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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this if you love men in kilts (and historical fiction), November 20, 2005
This review is from: Shield of Three Lions: A Novel (Paperback)
I read the first few pages of this book and was tempted to put it down. The main character was annoying, the dialog seemed stupid and very strange and it was all just depressing me. But I stayed with it, and I'm glad I did.
This is the story of Alix. Her father is a baron along the Scottish border, but when he and her mother are killed in a vicious attack by Scots, her life turns upside down. Her father, in a deathbed conversation, begs Alix to somehow get the land returned to her. He suggests she appeal to the King, Henry. He also suggests that she dress as a boy on the roads, to avoid being raped. She does this, and pretends to be an eight year old boy, instead of the twelve year old girl she is, and heads out for London.
Once on the road Alix quickly hooks up with Enoch, a young Scot heading to the university in Paris. She becomes his traveling companion, and he helps her when it becomes clear she's being pursued by men intent on killing her. Of course, Enoch has no idea Alix is a girl.
Once in London the two learn that the king is dead, and his son, Richard the lion heart, is king in his place. But the new King Richard is intent on going on crusade to the holy land, and Alix must speak to him get her land back. Soon she and Enoch are in Paris, and once having made a bond of brotherhood, they head off to the Crusades.
Alix quickly becomes a favorite page of the kings, and she pays no head to the gossip about him and young men and instead believes that he can see she's a girl, and maybe loves her...
This story is endearing, exciting and historical accurate. On reflection, the seemingly annoying vocabulary of the characters is just right for the time period, as is Alix's most unladylike behavior. I could see the ending coming a mile away, but I still enjoyed it. It's too well written not to love.
There is a second (and now a newly published third) follow up novel(Yes, I've read them.) Read them if you want to know the authors version of Alix's future. I think personally, that not only are those books not as good(by far), but they don't really reflect what would have happened. When you send a story out into the world by publishing a book, the story belonges to everyone-not just the author. So I will always imagine a far different future for Alix, and stop the story with the end of Sheild of Three lions. It's a fantastic book-as a stand alone novel.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very different, humorous, and with lots of interesting historical information, June 24, 2008
This review is from: Shield of Three Lions: A Novel (Paperback)
This is the story of Alix, whose happy sheltered world crumbles when at age 10 her parents murdered by a vicious English knight and her family estate is ransacked. Alix obeys the dying instructions from her father to disguise herself as a boy, hide the family treasure, travel to London, and plead for justice to King Henry. Along the way Alix, now Alex, meets Enoch, a rough and tumble Scottsman who is on his way to study at the University. Enoch learns (well, sort of) Alex's identity and demands that in exchange for his company and protection he should get half the estate. Of course Alex balks but has little alternatives and they make agreement and seal it with a Scottish ceremony making them blood "brothers". Eventually they begin to truly care for each other and a love/hate relationship develops.
Alex learns that King Henry is dead and now she must appeal her case to to the new King, Richard the Lionheart. Trying to track down Richard proves to be a problem and Alex, still travelling with Enoch, falls in with a band of travelling performers who promise to secure an audience with the king if he (really "she" but they don't know that) plays Cupid in their plays. With no other options, Alex agree's and eventually meets the King. He takes an instant liking to Alex, hears her case (although she leaves out the fact that she is in fact a she), but decides Alex is to young to run his estate alone. King Richard takes Alex into his household as a page planning to become personal mentor to him until he reaches maturity. Alex accompanies Richard on crusade where their relationship deepens and through one gigantic misunderstanding begin a quasi-romance of sorts.
But, Alex is still a child, she doesn't recognize the scheming going on behind her back and eventually has to fight, scheme, and lie herself to take back what is hers. She must even scheme against Enoch, the man who protected her and acted as a brother to her for years. She fights tooth and nail to satisfy her Father's dying request and win back the family estate.
This was a fun exciting novel to read. There were lots of interesting historical details about women's issues in the middle ages, the crusades, law, medicine, etc. in medieval times. There are some laugh out loud hilarious moments in the book and I loved the author's writing style. The relationship between Richard and Alex is both touching and sort of revolting at the same time. It's a little more complicated with Enoch as there is obviously love between them but there are also secrets and hidden agenda's.
It's very different from anything else I've read as it's written from a child's viewpoint. The author did a great job of getting into the head of a medieval girl who is thrust out into the world trying to manage everything life throws at her all the while pretending to be a boy. You feel for her as she struggles through the obvious conflicts this brings, esp. as she enters puberty and her "liver" starts to heat up, lol. Alix (and Alex) are spunky and imperfect enough to make them believable and enjoyable. Enoch is a great character with a great Scottish accent. He is devious and forbidding yet at the same time cares deeply for his little "brother" Alex.
This is a great novel with lots of twists and turns in the plot, lots of adventure, hero's, villians, and everything you need for a great medieval romp. The ending is predictable and a bit rushed, hence the four star rating as opposed to a five, but it's still really good and I'd recommend it strongly.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plot Driven Tale Mixes the Modern and Medieval, July 6, 2005
This review is from: Shield of Three Lions: A Novel (Paperback)
I was delighted with this altogether surprising and original historical romance.
First of all, if you want to explore the well-known homosexuality of Richard I, it is difficult in the context of the times to imagine a genuine, sexual story given the vastly different times he lived in. Kaufman has boldly imagined a love story between the King and a young page, fitting with the ancient custom of mentoring young boys. Except that the page is a girl, our heroine, caught in the middle of another story altogether, of swashbuckling and courtly intrigue as she attempts to regain the lands stolen from her family in the north of England, and it all leads to the Third Crusade and the siege of Acre.
The entire story appeared to be impeccably researched and vividly imagined by Kaufman who, again, is confident enough to explore equally the power struggles and political rivalries of English and French involvment in the Holy Land, as well as the sexual machinations of Richard The Lion's boudoir. A long book, it is constantly engaging and fast-paced, very much a traditional historical adventure with a clear-eyed heroine who is both of her time and terribly modern.
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