Time and Chance [Paperback]

Sharon Kay Penman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Putnam Pub Group (2002)
• ASIN: B000K1WE5I
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,495,368 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

124 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars #2 Of The Best Eleanor Series Ever Written, August 28, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Time and Chance (Hardcover)

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).

Chronologically, this is the 2nd of her novels. It's also the 2nd in the Henry & Eleanor trilogy (the others are When Christ & His Saints Slept and Devil's Brood).

There is no doubt this trilogy will stand as a superior work for ages to come. There is certainly a very complex plot (because this era of English history was quite convoluted). Penman does an excellent job of keeping it all straight for us as she leads us through the maze of characters. Yes, it's complicated but if you read the history of these times you quickly come to see what a great job she did in her design of the story.

There are touching moments (the private verbal dueling between Henry & Eleanor are always memorable) and Penman is great at establishing dynamic moments for a wide range of events (the machinations of Becket, etc.). Although I suspected it was coming, I still found her negative characterization of Becket to be an amazing perspective (that I can easily imagine coming from the very mind of Henry himself - a remarkable piece of writing by Penman).

As always, Penman's true genius is the broad historical scope that is painted on top of the shimmering details of brief moments. It truly 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 the Henry & Eleanor Trilogy)
1156-1171 Time And Chance (Vol 2 of the Henry & Eleanor Trilogy)
12th Cent Devil's Brood (Vol 3 of the Henry & Eleanor 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

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical fiction as it was meant to be written, March 22, 2002

By 

"ticiaroma" (Rome) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time and Chance (Hardcover)

I've waited a long time for this book to come out. Sharon Kay Penman has long been my favorite author. This sequel to When Christ and His Saints Slept continues the story of Henry II and Eleanor. Penman is well grounded in the history of the period and her historical novels accurately convey the events of the time as well as acquainting us with the major players of the era. I was interested in the relationship between Henry and Eleanor and, knowing the ultimate outcome, read with fascination about Henry's growing flirtation with Rosamunde. The confrontation between Henry and Eleanor after she first learns about Rosamunde was, perhaps, my favorite scene in the book.

As another writer mentioned, many readers will already be acquainted with Thomas Becket's role in the story through movies. I thought Penman did a good job of describing him. We were not privy to his inmost thoughts, but rather had to try to figure him out as did Henry II. I thought this was a clever way for Penman to handle the question of his motivation. We don't know, neither did Henry or his other contemporaries, but we have enough to make our own conjectures.

If you haven't already, be sure to read Penman's other books--Sunne in Splendor (Richard III), and the Welsh Trilogy, starting with Here Be Dragons.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and enticing, June 3, 2002

By 

W. Zollo ""the queen"" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Time and Chance (Hardcover)

Penman, has drawn her magic pen once again, this time to tell the tale of the strongly interwoven relationships between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Thomas Becket and the Empress Maude.

Henry & Eleanor's relationship starts out as a breathtaking explosion of power and attraction but soon simmers into a broiling brew of discontent between such *high-maintance* personalities.

Becket is rightly shown as the enigma he was in life and in a gutsy move on Penman's part she allows the reader to make up their own mind about this complex and very *unsaintly* character.

She also includes a wonderful continuation of fictional characters from When Christ and his Saints Slept which as a side bar story...really eases the increasing tensions between Henry and Eleanor.

Penman isn't known as a fasnicating, accurate historical author without great reasoning and she doesn't disapoint with Time and Chance which is a tremendous building block to the final novel in the trilogy - The Devil's Brood.

An amazing read from an amazing author!!!