Time and Chance (Hardcover)

by Sharon Kay Penman (Author) "AS THE KING OF ENGLAND crossed the inner bailey of Chinon Castle, his brother watched from an upper-story window and wished fervently that God would..." (more)
Key Phrases: saving our order, lord archbishop, birthing chamber, Thomas Becket, Fitz Stephen, Lord Thomas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Sunne in Splendour confirmed Sharon Kay Penman's place in the upper echelons of historical fiction, combining a breathtaking panoply of the past with an acute psychological observation of her characters. Time and Chance is the second part of her planned trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, beginning in the glory years of their reign. Penman conjures for us an astonishing era in which Henry battles with the Welsh and the French king, appoints Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, and, by taking a mistress, makes a bitter enemy of his wife.

Readers know the scalpel-like precision of Penman's character building from her earlier work, and the emotional lives of Henry and the troubled Eleanor are powerfully realized. As in the first book of the sequence, When Christ and His Saints Slept, conflict is ever the driving force. Henry and Eleanor's remarkable partnership was proving highly fecund, both politically, and physically, as Eleanor gave birth to five sons and three daughters, laying to rest her reputation as a barren queen and founding a dynasty that was to last three centuries. But auguries of trouble ahead were apparent: war with the Welsh; acrimonious battles with Eleanor's first husband, King Louis VII of France. But the truly destabilizing factor was Henry's decision to appoint his friend and confidant Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry had assumed that the worldly, ambitious Becket would be the perfect ally, and was devastated when the new archbishop cast off his own worldly past as he embraced his role as Defender of the Faith, swapping dissolution for piety.

As Penman vividly demonstrates, Henry saw Becket's action as a humiliating betrayal. One of the most famous murders in history followed, with further conflict in the kingdom caused by Henry's liaison with the daughter of a baron. In bedding Rosamund Clifford, Henry put his marriage and even his kingship at risk. As always, Penman handles her research lightly; the personal drama is the engine of her narrative, with each fresh scandal and intrigue delivered with a beguiling combination of relish and restraint. She is assured in her detailing of the political and ecclesiastical clashes of the court, but it is Henry II who strides her novel like a colossus--just as he did the kingdom he ruled. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly
When Christ and His Saints Slept was Penman's popular account of the 12th-century struggle for England's throne. This book, the second of a planned trilogy, begins after Henry II has inherited the crown and married Eleanor of Aquitaine a mature beauty and a wealthy ruler in her own right. Henry II is a confident leader, but he is also wise enough to appreciate his politically astute wife. His only other trusted adviser is Thomas Becket. Diplomatic and suave, Becket is the perfect complement for a rough-hewn young king. When he makes his chancellor archbishop of Canterbury, Henry believes he is creating an indomitable union of church and state. Becket, however, becomes an adamant protector of ecclesiastical power. The resulting conflict will climax in Becket's murder. In her five previous historical novels, Penman has exhibited a cool, almost academic style balanced by a penetrating sympathy, her fiction adhering faithfully to fact while making the past fully present. She would seem the ideal author to turn these outsized players in a royal drama into real people. Unfortunately, this long-anticipated novel lacks animation. The main characters never come to life, and Becket, in particular, remains a cipher: Penman never ventures inside this saint in the making, nor does she successfully explicate his conversion. She is more confident with her wholly imagined characters, but their vividness only serves to underscore the lifeless quality of the principals, and even the well-defined characters too often indulge in tedious and unbelievable expository monologues. 10-city author tour. (Mar. 4)Forecast: Penman may not attract new fans with this disappointing offering, but the many readers who have been waiting seven years for it to appear will snap it up regardless.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Printing edition (February 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399147853
• ISBN-13: 978-0399147852
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,741 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 85 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

18 of 18 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

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	W. Zollo "princesss" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!!!