This one was great I can't wait to read the next one in the series. ( )

The book was ponderous and slow moving ( )

Penman's account of Henry II's tempestuous relationship with Thomas Becket is as compelling as earlier novels about Welsh history in this era. All of the characters are well drawn and Penman is careful with her research. Digressions from known history are acknowledged in the book's afterward. This one is strongly recommended for those interested in the period as well as for those who merely enjoy a good novel. ( )

Reading a Penman novel is for me like watching a movie played out in your mind. It all feels so very real. I had read the previous book in the trilogy, While Christ and His Saints Slept, about 4 years ago, and I was a little concerned about how I was going to pick up the action, but it was like meeting old friends. In this book, we see the struggles between Henry II and Thomas Becket, the start of the division between Henry and Eleanor, and strife in Wales that predates SKP's Welsh trilogy marvelously. After reading this, I know that The Devil's Brood is going to be a action packed read, and I won't be waiting too long to dive into that! ( )

The second novel in her trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Time and Chance covers the period of the middle years of Henry’s reign, up to and including the notorious murder of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury. That, along with the deteriorating marriage to Eleanor are the twin foci of the book; given the tumultuous events of Henry’s reign, who, as well as being the ruler of England, controlled more land in France the King of France (although Henry was nominally a vassal of the French king), there is plenty of drama to fill the pages of this superbly told and equally well-written book.

Penman’s first in the series, When Christ and His Saints Slept, covered the period of the English Civil War between Maude, Henry’s mother, and Stephen, who seized the English after Henry I death, even though Henry had exacted an oath from his barons to honor his choice of Maude as heir. In that book, Penman does an outstanding job of presenting both sides of that bitter, 19 year war that devastated England.

She does an equally brilliant job in presenting both sides of the increasingly acrimonious and finally lethal conflict between Henry and Beckett over the respective boundaries of power of Church and State. The long view of history is on Henry’s side. BUT, in the context of the 12th century, as Penman so deftly shows, not only was that not clear but there was also a powerful argument on Beckett’s side. Two different men--less stubborn, less proud--might have been able to settle the differences; there were certainly countless attempts to do so, especially efforts by the then-pope. But Penman makes clear that both men were at fault for their inability to yield. The controversy which ended in the murder of Becket was one of the most dramatic events of the Middle Ages; it was recorded in detail. Equally so with Beckett’s murder; there were five eyewitnesses, who wrote detailed accounts. So Penman has plenty of rich material to work with, and she does an outstanding job.

Just as fascinating is her rendition of the marriage between Henry and Eleanor, the probable causes for their increasing estrangement, which no doubt will culminate in her third and final book on Henry and Eleanor. But Penman does a masterful job in her presentation of the couple, again showing both sides of the troubles between them. It’s nearly impossible, however, not to side with Eleanor, arguably the most powerful and fascinating woman of the Middle Ages.

Stashed in between the two central dramas are wars with the Welsh and various rebellious barons of Henry’s domains, and the tension between Henry and Louis VII, the St.Louis of French history, with whom Henry had to walk a fine line as he struggled both to keep his lands on the continent and expand his power whenever the opportunity arose.

In Penman’s hands, all the characters come alive. Henry, Eleanor, and especially Beckett reveal themselves both in words and actions to be complex characters. Penman is particularly good at dialogue. Most of her main cast are historical figures; carried over from her first book is the fictional character of Ranulf, supposedly one of Henry I’s many illegitimate children (as Penman puts it, Henry had at least 20, so why not use one of them), and therefore uncle to Henry II. Ranulf serves beautifully, as he did in the first book, as an window on the Welsh at this time, important actors during Henry’s reign.

I particularly liked the structure of the book, which she used in When Christ and his Saints Slept. Segmented into slices of time set in particular locales, the structure is very effective, allowing for abrupt changes in time and place without disrupting the narrative in the slightest. There is also a nice sketch of England and France, showing the locations of major cities, towns, and castles, especially those that play an important part in the story. The book opens in July, 1156 at Chinon Castle in France and ends in Wales in 1171, with much unresolved, waiting the final chapter in The Devil’s Brood.

There is no finer historical fiction that I know of. Highly recommended. ( )