Sharon Kay Penman facts for kids
Sharon Kay Penman (born August 13, 1945 – died January 22, 2021) was an American writer of historical novels. She was famous for her books about the Welsh Princes and the Plantagenet royal family. She also wrote four medieval mystery novels. Her first mystery book, The Queen's Man, was nominated for a special award called the Edgar Award in 1996.
Her books are set in England, France, and Wales during the Middle Ages. They are about English and Welsh kings and queens. Her first book, The Sunne in Splendour, is a stand-alone story about King Richard III of England and the Wars of the Roses. She had to rewrite this book after her first copy was stolen.
People generally liked her books. Her more recent novels even appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. Critics praised her careful research into the historical settings and events in her stories. They also liked how well she created her characters.
Sharon Penman passed away from pneumonia on January 22, 2021, when she was 75 years old.
Contents
Becoming a Writer
Sharon Kay Penman was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. She studied history at the University of Texas at Austin. She also earned a law degree from Rutgers University School of Law. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a tax lawyer.
While she was still a student, Penman started researching and writing The Sunne in Splendour. This book tells the life story of Richard III of England. Sadly, the 400-page handwritten copy of her book was stolen from her car. After this, she found it hard to write for five years. But she eventually rewrote the book. When the 936-page book was published in 1982, she had spent 12 years writing it while also working as a lawyer. She once said that practicing law felt like "punishment" to her.
Penman lived in New Jersey. In the early 1980s, she moved to Wales to research her second book, Here Be Dragons. She had a second home in the Welsh mountains. She said that the history of Wales inspired her and gave her ideas for her novels.
Her Books and Stories
The Sunne in Splendour is about the end of England's War of the Roses. In the book, Penman shows Richard III of England as a healthy ruler who was often misunderstood. She chose to write about Richard this way because she became very interested in his story. She researched his life in both the United States and the United Kingdom. This research made her believe that "history was rewritten by the victor" in his case.
After finishing The Sunne in Splendour, she said she became "hopelessly hooked" on writing. She found many interesting stories about the "rebellious sons and disgruntled brothers and conniving kings and willful queens" of the House of Plantagenet. She hoped to write many books about them.
After The Sunne in Splendour, Penman started working on the "Welsh Trilogy." These books are mainly set in Wales. After the Welsh Trilogy, she wrote the "Plantagenet series." This series tells the stories of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
All of Penman's stories are set in the Middle Ages. The Welsh Princes trilogy takes place in the 13th century. This is two centuries earlier than The Sunne in Splendour. While researching Here Be Dragons, the first book in the Welsh series, she learned a lot about the role of women in medieval society. For example, Welsh women at that time had more freedom than English women. Whether in Wales or England, a noble wife was in charge of her household. She relied on knights to keep her home safe.
In 1996, Penman published her first medieval mystery novel. This book, The Queen's Man, was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery. Penman explained why she started writing mysteries after only historical novels. She said she was "in danger of burning out" after finishing When Christ and His Saints Slept. She needed a change of pace. Since she loved mysteries, she thought a medieval mystery would be fun to write. She chose to write about Eleanor of Aquitaine, who she called "one of history's most memorable women."
Her mystery books are set in the 12th century. They feature a young detective named Justin de Quincy. In the first book, Eleanor of Aquitaine makes him her "queen's man." The Queen's Man and Cruel as the Grave take place after Henry II of England died. Eleanor, who was about 70, ruled the Angevin Empire. One of her sons, Richard, was a prisoner. Another son, John, was trying to gain power. The third mystery, The Dragon's Lair, is set at the same time but in northwest England and north Wales. In the most recent mystery, Prince of Darkness, Penman continues to show the problems between Eleanor and her sons. She also includes Justin de Quincy's own challenges.
Besides the Edgar Award, Penman also won the 2001 Career Achievement Award for Historical Mysteries from Romantic Times.
The Welsh Princes Trilogy
Here Be Dragons (1985) is the first book in Penman's three-part series about the medieval Welsh princes of Gwynedd. Penman said that Dragons was popular because it was a new topic for many readers. People knew more about the Plantagenets, but not much about medieval Wales or its princes. She also felt the story of Llywelyn the Great and Joanna, who was King John's daughter, was very special.
In Falls the Shadow (1988), Penman writes about the family relationships of Henry III of England and his brother-in-law Simon de Montfort. Falls the Shadow connects the stories. Penman used Simon de Montfort's rebellion to lead to the final book in the trilogy, The Reckoning. She explained that she first planned to write one book about Simon de Montfort and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. But she realized there was too much to cover in one book. So, she decided to give Simon his own novel, Falls the Shadow, and Llywelyn his own, The Reckoning.
Penman shows Simon de Montfort as a man who became more and more unhappy with his king. He rebelled in 1263 and tried to bring back rights from the Magna Carta. The novel also includes the Welsh ruler Llywelyn Fawr and other characters.
For her research on Falls the Shadow, Penman visited many real places like castles and battlefields. She also used libraries in the UK and the University of Pennsylvania Library. She said it really helped to see the places herself. For example, at Lewes, she walked the same path that Simon de Montfort and his men would have followed. She found it amazing to stand on the Downs and see the same view he would have seen.
The Reckoning (1991) is the last book in the series that started with Here Be Dragons. It tells about the rule of England's Henry III of England. A main part of the story is the conflict between the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (grandson of Llywelyn the Great) and King Henry III. Penman also writes about Ellen, the daughter of Simon de Montfort and niece of Henry III. She tells about Ellen's engagement to Llywelyn and the problems between Ellen and her cousin Edward, who would later become Edward I of England. Edward did not want Ellen and Llywelyn to marry.
The Plantagenet Series
The Plantagenet series focuses on the Angevin King Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. It begins with the sinking of the White Ship. It also covers the marriage of the Empress Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and Henry's birth in When Christ and His Saints Slept.
When Christ and His Saints Slept shows how the Plantagenet royal family began. Empress Maude fights to claim the English throne. Penman spent 15 years writing three novels and four mysteries about the time of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. She said she found no true villains in her research. Instead, she focused on their human qualities. She believed Henry II was a brilliant king but a bad father. She said Eleanor of Aquitaine was "a law unto herself" and was fascinated by the role of a medieval queen.
Time and Chance (2002) continued the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. It became a New York Times Bestseller. This book focuses on the growing disagreement between Henry II and his friend Thomas Becket.
Time and Chance covers 15 years, from 1156 to 1171. During this time, Henry II grew apart from his wife, Eleanor (even though they had eight children). He also grew apart from his close friend and advisor, Thomas Becket. King Henry's choice to make Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury caused many problems between Henry and Eleanor.
Devil's Brood (2008) starts with the conflict between Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their four sons. This conflict grew into ten years of war and rebellion. The sons fought against their father, and the brothers fought each other. Eleanor spent this time imprisoned by Henry. Penman shows these characters against a detailed background of medieval life, personal problems, and dramatic events.
The Devil's Brood was meant to be the last book in Penman's Plantagenet series. But she felt the "Angevins were not ready to go quietly." So, Lionheart (2011) is about the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. This book focuses on Richard the Lionheart's Crusades in the Holy Land. It also tells what happened to Eleanor after she was finally freed from 16 years of imprisonment by her husband. A King's Ransom is about the second half of Richard's life, including his imprisonment, being ransomed, and his life afterward.
How She Wrote Her Books
Sharon Penman's books show carefully researched medieval life and history as if it were everyday life. She also shows that even noble people had flaws. Her stories are set against a background of political problems, power struggles, war, and difficulties. The main characters face personal challenges like problems in love, family conflicts, and struggles with their beliefs. They also have mixed loyalties to their family, themselves, their king, and their country. A review in Library Journal praised Penman's attention to detail. It said she "combines an in-depth knowledge of medieval Europe with vivid storytelling." She recreated the complex events and emotional drama of the 12th to 15th centuries.
Penman's books are set in real medieval places that you can still visit today. These include castles, churches, and old archaeological sites. Places like Aber Falls and Dolwyddelan Castle have important scenes in her novels. In Devil's Brood, Penman sets scenes in many medieval royal homes, castles, and abbeys in England and modern-day France. Many of these still exist, such as the Château de Chinon, Fontevraud Abbey, and Château de Loches.
