false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171916177m/126457.jpg 126457 7 <div>A medieval tale of pride and strife, of coming-of-age in a world where chivalry is a luxury seldom afforded, especially by men of power.<br><br>England, 1148---ten-year-old Brunin FitzWarin is an awkward misfit in his own family. A quiet child, he is tormented by his brothers and loathed by his powerful and autocratic grandmother. In an attempt to encourage Brunin&#8217;s development, his father sends him to be fostered in the household of Joscelin de Dinan, Lord of Ludlow. Here Brunin will learn knightly arts, but before he can succeed, he must overcome the deep-seated doubts that hold him back.<br><br>Hawise, the youngest daughter of Lord Joscelin, soon forms a strong friendship with Brunin. Family loyalties mean that her father, with the young Brunin as his squire, must aid Prince Henry of Anjou in his battle with King Stephen for the English crown. Meanwhile, Ludlow itself comes under threat from Joscelin&#8217;s rival, Gilbert de Lacy. As the war for the crown rages, and de Lacy becomes more assertive in his claims for Ludlow, Brunin and Hawise are drawn into each other&#8217;s arms.<br><br>Now Brunin must defeat the shadows of his childhood and put to use all that he has learned. As the pressure on Ludlow intensifies and a new Welsh threat emerges against his own family&#8217;s lands, Brunin must confront the future head on, or fail on all counts.... </div> 121780 book 29 11 2005 Shadows and Strongholds: A Novel total:128|5:62|4:44|3:19|2:2|1:1| 128 548 245 14 5 2 false false Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 05:46:46 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 05:17:40 -0700 2009 Shadows and Strongholds was not only my first ever Elizabeth Chadwick read (I know, where have I been?!) but my first read of a twelfth century novel, and I LOVED it.

Elizabeth Chadwick's storytelling is second to none, and the era came alive on every page. I loved watching the characters...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 02 13:36:02 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 11:20:17 -0700 2009
Now that I've finished it, I think it's an enjoyable and quick read that actually taught me a lot about medieval customs and the origins of some of our habits, as well as telling a great story. It was well researched and I...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Feb 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 29 11:34:23 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 25 17:46:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 30 17:50:26 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 08 03:47:48 -0800 2008
I just didn't feel like I was in...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Dec 08 15:20:37 -0800 2007 Wed Mar 19 14:11:49 -0700 2008
A Mediaeval tale of pride and strife, of coming of age in a world where chivalry is a luxury seldom afforded, esp...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 20:17:38 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 20:31:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Aug 20 14:26:55 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 14:27:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Oct 10 10:24:59 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 10 15:11:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 22 05:18:47 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 05:21:55 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 04:57:36 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 04:58:44 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Mar 31 15:18:44 -0700 2007 Sat Mar 31 15:22:04 -0700 2007 She can easily transport me to medieval England from the first page.
Her characters are engaging, her plots intriguing. She casts a magical spell for the reader, who becomes loathed to read the last page kn...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 19:43:35 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 29 19:01:01 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Sep 24 15:04:52 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 15:06:11 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Aug 06 22:06:40 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 22:06:47 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 11:17:44 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 11:18:02 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Nov 17 10:48:04 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 10:48:04 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 15 18:16:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 18:16:00 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Nov 15 07:55:37 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 07:55:37 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Nov 12 11:02:26 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 11:02:26 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 12 09:44:04 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 09:44:04 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=126457