Here Be Dragons [Import] [Hardcover]

Sharon Penman (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 800 pages
• Publisher: Collins; First Edition edition (1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0002229609
• ISBN-13: 978-0002229609
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,485,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an American of Irish-English-Welsh heritage, and I currently live in New Jersey, although many of my readers imagine I am happily dwelling upon a Welsh mountaintop--but no such luck. I was once a tax lawyer, which I looked upon as penance for my sins. Like most writers, I was born with a love of the written word, although I never expected to be able to support myself as a writer; when you read about starving artists in their garrets, most of them have starving writers as roommates. But I was very lucky and I have been blessed to make my living as a writer for the past twenty-seven years or so. All of my novels--eleven at last count--are set in the Middle Ages, and focus upon England's most colorful dynasty, the Plantagenets. It is almost as if they lived their dramatic and often wildly improbable lives with future historical novelists in mind, and I am very grateful to them--especially to the Angevins,Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and their equally famous children, known to their contemporaries as the Devil's Brood.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

300 of 308 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First of the Wales Trilogy, July 21, 2002

By 

Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Here Be Dragons (Paperback)

This is the first book in the Wales trilogy (the others are Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning). Penman emerged long ago as one of the best historical novelists and continues to solidify her reputation with each new release. Her special genius lies in the bright and shining historical detail that she can weave into both plot and dialog (she's a very good student of history and at times is absolutely brilliant in conveying to us the workings of medieval minds).

There is no doubt that Penman's novels will stand as great reads for ages to come. Her plots are always complex (because the history of these times was quite convoluted). She does an excellent job of keeping it all straight for us as she leads us through the maze of characters. If you read the history of these times you quickly come to see what a great job she does in her design of the story.

There may be a bit too much time spent on the romance of Llewelyn and Joanna, but there does seem to be a calculated story line running that proves itself as the bond between the two weaves itself into the historical facts of the complex relationship between King John and Llewelyn. Penman's true genius is the broad historical scope that is painted on top of the shimmering details of brief moments. It truely does feel as if you are living the story yourself, and it is this bringing us readers in as witnesses that stands as Penman's contribution to the art of the historical novel.

If you prefer to read in chronological order:
1101-1154 When Christ And His Saints Slept (Vol 1 of Trilogy)
1156-1171 Time And Space (Vol 2 of Trilogy)
12th Cent Devil's Brood (Vol 3 of Trilogy)- not yet released
1192-1193 The Queen's Man
1193 Cruel As The Grave
1183-1232 Here Be Dragons (Vol 1 of Welsh Trilogy)
1231-1267 Falls The Shadow (Vol 2 of Welsh Trilogy)
1271-1283 The Reckoning (Vol 3 of Welsh Trilogy)
1459-1492 The Sunne In Splendour

117 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly Beautiful, February 8, 2001

By 

Jonathan Appleseed - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Here Be Dragons (Paperback)

I was first introduced to Sharon Kay Penman through her so-called Medieval mystery, The Queen's Man. Eleanor of Aquitane was so vivid and real, so drawn was I to that character, that I bought Here Be Dragons just to see more of this most regal of matriarchs. Before doing so I read reviews here on amazon.com that indicated that The Queen's Man was a far cry from her best work, that her best was to be found in the longer, historical work. I scoffed, thinking that these were disgruntled, spoiled readers who didn't know how to adapt to a change from their favorite author. Barely 50 pages into Here Be Dragons, I realized how horribly wrong I was. Every time I set the book down, whether it be to turn off the light to sleep, or finishing lunch at work, or getting off the train in the morning or evening, I felt ripped away, so very much out of place.

Knowing little about the history of the period, I allowed SKP to be my guide, stopping along the way to check facts, names and places, always impressed when I found her accuracy to be perfect. Would that all history read with such passion, such verve!

SKP writes emotion as accurately as she does history. I have experienced the loss of a loved one, myself come too close to death, and when John died, her telling of it kept me up, staring at the ceiling for nigh on thirty minutes, my own memories brought back, real and cold. That tears fell, I am not ashamed to admit. I cried for the death of the evil King John.

A shy romantic in life, I care little for romance in my fiction. Imagine my surprise when I found myself more interested in the relationship between Llewelyn and Joana than virtually anything else. History is stranger than fiction, true, and this was as unlikely a pair as could be imagined. Yet their love was strong, and true, and overcame Joana being torn in two between the father who showed her love when she was orphaned, and the husband who showed her heaven, as well as Joanna's own indiscretions. Since most who read or will read her work know the history, I'm not afraid to give up that little secret: Joanna committed adultery, and yet Llewelyn's love for her was so great that he forgave it. Perhaps not such a great thing in today's day, but a monument in 13th century Europe. Myself, I didn't know the history, and shed tears at the thought of Llewelyn and Joanna forever apart, shed them again when he took her back.

Rarely have I read a book more beautiful, with prose more even and yet evoking such emotion.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars penman has outdone herself with this one!, July 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Here Be Dragons (Paperback)

Everyone else on this page seems to have lauded this book quite aptly, but I just had to add my own opinion, so strongly did this work effect me. I grew up on knights and castles, Robin Hood and the Arthur legends, so when this book fell into my hands a few years ago it naturally captured my attention. It wasn't long before it captured my heart as well. I've always found Penman to be a good writer; her other works--"Sunne", "Saints," and "Queen's Man", however, are nothing compared to her Welsh trilogy. Somewhere, somehow, she hit true inspiration, and dammit, it shows. The prose are beautiful--that passage at the end of "Dragons" is so lovely!--her characters are fully realized and completely captivating. Yes, I fell in love with Llewelyn, too! It's like one of those old movie epics--but a GOOD one, for once! It's got everything: battles, politics, romance (!!), and above all, a fascinating, marvelously accurate window into a world so completely unlike our own, and yet people with characters we become so attached to, whether we like them or dislike them. Read it! You'll love it! Only one word of warning: enjoy the happy ending in "Dragons" because it does not get any happier. The trilogy gets even better as it progresses through "Falls the Shadow" and "The Reckoning" but trust me--stock up on kleenexes! You'll need them! This is an excellent series for anyone who has a passion for Plantagenets, history, and above all, romance.