false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255879689m/43841.jpg 43841 7 "A COMPELLING, WELL-WRITTEN EPIC. . .Penman is an accomplished novelist and certainly has staked a claim to medieval England as her literary fiefdom."<br>--The Philadelphia Inquirer<br>A.D. 1135. As church bells tolled for the death of England's King Henry I, his barons faced the unwelcome prospect of being ruled by a woman: Henry's beautiful daughter Maude, Countess of Anjou. But before Maude could claim her throne, her cousin Stephen seized it. In their long and bitter struggle, all of England bled and burned.<br>Sharon Kay Penman's magnificent fifth novel summons to life a spectacular medieval tragedy whose unfolding breaks the heart even as it prepares the way for splendors to come--the glorious age of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Plantagenets that would soon illumine the world.<br>"[A] marvelous medieval pageant of a novel. . .Another jewel in [Penman's] already glittering crown."<br>--The Orlando Sentinel<br>"Penman once again tells a tale of kings and queens, singular destinies, and double-crosses. . . .[She] inventively animates a large cast [and] continues to base her narrative on the firm ground of fact."<br>--Kirkus Reviews 6417933 1995 When Christ and His Saints Slept (Eleanor of Aquitane, Book 1) total:950|5:412|4:360|3:154|2:20|1:4| 950 4006 1423 111 5 2 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Aug 20 13:56:27 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 13:57:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 06:37:49 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 05 21:46:15 -0700 2008
1.) "Head-hopping": Sometimes it's really hard to tell who she's talking about, and you have to go back and re-read to figure it out.

2.) Many scenes seem to have thi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 20:21:51 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 20:35:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 10:04:29 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 22:07:29 -0700 2009
Don't be misled by the 3 star rating, this was a very good book! I notice another review says "I'm glad I read it, and I'm glad it's over", which is how I feel.

The history was fascinating, I knew...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 14:34:41 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 18:54:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1995 Wed Feb 11 12:26:20 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 12:32:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 16:12:27 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 16:14:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 27 07:35:32 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 05:38:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 28 17:03:02 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 17:11:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 19:39:32 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 23:03:00 -0700 2009
When Christ and his Saints Slept is another incredib...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 14:18:22 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 09:37:44 -0700 2009
This was not one of my favorites, but that's like saying I prefer Godiva over Lindt chocolate -- they're both terrific.

If you love historical fiction...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 19:39:43 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 05:32:20 -0700 2009
Having never read anything about the struggle between Maude and Stephen, this book was a real eye opener. I was amazed at how many towns and vil...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 14:49:51 -0800 2009 Wed May 13 10:17:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 06 21:32:02 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 06 21:32:56 -0700 2008 2
In the fall of 1120, off the coast of Normandy, the infamous ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 29 21:36:32 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 14:24:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Sep 30 03:22:41 -0700 2007 Fri Dec 21 10:49:44 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun May 20 13:02:42 -0700 2007 Tue May 29 06:14:14 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 20:43:06 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 00:24:21 -0700 2008 Time and Chance (the second in the series) and I believ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 1996 Thu Jan 08 18:56:24 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 20:15:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 17:27:38 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 17:34:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=43841