Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Circle of Stones
The author of the 1.5 million-copy bestseller Sacajawea now brings to life an extraordinary historical saga, capturing the breathtaking castle intrigue of medieval Wales and the passions that drove men and women to explore new horizons...
History would call her Brenda, the mistress of a powerful Welsh prince. But when she arrives at Gwynedd Castle, she is only a naive girl...more
History would call her Brenda, the mistress of a powerful Welsh prince. But when she arrives at Gwynedd Castle, she is only a naive girl...more
Paperback, 512 pages
Published
March 15th 2000
by St. Martin's Press
(first published 1999)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
540)
Epic historical fiction at its best! The tale is set in 12th Century Wales and full of strong, fascinating characters and intrigue. I enjoyed it immensely! I had a little trouble with the beginning; I can’t put my finger on why. But once I was about 20 pages in, I was hooked. Having read the Eleanor of Aquitaine series by Sharon Kay Penman, which tells the tale of England during the same time period, I was especially intrigued and interested to hear the other side of the story, since the two cou...more
Mar 17, 2012
Frank
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
native-american
I read Waldo's "Sacajewea" several years ago and found it to be engrossing and well-researched. In that long novel, I learned of a possible connection of the Mandan Indians with Madoc, the legendary Welshman who purportedly sailed to America in the late 12th century and established a colony there. "Circle of Stones" is the first in a series of novels by Waldo telling the story of Madoc. This novel was obviously well-researched but I found it somewhat lacking in plot and I struggled sometimes wit...more
A bit disappointing for various reasons. I thought there would be more on Madoc, as there's quite a bit of prophecy about him, but evidently that's in the sequel, Circle of Stars: A Novel. Then there's no sympathetic "New Religionists" (Christians), and the "Old Religionists" ("druids") are proud of being "pagans" (wouldn't they be proud of being druids? and I thought there would be fewer actual druids and more followers of the old religion and they wouldn't necessarily identify as "pagan," whic...more
Jan 13, 2013
Gina
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes historical fiction
Shelves:
fiction,
historical-fiction
This is a true historical fiction. It is rich with characters, culture, and daily life of the times. It reminds me of the Greenlanders by Jane Smiley because it likewise gives a glimpse into life at a certain time and place through the lives of the characters (Circle of Stones is in 12th Century Wales). From other reviews I've read, perhaps you need to be an historical fiction fan to really like this book. Some felt it lacked a plot. Personally, the first couple pages were hard to get into, and...more
Anna Lee Waldo's historical research is superb in this fictionalized account exploring the possibility of a Welsh discovery of America, 300 years prior to Columbus' landing. My version is an Advance Uncorrected Proof, so there may be differences in the final version. The story is told primarily from the point of view of Brenda, Prince Owain's Irish favored mistress. She gives birth to Madoc under difficult circumstances. I won't tell any more about that because I don't want to wreck the story. T...more
I've had this novel and its sequel on my shelves for over 10 years and am just now getting to them. I had read the author's previous works, Sacajawea, and Prairie: The Legend of Charles Burton Irwin and the Y6 Ranch back in the early 1990s and have been anxious to give these "Circle" books a try. This novel states that it is the first of a series but to my knowledge only one sequel has been published, back in 2001. A third book, "Watch the Face of the Sky" is/was supposed to be published in 2011...more
I've read the hefty beast that is Waldo's "Sacajawea". And having enjoyed that, I decided to give this first book in a series of hers a try. I wasn't nearly as thrilled with it, although it wasn't terrible.
Brenda is a young mistress of Prince Owain, who rules over Wales. On an auspicious night, she becomes pregnant with her third child but then is unlucky enough to give birth to a son at the same time Owain's other two women give birth to sons. Because of a talk earlier, Owain decides only one s...more
Brenda is a young mistress of Prince Owain, who rules over Wales. On an auspicious night, she becomes pregnant with her third child but then is unlucky enough to give birth to a son at the same time Owain's other two women give birth to sons. Because of a talk earlier, Owain decides only one s...more
A wonderfully written, historically accurate account of the 12Th century Welsh royals. The characters were portrayed beautifully human in their struggles for survival in what is becoming an English dominated society. The story tells a vivid picture of Old Religionists trying to adapt in a world of dominate Christian beliefs. Alternative twist of history at the end, but I will leave that for you to discover!
Jul 08, 2011
Jennifer Sigman
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
new-in-2011,
library
Several things wrong with this book:
1) The author starts in the middle of the story and never gives enough background so that you understand why the characters are doing what they do.
2) We are told over and over that Brenda is a smart woman. We're never shown it.
3) A multitude of typographical and grammatical errors throw you out of the story.
1) The author starts in the middle of the story and never gives enough background so that you understand why the characters are doing what they do.
2) We are told over and over that Brenda is a smart woman. We're never shown it.
3) A multitude of typographical and grammatical errors throw you out of the story.
view 1 comment
"I've rarely read a historical novel where the author went to the trouble of doing so much research and then wasted it with such awkward writing. The characterizations are so poorly drawn and inconsistent that it's very hard to care about the story - a critical turning point in the history of Wales where one of its greatest leaders leaves chaos behind due to his failure to deal with his many immoral sons. The conflict between druidism and Christianity has been used in many other novels to much g...more
This book follows the life of the mother of a Welsh legend, and the sacrifices she makes for him to realize his potential. It brings us to the Welsh struggle against the English and their relentless drive to try stamp out the old way of life and the knowledge of the Druids.
I look forward to tracking down the second book and following the life of Madoc the son of Brenda and Owain.
I look forward to tracking down the second book and following the life of Madoc the son of Brenda and Owain.
I remember really enjoying this book, but unfortunately it got eaten by mold, and I can't reread it until I find another copy.
The only reason I didn't give it zero stars is that I didn't want anyone to think I forgot to rate it.
The language from time to time was a bit trippy, but all in all..... worth the read.
Dialogue is a bit wonky but as far as historical fiction goes, this is great.
This book was wonderful. Named my son after the boy in the story....
Mar 15, 2009
Pam
added it
Good Historical Novel
Liked it a lot!
3.5
Interesting subject matter, not very well written and kind of dull. I found the book very hard to get through and not very entertaining. In the acknowledgments the author thanks the editor for deciding to break the book into 2 novels, apparently I picked the duller one. I did enjoy the Wikipedia entry on Madoc, which answered most of my questions about the legendary figure.
It was an epic novel that tells a fictional account of a fact based theory that destiny led a tribe of Welsh Druids escaping religious persecution to discover America. A lot of magic and fanstasy in a great time period. Great book!!
Oct 13, 2009
Tracey Hunt-fox
added it
boring
I love historical fiction writing about the druids.
one of my all time favorite books.
Pre-Columbian discovery of America
Jun 18, 2013
Nuria
marked it as to-read
Jun 13, 2013
Lacey
marked it as to-read
Jun 02, 2013
Victoria
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My son... | 1 | 3 | Sep 06, 2012 06:14pm |
Anna Lee Waldo wrote the best-selling historical novel, SACAJAWEA. Her interest in the subject began as a child when she collected spear points on the shores of Whitefish Lake in Montana and listened to stories of Blackfeet and Crow grandmothers.
It took her ten years to write about the first woman to go with a military contingent, with a baby in a cradleboard, half way across the North American co...more
More about Anna Lee Waldo...
It took her ten years to write about the first woman to go with a military contingent, with a baby in a cradleboard, half way across the North American co...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
