Bøker av Sharon Penman

An epic novel telling the story of a clash of cultures from New York Times bestselling author Sharon Penman.

From the New York Times bestselling author Sharon Penman comes A King's Ransom, the stunning sequel to Lionheart Travelling home from the bloody battlefields of the Holy Land, the Crusader King Richard the Lionheart is shipwrecked in the Mediterranean after an encounter with pirates. He should be protected by a papal decree, but he is betrayed and captured by the Duke of Austria - a man who has good reason to loathe him - and is immediately claimed by the Holy Roman Emperor, who also bears him a bitter grudge. Richard is to spend fifteen months imprisoned, much of it in the notorious fortress at Trefils, which few men ever left. Meanwhile, his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is moving heaven and earth to raise a staggering ransom, travelling across Europe herself to buy the release of her favourite son. But her determination may not be enough. At the eleventh hour, the Duke announces that he has had a better offer from the French king, Philippe, and Richard's own treacherous brother, John. They will pay an even larger sum to continue Richard's captivity - or to turn him over to their tender mercies.Told with masterful insight and rich historical detail, A King's Ransom is a striking portrayal of the darker, troubled years of Richard - a man whose courage, compassion and intelligence became the stuff of legend.

This special thirtieth anniversary edition of the bestselling The Sunne in Splendour, features an author's note from Sharon Penman. Richard, last-born son of the Duke of York, was seven months short of his nineteenth birthday when he bloodied himself at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, earning his legendary reputation as a battle commander in the Wars of the Roses, and ending the Lancastrian line of succession. But Richard was far more than a warrior schooled in combat. He was also a devoted brother, an ardent suitor, a patron of the arts, an indulgent father, a generous friend. Above all, he was a man of fierce loyalties, great courage and firm principles, who was ill at ease among the intrigues of Edward's court. The very codes Richard lived by ultimately betrayed him. But he was betrayed by history too. Leaving no heir, his reputation was at the mercy of his successor, and Henry Tudor had too much at stake to risk mercy. Thus was born the myth of King Richard III, the man who would stop at nothing to gain the throne. Filled with the sights and sounds of battle, the customs and love of daily life, the rigours and dangers of Court politics and the touching concerns of very real men and women, The Sunne in Splendour is a richly coloured tapestry of medieval England.

Richard I was crowned King in 1189 and set off almost immediately for the Third Crusade. This was a bloody campaign to regain the Holy Land, marked by warfare among the Christians and extraordinary campaigns against the Saracens. Men and women found themselves facing new sorts of challenges and facing an uncertain future. John, the youngest son, was left behind - and with Richard gone, he was free to conspire with the French king to steal his brother's throne. Overshadowing the battlefields that stretched to Jerusalem and beyond were the personalities of two great adversaries: Richard and Saladin. They quickly took the measure of each other in both war and diplomacy. The result was mutual admiration: a profound acknowledgement of a worthy opponent. In Lionheart, a gripping narrative of passion, intrigue, battle and deceit, Sharon Penman reveals a true and complex Richard - a man remarkable for his power and intelligence, his keen grasp of warfare and his concern for the safety of his men, who followed him against all odds.

In this gripping tale of passion, politics and conflict, King Henry II finds himself brutally betrayed by his wife Eleanor and three eldest sons when they enter into a rebellion against him. Aligning themselves with Henry's most bitter enemy, King Louis of France, their treacherous actions will have devastating consequences as they bring about the downfall of a brilliant man and a powerful empire.In Devil's Brood, the compelling story of Henry and Eleanor's once great love affair is explored in an uniquely vivid way. What twists of fate turn love to hatred? What points of principle and ambition cause these two icons to struggle for power, leaving their family tragically divided and their turbulent marriage finished in all but name?Sharon Penman's glorious trilogy reaches its spellbinding conclusion.

Stephen was handsome, unreliable and beguiling. Maude was courageous, beautiful and insanely arrogant. They fought for twenty years and devastated England. Their flair for dramatic events and immense catastrophes made sure that they were never boring.

This second part of the trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine opens during the glory years of their reign when trouble was brewing. The new Archbishop of Canterbury was a potential foe, but Henry's infidelity with Rosamund Clifford made him the gravest enemy of all - his queen.

An historical novel of power and betrayal, loyalty and political intrigue in thirteenth-century England, Wales and France. It focuses on King John of England, younger brother to the brilliant Richard Lionheart, Joanna, his illegitimate but recognised daughter and Llewellyn Ab Iowerth, and Prince of Gwynedd, a bitter opponent of English ways.

Presents the major figures the splendid dominant King of England, Edward I, and The Great Llewellyn II, Prince of Wales. This book details the political machinations of Edward against the Welsh and the Scots, together with Llewellyn's struggle to control the recalcitrant Welsh Princes.