The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery (Ballantine Reader's Circle) [Paperback]

Sharon Kay Penman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 1998

Epiphany, 1193. Eleanor of Aquitaine sits upon England's throne. Her beloved son Richard Lionheart is missing, presumed dead--and the court whispers that her younger son John is plotting to seize the crown.

Meanwhile, on the snowy highroad from Winchester, a destitute young man falls heir to a blood-stained letter, pressed into his hand by a dying man. The missive becomes Justin de Quincy's passport into the queen's confidence--and into the heart of danger, as he pursues a cunning murderer and jousts with secret traitors in Eleanor's court of intrigue and mystery. . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Do you know the story of Sharon Kay Penman's first mystery novel, The Sunne in Splendour? She spent every spare moment for years--first as a law student, then as a lawyer--working on the book about Richard III. And when the only copy of the manuscript was stolen from her car, she sat down and wrote it again. Five excellent historical mysteries later, Penman has started a new series set even farther back in time. It's 1193, and King Richard has disappeared on his way back to England after fighting in the Crusades. Justin de Quincy, the well-educated but illegitimate son of a bishop, is tapped to search for the missing ruler, and he turns out to be just the chap to blow away the cobwebs that often hang over historical mystery. Other Penman picks: Falls the Shadow; Here Be Dragons; Reckoning. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

It's 1193. In a bleak and bitterly cold England, King Richard, on his way back from the crusades, has been missing for two months, and his ruthless brother John is scheming for the throne. Penman (Here Be Dragons) sets this energetic and adroitly plotted series launch within this historical framework, giving Justin de Quincy, the well-educated but illegitimate son of a bishop, a chance to save England. Justin is too late to aid a goldsmith murdered by thieves, but he does take the wealthy man's hidden letters to their destination: the Queen mother, Eleanor. Of course, he reads them first and discovers that King Richard, with the connivance of the French king, is being held prisoner in Austria. The Queen appoints Justin as her chief investigator into the goldsmith's murder, giving him money, carte blanche and dire warnings as to the need for secrecy. Justin?comely, courageous and shrewd?quickly befriends a wide array of sheriffs, doxies and wenches, and flits from palace to alehouse to brothel ferreting out plots and conspiracies. The sounds of swordplay and bodices being ripped are loud and frequent. The accomplished author of historical novels employs some stereotypical characters (if he sneers, he's a villain) and much cliched prose ("...her mouth as soft and ripe as Summer strawberries"), yet Justin is so beguiling and, the action so lively and unpredictable, that readers will cheer Justin's return in further adventures.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345417186
• ISBN-13: 978-0345417183
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,097 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

98 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Historical Murder Mystery, August 11, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback)

A unique creation by Sharon Penman, DeQuincy, is placed in a medieval secret agent role as Queen Eleanor's "man". Although I was skeptical at first, I found Penman's feel for the medieval England of Henry & Eleanor from her previous historical novels sets such a great stage for the storyline that I couldn't help but be drawn into her tale, which is set in England in 1192-1193. In fact, I also found the follow up "Cruel As The Grave" worthwhile.

Penman emerged long ago as one of the best historical novelists and continues to solidify her reputation with each new release. The "Queen's
Man" novels are unique side trips where she plays with fictional characters based on her strong historical story lines. Penman's 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).

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

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I feel compelled to act!, August 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery (Medieval Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having not read any other of Penman's books prior to the Queen's Man (a tragedy i soon rectified), i came to this exceptional novel from a somewhat different perspective than the average Medieval History aficionado. I, in fact, had long since forgotten almost all i once new of medieval history.

From this starting point, i feel that the previous reviews of this book are a bit unfair. My wife (who is a certified Medieval History aficionado and owner of all Penman books) finally convinced me give this book a whirl on one of my many :( intl. business trips this year. Trapped on a plane for hours on end, I read. This book grabbed me from page one!

Every last character, real or fictional, was developed in a beautifully three dimensional way that is rare indeed. I became enchanted by the setting in its historical detail to the point where I could really imagine walking the streets of medieval London or the dungeons of the local gaol. The central story of the murder mystery is used as a vehicle to tie together the threads of history, plots, sub-plots, betrayals, love stories and more.

Breathtaking! When your done, Book 2: Cruel is the Grave is even better. I am currently reading When Christ and His Saints Slept and I daresay I'm addicted.

The Queen's Man and Cruel is the Grave are no doubt lighter in nature to her other Historical Novels, but will be far more accessible to the bulk of readers. Likely to wet your appetite for her more intimidating novels (which I highly recommend too and are equally addicting).

I hope this review convinces others to enter Penman's world, for I feel sure they will not regret it.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, as was her last short book., November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery (Hardcover)

I am an unabashed Sharon Kay Penman fan. Having found my first SKP novel some years ago, I devoured the others as they became available and anxiously awaited each new book; I've now read them all, some more than once. I remain enthralled by the author's special gift of telling a full-length story without losing the reader's attention and still attending to accurate historical detail.

However, her recent attempt to weave another short tale of mystery has once again fallen far short of her previous success with the longer novels. I implore the author to return to her gift: historical stories with a sound factual basis. These two mysteries (Cruel as The Grave and The Queen's Man), similar to the Ellis Peters genre, are clearly mediocre in comparison to "When Christ and His Saints Slept", etc. I feel as if I have listened to someone with the voice, reputation and character of Winston Churchill try and read Ann Landers' column over the radio; no matter how one hears it, it's just all wrong.