have been married for four years. The birth of their sons has ensured the succession to the throne, but civil war has seen the country torn apart. Henry needs to defend the borders of England against France and Wales, but his most daunting task is his fight with the church to stop them from infringing on his power. This fight culminates with his one time friend Thomas Becket, whom Henry has made Archbishop of Canterbury being murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. Sharon Penman is not a prolific writer, which is understandable considering the amount of research that must go into each of her books. This book stands out among historical novels.

Sharon Kay Penman may be the best writer around of historical novels about medieval England, France, and Wales. She takes only minor liberties with the facts so her novels can be considered an enjoyable way to amplify your knowledge of medieval history. "Time and Chance" is the well-known tale of the struggle for power between Henry II, King of England and about one-half of what is now France, and Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The fabulous Eleanor of Aquitaine is Henry's competent wife and Queen. (My picture of Eleanor will always be that of Katherine Hepburn in the "The Lion of Winter.") Henry and Becket, for those who have forgotten the story, are best friends - until Henry appoints Becket as the Archbishop and, suddenly, the friendship dissolves in a bitter Church/State struggle. It's a disappointment that the author doesn't make much of an effort to unravel the mystery of Becket's character. For me, Becket comes across as more of a fool than a man of principle. As one of the characters says "a wise man ought not to let his tongue cut his own throat." A weakness of the novel is that it begins with a heavy emphasis on Wales and Welsh characters, but Wales becomes increasingly irrelevant as the story unfolds. Don't spend too much time trying to figure out who's who among the Welsh, because it doesn't really matter much in the scheme of things. An effort to comprehend the complex ecclesiastical disputes and sort out the churchly characters in the novel would be much more rewarding. Criticisms notwithstanding, this is a fine novel, telling an excellent tale about some of the most momentous events of the Middle Ages. A sequel can be expected that will continue the story of Henry and Eleanor and their sons who include Richard the Lion Hearted, everyone's favorite medieval hero, and John, everyone's favorite medieval villain. Penman sets the scene for a little different twist on these two in her next book.

Penman emerged long ago as one of the best historical novelists and continues to solidify her reputation with each new release. Her special genius lies in the bright and shining historical detail that she can weave into both plot and dialog (she's a very good student of history and at times is absolutely brilliant in conveying to us the workings of medieval minds).Chronologically, this is the 2nd of her novels. It's also the 2nd in the Henry & Eleanor trilogy (the others are When Christ & His Saints Slept and Devil's Brood).There is no doubt this trilogy will stand as a superior work for ages to come. There is certainly a very complex plot (because this era of English history was quite convoluted). Penman does an excellent job of keeping it all straight for us as she leads us through the maze of characters. Yes, it's complicated but if you read the history of these times you quickly come to see what a great job she did in her design of the story.There are touching moments (the private verbal dueling between Henry & Eleanor are always memorable) and Penman is great at establishing dynamic moments for a wide range of events (the machinations of Becket, etc.). Although I suspected it was coming, I still found her negative characterization of Becket to be an amazing perspective (that I can easily imagine coming from the very mind of Henry himself - a remarkable piece of writing by Penman).As always, Penman's true genius is the broad historical scope that is painted on top of the shimmering details of brief moments. It truly does feel as if you are living the story yourself, and it is this bringing us readers in as witnesses that stands as Penman's contribution to the art of thehistorical novel.If you prefer to read in chronological order:1101-1154 When Christ And His Saints Slept (Vol 1 of the Henry & Eleanor Trilogy)1156-1171 Time And Chance (Vol 2 of the Henry & Eleanor Trilogy)12th Cent Devil's Brood (Vol 3 of the Henry & Eleanor Trilogy)- not yet released1192-1193 The Queen's Man1193 Cruel As The Grave1183-1232 Here Be Dragons (Vol 1 of Welsh Trilogy)1231-1267 Falls The Shadow (Vol 2 of Welsh Trilogy)1271-1283 The Reckoning (Vol 3 of Welsh Trilogy)1459-1492 The Sunne In Splendour

Penman, has drawn her magic pen once again, this time to tell the tale of the strongly interwoven relationships between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Thomas Becket and the Empress Maude.Henry & Eleanor's relationship starts out as a breathtaking explosion of power and attraction but soon simmers into a broiling brew of discontent between such *high-maintance* personalities. Becket is rightly shown as the enigma he was in life and in a gutsy move on Penman's part she allows the reader to make up their own mind about this complex and very *unsaintly* character.She also includes a wonderful continuation of fictional characters from When Christ and his Saints Slept which as a side bar story...really eases the increasing tensions between Henry and Eleanor.Penman isn't known as a fasnicating, accurate historical author without great reasoning and she doesn't disapoint with Time and Chance which is a tremendous building block to the final novel in the trilogy - The Devil's Brood.An amazing read from an amazing author!!!

I've waited a long time for this book to come out. Sharon Kay Penman has long been my favorite author. This sequel to When Christ and His Saints Slept continues the story of Henry II and Eleanor. Penman is well grounded in the history of the period and her historical novels accurately convey the events of the time as well as acquainting us with the major players of the era. I was interested in the relationship between Henry and Eleanor and, knowing the ultimate outcome, read with fascination about Henry's growing flirtation with Rosamunde. The confrontation between Henry and Eleanor after she first learns about Rosamunde was, perhaps, my favorite scene in the book. As another writer mentioned, many readers will already be acquainted with Thomas Becket's role in the story through movies. I thought Penman did a good job of describing him. We were not privy to his inmost thoughts, but rather had to try to figure him out as did Henry II. I thought this was a clever way for Penman to handle the question of his motivation. We don't know, neither did Henry or his other contemporaries, but we have enough to make our own conjectures.If you haven't already, be sure to read Penman's other books--Sunne in Splendor (Richard III), and the Welsh Trilogy, starting with Here Be Dragons.