The Leopard Unleashed [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Chadwick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1993

The latest tale in the Ravenstow saga centers on Renard, heir to the earldom, who becomes entangled in the Welsh civil war and is forced to choose between his wife and a dancing girl. By the author of The Wild Hunt.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this nicely crafted historical romance, a follow-up to The Wild Hunt and The Running Vixen , Chadwick continues her tale of Ravenstow, a medieval Welsh estate. Renard, the well-meaning and dashing, but often restless, heir to the realm, returns from the Crusader kingdom of Antioch with a mistress, the beautiful, crafty dancing girl Olwen. Renard has come home to deal with his father's impending death and local tensions caused by the dispute over the succession to England's throne, both of which mandate the immediate celebration of his arranged marriage to the heiress of a neighboring estate. He is soon embroiled in a fierce rivalry with temperamental, power-hungry Ranulf de Gernons, Earl of Chester, who will do anything to get Renard's land, including raiding, pillaging and even kidnapping his enemy's bride. Though preoccupied with political battles, Renard is pleasantly surprised by his new wife and soon disenchanted with the malevolent Olwen, whose scheming poses grave danger to his estate and his marriage. As before, realistic characters and finely drawn details of 12th-century life distinguish Chadwick's work.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312093233
• ISBN-13: 978-0312093235
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Three in the Ravenstow Trilogy, October 29, 2007

By 

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Leopard Unleashed (Hardcover)

The book opens as Guyan and Judith's oldest son and heir Renard is on crusade, that being the most expeditious method of his avoiding the civil war raging between King Stephen and Empress Mathilda. Renard involves himself with a beautiful exotic dancer, Olwen, and when the summons arrives for Renard to return home to his ailing father, she manipulates Renard into taking her along with him. Once home, Renard must marry the much younger Eleanor, who he was betrothed to ten years prior. Of course, Renard's mother Judith is none too pleased with having Olwen in her household, and eventually Eleanor finds out and this knowledge causes friction in her new marriage.

Renard always believed Eleanor to be an adoring devoted mouse of a girl, and is soon surprised at the depth of her intelligence and business acumen and finds her to be a strong wife and helpmate. Renard and Eleanor begin their marriage amidst the backdrop of England's Civil War, as the Barons waiver between taking sides with Stephen or Mathilda, the evil and deceitful Earl of Chester with an ax to grind with Renard and the manipulations of Olwen.

This is the second time I've read this book, the first being two years ago before I had read much of the author's later works. It was very interesting to revisit her earlier books and see the contrast between them and how the author has grown. While I find this book a great improvement over The Wild Hunt and The Running Vixen(the first two books in this trilogy), I still did not find the effortless sense of time travel she shows in her later works, as she seamlessly blends the sights, sounds smells, clothing of the medieval period into her stories. Four stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Conclusion of the Ravenstow Trilogy!, January 24, 2003

By 

Kimberly Gelderman (Spring Lake, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Leopard Unleashed (Hardcover)

This is the conclusion of the Ravenstow trilogy of which The Wild Hunt and The Running Vixen began. The book picks up where The Running Vixen left off several years later. Renard FitzGuyon is about to become the practicing heir to Ravenstow. However, first he must marry Eleanor whom he has been betrothed to since she was a child.

Renard leaves Antioch to go home but a cunning and beautiful tavern dancer named Olwen, whom he has become entangled with, has decided that Reneard will not go home without her. The plot takes many twists and turns that leave the reader breathlessly turning the pages! Meanwhile, all of this takes place as the Civil War in England continues between Mathilda and Stephen and the Welsh raid the Marches. Renard's enemy the Earl of Chester also provides dangerous excitement between Renard and himself.

A truly capitivating read! Be sure to read the above mentioned novels first to really appreciate the complex storyline. This book as well as the others are out-of-print, but are well worth finding!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best of the Ravenstow triogy, November 24, 2007

By 

Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Leopard Unleashed (Hardcover)

Generally speaking I love Elizabeth Chadwick novels. She's one of the best authors at combining romance and real historical detail and facts into a compelling novel. So when I found out a few months ago that I hadn't read her first three books I decided I had to read them. However in reading them I discovered that Chadwick had greatly matured as a writer since her early novels. I enjoyed her first book,The Wild Hunt but didn't like The Running Vixen at all. So I didn't have very high expectations of "The Leopard Unleashed" especially after reading some of the reviews.

But I really enjoyed this book. It is by far the best of the Ravenstow trilogy and really measures up to some of her later books also.

In "The Leopard Unleashed" Renard, the heir of Guy and Judith of Ravenstow comes home from the crusades with a welsh dancing girl mistress to find his father dying and his arranged marriage has come happen. Eleanor, who he had been engaged to since she was a child, is finally old enough to marry.

You can imagine what happens next. Sexual tension, unhappy marriages that change over time, a mistress out for herself and England's civil war in the middle. The historical context in this book is what makes it so good although I did find the romance that gradually blooms between Renard and Eleanor to be very sweet and compelling. While this isn't the best of Chadwick's books (for me that's still THE CONQUEST) it's definitely worth reading.

Four stars.