Customer Reviews

The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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

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.

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.

A mystery is a notoriously hard genre to write in, but SharonPenman does an extremely creditable job. This book, written like asorbet to clense her palate before tackling her next large project involving Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry's romantic lives, gives an intriguing whiff of how good that book will be.

The aged Eleanor is concerned about the safety and life of her favorite son, Richard the Lionhearted, while her husband's favorite, John, currently sits on the throne. The murder of an obscure merchant, who might have valuable information regarding the Lionheart's whereabouts, is investigatd by Justin, who is given a "passport" to question which identifies him as "The Queen's Man".

Court politics and personalities are well handled by Penman, as always, but what makes this sorty of particular interest is her gift for portraying the life of the commoners and villiens in a story as well. Like Ellis Peters, her detecting relies on only the available technology and knowledge of the time, making her story credible as well as puzzling. The book passes muster as a mystery on its own, but fans of the medieval world will find it particularly enjoyable.

When Richard the Lionhearted goes missing, a merchant, carrying news about the King's whereabouts, is murdered on the road. Queen Eleanor hires your Justin de Quincey to solve the murder. Was the murderer a member of the merchant's family? Or did thugs, sent by the King of France, kill him? In this tale of historical intrigue, Sharon Kay Penman weaves a brilliant tapestry of deception, guilt and betrayal. While I don't enjoy her Murder Mysteries as much as I do her epic Trilogies, Penman puts a lot of work into the stories she tells, and carries them out beautifully, with much attention to detail. Her characters seem modern; though Penman's conversational tone makes those characters so very easy to understand. It is a scintillating, refreshing approach to the murder mystery.

This is the first book I've read by Sharon Penman, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Told in the third-person, the narrative describes the actions and feelings of a queen, a criminal and a slew of London archetypal characters, but primarily our perspective is that of Justin de Quincy, the well-educated but illegitimate son of a cleric who is trying to find his place in the world. A dramatic chance encounter leaves him with an introduction to Eleanor of Aquitane, who subsequently engages De Quincy as her agent in solving a local mystery that may have international implications.

The plot is interesting, the dialogue is authentic without being heavy-handed, and the characters are realistic in their histories and actions. Penman knows her period, which shines through many details.

This is the first book I've read by Sharon Penman but it won't be the last.

Sharon Kay Penman has made her mark writing "traditional" historical fiction about medieval England ("The Sunne in Splendour," "Here Be Dragons," etc.). These books are magnificent, titanic books that throw the reader headlong into the power struggles among the "movers and shakers" of the British Isles and across the Channel in France. Similar to Colleen McCullough's "The Masters of Rome" series, these novels are replete with vivid battles and court dramas.

With "The Queen's Man," Penman takes on a slightly different genre -- the murder mystery. Fans of her other works will be pleased to note that Penman has not lost her talent for transporting the reader back to the England of Queen Eleanor (the novel takes place in the winter of 1192-93, after Eleanor's husband Henry II has shuffled off the mortal coil). But while novels such as "While Christ and His Saints Slept" had a certain amount of melancholy that results from a civil war, "The Queen's Man" is a much more humorous, light-hearted affair, as if Penman knows she's taking on lighter fare.

Well, lighter to an extent -- this *is* a murder mystery, after all. King Richard is missing, lost somewhere after departing for the Crusades from Venice. Justin de Quincy, the educated bastard of a respected bishop, nearly thwarts a murder, and the dying victim entrusts a mysterious letter to Justin, a letter that concerns Richard that must be brought to the Queen . . . a blood-soaked letter, to be sure.

A worthy diamond-in-the-rough, Justin soon finds himself "the Queen's Man," charged by Eleanor with tracking down who murdered the letter carrier. Penman may be writing her first mystery, but she is a natural, peppering the tale with red herrings, bloody fights, rampant duplicity, and a bevy of motives. Chock full of vivid characters and cliff-hangers, "The Queen's Man" is a thrill for both fans of murder mysteries and historical fiction.

As an avid murder mystery reader, I enjoyed the twists this book took as well as the glimpse into life for the common people of London. Some of the previous reviews seemed to miss the point that there are times when we need a short story and a book that is simply entertaining, and in Penman's book we have a bonus in some history lessons. This novel entertained me while I was stuck in an airport for hours. I enjoyed it so much that I started reading Cruel as the Grave within 20 minutes (still in the airport) of finishing The Queens Man - I just had to know how Justin and friends were evolving. I signed on to Amazon today to see if the third book is ready.

In 1996, I decided I wanted to broaden my horizons and branch out into reading medieval historical fiction. This desire resulted in three Christmas presents from my parents: The Queen's Man, The Reckoning, and When Christ and His Saints Slept.

I tried reading WCAHSS at least two or three times, but found myself frustrated. My knowledge of medieval history has never been strong, and not knowing what was truth, what was fiction, I felt strangely uncomfortable. The books sat on my shelf for a few years, until last November, after finishing a high fantasy novel, I decided again to read something more firmly based in reality. Looking at The Reckoning, and WCAHSS, I quickly came face to face with the same frustrations as before -- I didn't know what to believe, what to except on faith, what was real, what was not. So I picked up The Queen's Man, seeing that it was not history, per se, believing that with this I could get a grasp on Penman's style, perhaps a bridge into the larger historical works.

I was hooked immediately. Justin de Quincy's character was likeable (in a somewhat modern sense), and Eleanor of Aquitane was regal beyond measure.

Not having read much mystery, outside of a few Grisham novels and The Alienist, I didn't have much to judge this against. Others have said it is not a strong "mystery", but it worked for me, kept me intellectually engaged throughout.

I fell in love with this book, with Penman's writing, and immediately bought Here Be Dragon's. While I acknowledge that this book pales in comparison to the majesty of Here Be Dragons, what would normally get 3 stars, here gets 4 -- without this, I never would have entered the greater side of Penman's works, and indeed a debt is owed.

I did enjoy this book, but not as much as I had hoped. It was difficult to start, because Penman had to describe the circumstances of England and Richard I's situation for several pages. I was a bit disappointed with the outcome of the mystery as well. Justin de Quincy solved the mystery, but the the answer wasn't the one I had hoped. The story builds and reaches an anticlimax, which was somewhat frustrating.

Penman also detracts from the story but following certain tangents that don't go anywhere. For example, Justin saves a dog from drowning, but doesn't form any sort of bond with it. He spends the rest of the novel trying to dump this burdensome dog of his onto others. At one point, I think Penman actually forgot about the dog! I remember reading and thinking, "Hey, where did the dog go?"

On the other hand, some of her characters are quite funny and memorable. Some of them are Nell, the brave alehouse widow, Luke de Marston, the quirky under-sherrif, and Claudine, the flirtatous maid of Queen Eleanor. Queen Eleanor herself is not really a main character, but her character appears as more of a cameo.

Overall, this is not so great a mystery novel. But if you are a Penman fan, it is worth reading. The medieval setting and Penman's wit are worth the comparatively short read.