So many of these scenes were just incredible, but true! Some characters as she mentions were real, but little was known about them. Penman as usual sticks to a lot of historical accuracy, which is why you don't want to google until the end. As I was told, do not google as you read, for the stories are all page turners and you want to be surprised. I went into all three books not knowing about the Welsh wars and knowing little about Simon de Montfort.

King Edward, like King John just refuses. In this final trilogy, without giving too much away a grown up Llelo aka Llywelyn The Last continues to fight the English for an independent Wales. Falls the Shadow continues the family drama of Llywelyn's children and his grandchild and namesake Llywelyn aka Llelo. In Book 2 Falls the Shadow we see the rising of Simon de Montfort who fought for the people of England's civil rights and the continuation of the English and Welsh wars. He was The Prince of Wales for over 40 years. In book 1 Here be Dragons we are introduced to Llywelyn the Great. This was the third book in this engrossing and fulfilling trilogy. 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.

The reckoning penman