Devil's Brood

I'm seeing Richard I of England in whole new light and it's as dim as a gutting candle . . . but I digress. Richard is a product of his time and that time was dark and disturbing.

Ms. Penman once again makes medieval life and history as palpable as what we see on the news today, the persons as real, whole and flawed as ourselves - separated by a thousand years. "Devil's Brood" concludes the story of Henry II of England and his queen Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine and concentrates on the ill-fated rebellions of Henry and Eleanor's sons, The young king Hal, crowned during his father's lifetime as a surety of succession, Richard, Geoffrey and John. The rebellion is sanctioned by Eleanor who is tired of being seen as merely Henry's queen and not as a duchess in her own right with power and intellect in a man's world. A few of the mythic causes of that rebellion are swept away in Ms. Penman's meticulously researched book, leaning on fact.

Henry is arguably one of England's greatest rulers but he failed miserably as a father to his children, especially his boys - four spoiled, willful and vengeful brats in my opinion, Geoffrey being the most sympathetic. Hal, the eldest, is a 'celebutante' of his day - handsome, popular, free with favor and money, but weak as a commander and ruler, easily swayed by hangers-on. Geoffrey is the son in the middle: overlooked, underappreciated but cold and calculating and turning when the wind blows in his favor. John is a boy learning from his older brothers and gets a lesson in mistrust and treachery. Richard is just downright scary. Sorry if you, dear Reader, hold the historical legend that he was a champion of the weak, poor, downtrodden - nope, that was Robin Hood. Richard is portrayed here as cold, calculating, mean, bloodless while suffering bloodlust as he hacks and stabs his way through Normandy, Poitou, Anjou, Maine and Aquitaine. All of the sons have plenty considering the times, it's just that they want their father's trust and attention and more lands and castles, but everyone goes after that trust and attention all the wrong ways. If you're expecting the witty banter and political savvy of that outstanding play, "The Lion in Winter," you're in for a surprise. This is real, gritty, poignant and outstanding. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is a medieval reality show, Plotting with the Plantagenets - a family that put the capital 'D' in Dysfunctional. ( )

This was much better than the preceeding book. Takes the action through the trial and tribulations of Henry II's reign, concentrating on his son's rebellions and his relationship with Eleanor. Ends with Henry's death. ( )

Third book in Henry & Eleanor series. Focuses on sons arriving at maturity and challenging Henry. ( )

The final (not sure if her newest 'Lionheart' is part of this series or not) installment of Penman's Eleanor of Aquitaine series. This one takes it from Henry and Eleanor's estrangement after she discovers Henry's concubine Rosamund Clifford, to Eleanor's captivity, to the rise and fall of their three eldest boys, and finally to Henry's sad defeat at the hands of the French King and his own son and ultimately his sad death.

This was one long book. I read it on a Kindle so I can't be sure of the page count but it seemed to me to be one of her longest. While entertaining, and certainly fascinating historical fiction as always from Penman -- I have not really felt the heart in this series as I did in the Welsh trilogy or in 'Sunne in Splendor.' Her storytelling is ever so slightly lackluster in this series, especially the last two novels and so for the first time I have become aware of their length and the almost impossible to keep straight cast of Counts, Dukes, allegiances, etc.

I enjoyed Penman's characterization of Henry's third son Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany and his wife, Constance as well as the poor hapless young King Hal. I felt Eleanor's personality was lacking (partly I am sure because historically she was held captive and was able to do little) and I felt much sympathy for Henry. While I felt Penman gave a balanced picture of him, I still think his sons' were a bunch of spoiled ingrates that needed a good whooping.

Anyway, entertaining. I will always continue to read her novels for long, involved, lush, escapist historical tales - but the last two in this series are a bit of a notch down for me ( )

While When Christ and His Saints Slept is easily the best book of the trilogy, Penman does not disappoint with Devil's Brood. Devil's Brood follows the sons of Henry Fitz Empress and Eleanor of Acquitane through all of their rebellions, double dealings, false apologies, and betrayals. Each of the sons has their own personalities and quirks and theirs story alone could have easily filled up a trilogy of its own. I also find it hard to have any sympathy for most of the characters, except Henry, he truly did not understand why his sons would rebel against him and it was just so sad to read page after page of his utter bafflement. Eleanor was also a constant source of anger for me, I found her to be haughty, selfish, and ultimately just horribly horribly annoying. To be completely honest though my main grievance with the book is the sheer length, at almost 800 pages it is rather lengthy and at times I found myself wanting to skip parts just to get through it. ( )