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The Sword and the Swan
Rannulf was known throughout the land as a bold warrior. Face-to-face with an oncoming army, he could decide matters of life and death. But now, face-to-face with one gentle woman, he was hopelessly confused and uncertain. Startled by Catherin's pale beauty when he first saw her, he was dumbfounded by her passionate radiance now, and he felt a desire far different from his usual impersonal need for a woman.
382 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
32 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Roberta Gellis
56 books184 followersRoberta Gellis has been one of the most successful writers of historical fiction of the last few decades, having published about 25 meticulously researched historical novels since 1964. She was married to her husband Charles for over 50 years and they lived together in Lafayette, Indiana with a lively Lakeland terrier called Taffy. She has one child called Mark.
Her page at the Internet Speculative Fiction DataBase
Her page at the Internet Speculative Fiction DataBase
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 13, 2025
Read; 2/13/25
What a disappointing RG book! The romance was practically nonexistent. The MC were rarely together. I could live with that but the history was boring too. In fact, there is little history. The plot had the H going from preparing for battle (rarely happened) to court, then home and back again. Nothing really happens😴.
The H is also annoyingly devoted to Stephen. He knows the man is a fool, but he can't stop loving the weak king. In the last half of the book, he wrestles with that fact and pushes everyone away, especially Catherine. Now, Catherine is the best character in the book. Unfortunately, the author barely uses her in the plot. A big mistake!
Conclusion: the slow pacing and the lack of action made this an agonizing, dull read. It needed a romance to hold the characters together. It's a shame because I loved Bond of Blood, so I know this author can tell a great story. I don't know what happened with this book.
What a disappointing RG book! The romance was practically nonexistent. The MC were rarely together. I could live with that but the history was boring too. In fact, there is little history. The plot had the H going from preparing for battle (rarely happened) to court, then home and back again. Nothing really happens😴.
The H is also annoyingly devoted to Stephen. He knows the man is a fool, but he can't stop loving the weak king. In the last half of the book, he wrestles with that fact and pushes everyone away, especially Catherine. Now, Catherine is the best character in the book. Unfortunately, the author barely uses her in the plot. A big mistake!
Conclusion: the slow pacing and the lack of action made this an agonizing, dull read. It needed a romance to hold the characters together. It's a shame because I loved Bond of Blood, so I know this author can tell a great story. I don't know what happened with this book.
June 4, 2012
This novel takes place during The Anarchy, the civil wars between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, but centered around a fictional pair. Stephen rewards Rannulf for his faithful service with the hand of Catherine, and the earldom that belonged to her deceased father (hope that makes sense). Rannulf's kind of grumpy and set in his ways and since he's already got the heir and the spare he doesn't really want the marriage, but there really isn't any way out without offending his King.
Here's the short and sweet round up, because I'm tired of thinking about this book and don't want to spend all day writing a review when I could be reading. Rannulf is Stephen's sworn man, despite everyone seeing the writing on the wall and knowing it is time to put an end to war and put a strong king on the throne. Everyone seems to see the writing on the wall except Rannulf that is.
While there is a romantic element in this story, that is not the main focus of it. This is mainly a historical novel, but the problem is if you aren't familiar with this period this is not the book to start - that would be Penman's When Christ and His Saints Slept. But then there's the rub, if you have read Penman you aren't going to get anything new here, and the constant misunderstandings between Rannulf and Catherine wore very thin, very fast. If they would have just talked to each other instead of assuming...
Here's the short and sweet round up, because I'm tired of thinking about this book and don't want to spend all day writing a review when I could be reading. Rannulf is Stephen's sworn man, despite everyone seeing the writing on the wall and knowing it is time to put an end to war and put a strong king on the throne. Everyone seems to see the writing on the wall except Rannulf that is.
While there is a romantic element in this story, that is not the main focus of it. This is mainly a historical novel, but the problem is if you aren't familiar with this period this is not the book to start - that would be Penman's When Christ and His Saints Slept. But then there's the rub, if you have read Penman you aren't going to get anything new here, and the constant misunderstandings between Rannulf and Catherine wore very thin, very fast. If they would have just talked to each other instead of assuming...
September 11, 2023
Като цяло нелош исторически сюжет от Англия през 1150 г. с поредния спор и разделение за трона, но книгата не може да реши исторически роман ли е, семейна драма ли е. В крайна сметка - нито едно от двете, липсва фокус и се е получило доста скучно.
Средновековният манталитет е съвсем прилично описан. Неща, считани за нормални тогава - като бароните да грабят и да се бунтуват непрекъснато, войната да е естествено състояние на нещата и решение за належащите проблеми, първата брачна нощ да е публична, непокорните жени да се бият и т.н. - са отвратителни днес, но логиката им в онези времена е обяснена достоверно.
Обаче няма как човек да се привърже към Ранулф и Катрин, просто защото - макар и уж главни герои - те всъщност почти не участват в историята, засенчвани непрекъснато от поредната интрига или обрат в борбата за трона. Тъй че тук де факто липсват главни герои, и има само атмосфера, която обаче става брутално скучна от един момент нататък.
2,5⭐️
Средновековният манталитет е съвсем прилично описан. Неща, считани за нормални тогава - като бароните да грабят и да се бунтуват непрекъснато, войната да е естествено състояние на нещата и решение за належащите проблеми, първата брачна нощ да е публична, непокорните жени да се бият и т.н. - са отвратителни днес, но логиката им в онези времена е обяснена достоверно.
Обаче няма как човек да се привърже към Ранулф и Катрин, просто защото - макар и уж главни герои - те всъщност почти не участват в историята, засенчвани непрекъснато от поредната интрига или обрат в борбата за трона. Тъй че тук де факто липсват главни герои, и има само атмосфера, която обаче става брутално скучна от един момент нататък.
2,5⭐️
September 19, 2020
Hmmm... I'm all for angst and delaying the Inevitable get together of the main characters but seriously this got to be too much. The leads, Rannulf and Catherine may well have been speaking in different languages for all the misunderstandings & missed opportunities they had to let the other know how they felt. Took too long for me to hold out that hope.There was nothing new here with the feud and fighting to hold on to the crown for Stephen and the romance didn't do enough to fill out the story. It was good but not a "oh no! I'm sorry to see it end" book. The best books are ones that make me slow down as I near the ending because I don't want to have to leave my new friends and their world behind. The Sword and the Swan sadly didn't accomplish that for me.
August 7, 2019
Ah Roberta Gellis! I might never, ever have developed a taste for history without you!
Honestly, in school there was never a single teacher who managed to captivate me with History, but as a very early teenager I came across a novel by Gellis and was hooked for life. Her depictions of the Angevin period of English history enchanted me and the romances of the Roselynde Chronicles became a staple for me. Still are in a way.
In The Sword and the Swan, if you can get past the ludicrous name, one gets a pleasant historical fiction, with a tiny dash of kind-off romance, and a slightly earlier taste of history.
Gellis wrote TSATS around the time she was beginning the Roselynde Chronicles, but I think her writing evolved a fair bit between this book and those in a few important ways. Namely, she managed to make the Roselynde women far more readable for a modern taste without completely sacrificing history. In TSATS however our leading lady is less distinct a character and less modern. She is more pliable, probably more historically accurate, but Catherine does not hook the reader as much as the Roselynde women did. Likewise her husband Rannulf of Sleaford also does not have the strong dynamic character of the men in the Roselynde's, though you can see how he may have evolved into a template for them.
In an historical sense, we are a few decades earlier then the Roselynde books as the events take place toward the end of the reign of Stephen of Blois, so the 1150's. This period is apparently known as The Anarchy in England and, as Henry I died without an heir, Empress Matilda tried to gain control of the land while Stephen took it in a coup. It was not a settled time for the land and I have read other books set in that time frame. While I enjoyed the time I was reading in it again, did not seem as vivid as other books of Gellis' that I had read. In therms of the politics, fighting and power mongering I chiefly found it interesting - once again - to see it as the forerunner of other books I enjoyed more.
So, not a bad book, overall. It suffers badly for being compared to later books and as Gellis' writing continued to improve throughout her life that is a hard act to follow. If I had encountered this one before her other books I suspect that I would have been blown away with enthusiasm.
Honestly, in school there was never a single teacher who managed to captivate me with History, but as a very early teenager I came across a novel by Gellis and was hooked for life. Her depictions of the Angevin period of English history enchanted me and the romances of the Roselynde Chronicles became a staple for me. Still are in a way.
In The Sword and the Swan, if you can get past the ludicrous name, one gets a pleasant historical fiction, with a tiny dash of kind-off romance, and a slightly earlier taste of history.
Gellis wrote TSATS around the time she was beginning the Roselynde Chronicles, but I think her writing evolved a fair bit between this book and those in a few important ways. Namely, she managed to make the Roselynde women far more readable for a modern taste without completely sacrificing history. In TSATS however our leading lady is less distinct a character and less modern. She is more pliable, probably more historically accurate, but Catherine does not hook the reader as much as the Roselynde women did. Likewise her husband Rannulf of Sleaford also does not have the strong dynamic character of the men in the Roselynde's, though you can see how he may have evolved into a template for them.
In an historical sense, we are a few decades earlier then the Roselynde books as the events take place toward the end of the reign of Stephen of Blois, so the 1150's. This period is apparently known as The Anarchy in England and, as Henry I died without an heir, Empress Matilda tried to gain control of the land while Stephen took it in a coup. It was not a settled time for the land and I have read other books set in that time frame. While I enjoyed the time I was reading in it again, did not seem as vivid as other books of Gellis' that I had read. In therms of the politics, fighting and power mongering I chiefly found it interesting - once again - to see it as the forerunner of other books I enjoyed more.
So, not a bad book, overall. It suffers badly for being compared to later books and as Gellis' writing continued to improve throughout her life that is a hard act to follow. If I had encountered this one before her other books I suspect that I would have been blown away with enthusiasm.
July 14, 2017
I set myself a task to get rid of the books in my library that I don't like, but in my mind, I can't do that unless I re-read some of the older books - hence why this one wound up on my reading list. The first and only time I read this book was when it was first published. (I was quite the precocious reader - only five. And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell...)
Any way, as a *child*, I liked the book, and kept it for all these many years. In the re-reading of it, it is a decent book. I don't love it but I don't hate it. Admittedly, it wasn't the main characters - Rannulf and Catherine - that appealed to me, it was the history. It was well researched and I enjoyed the time period (@1154). The conflicts between Henry and Stephen, Stephen and Eustace, Stephen and, well, Stephen were interesting to read.
So, now, having read it, I still haven't settled my original purpose - is it worthy to keep? (It is a paperback and it, literally fell apart while i was reading it but it is old and I have had it many years. Shelf space or no? I think I will hold onto it a bit longer to see how many others I dispose of first.
Any way, as a *child*, I liked the book, and kept it for all these many years. In the re-reading of it, it is a decent book. I don't love it but I don't hate it. Admittedly, it wasn't the main characters - Rannulf and Catherine - that appealed to me, it was the history. It was well researched and I enjoyed the time period (@1154). The conflicts between Henry and Stephen, Stephen and Eustace, Stephen and, well, Stephen were interesting to read.
So, now, having read it, I still haven't settled my original purpose - is it worthy to keep? (It is a paperback and it, literally fell apart while i was reading it but it is old and I have had it many years. Shelf space or no? I think I will hold onto it a bit longer to see how many others I dispose of first.
January 21, 2025
This story is more history and war plotting versus romance. The miscommunication between Rannulf and Catherine grates on your nerves after a while and it goes on so long. The story is just bland and you keep wondering because this authors has written so many books and they LOOK like historical fiction ROMANCE books but it’s falling VERY short!
I do not like this author’s books - I’ve read three and I’m done! Her commitment to historical accuracy is commendable but her commitment to romance or fantasy is deplorable. 👎🏽👎🏽
I do not like this author’s books - I’ve read three and I’m done! Her commitment to historical accuracy is commendable but her commitment to romance or fantasy is deplorable. 👎🏽👎🏽
August 19, 2024
11th Century Historical Romance Story Brilliantly Done
Roberta Gellis is a master at historical romance set in roughly the 11th century. Her legacy lives on with her intricate stories of political intrigue learned from her studies on medieval English and French history. The characters leap to life with dialogue and relationship amidst a colorful and incredibly interesting history.
Roberta Gellis is a master at historical romance set in roughly the 11th century. Her legacy lives on with her intricate stories of political intrigue learned from her studies on medieval English and French history. The characters leap to life with dialogue and relationship amidst a colorful and incredibly interesting history.
August 31, 2021
Oh be still my heart!
They simply do not write books like this anymore! The kind that make you sad when they end and play over in your mind for days! I read this as a young teen, and, I must say, I enjoyed it just as much as an adult!
They simply do not write books like this anymore! The kind that make you sad when they end and play over in your mind for days! I read this as a young teen, and, I must say, I enjoyed it just as much as an adult!
May 19, 2022
Learning a little history while reading a good story
I enjoy this author 's books because of the characters and plot, but feel like I understand some of the living conditions and politics of the time after reading them. Read this book in the 80s and enjoyed reading it again.
I enjoy this author 's books because of the characters and plot, but feel like I understand some of the living conditions and politics of the time after reading them. Read this book in the 80s and enjoyed reading it again.
August 17, 2023
Not an easy read
I found this story hard reading. The Historical facts were the best part… romance interwoven intermittently helped a little… would still recommend it as a historical romance.
I found this story hard reading. The Historical facts were the best part… romance interwoven intermittently helped a little… would still recommend it as a historical romance.
March 22, 2025
I like the history combined with the characters' stories.
I very much enjoy the historical aspects of the books by Roberta Gellis; may not be for everyone. Also, I like the fictional characters and their stories. It is a pleasure to re-read her books.
I very much enjoy the historical aspects of the books by Roberta Gellis; may not be for everyone. Also, I like the fictional characters and their stories. It is a pleasure to re-read her books.
March 20, 2023
Light & fun read
The story is light and a fun read. The characters are developed nicely within the story. Enjoy a good read.
The story is light and a fun read. The characters are developed nicely within the story. Enjoy a good read.
August 29, 2023
The sword and the Swan
This is a story that is slow to start, but once going is excellent and one I could read over and over and do.
This is a story that is slow to start, but once going is excellent and one I could read over and over and do.
July 20, 2024
Can be oblique and BBC slow however still a good reaf
Liked the basis of honor in people, disliked slower parts. A good read for everyone that liked bond of blood.
Liked the basis of honor in people, disliked slower parts. A good read for everyone that liked bond of blood.
November 8, 2025
Exhausting
This author writes so well but she puts the reader through the traces. I how to get to the last page to get some rest.
This author writes so well but she puts the reader through the traces. I how to get to the last page to get some rest.
March 1, 2014
Nice little historical fiction plucked from the free shelf in the poolhouse. Earl tries to maneuver between Stephen and Eustace with help of wife. Anticipates Penman/Chapman.
June 14, 2009
historical
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews