Series
Publication
Ballantine Books (1993), 720 pages
Original publication date
1985
Collections
Subjects
Description
Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML: Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce by marrying the English king's beloved illegitimate daughter, Joanna, who slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales�??-and Llewelyn�??-Joanna must decide where her love and loyalties truly lie. The turbulent clashes of two disparate worlds and the destinies of the individuals caught between them spring to life in this magnificent novel of power and passion, loyalty and lies. The book that began the trilogy that includes Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning, Here Be Dragons brings thirteenth-century England, France, and Wales to tangled, tempestuous life… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member magemanda
This work is a sweeping historical epic concerning Llewelyn Fawr - the first self-proclaimed Prince of Wales - and his enduring love affair with Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of John, King of England. The book covers the period between 1183 and 1234, and deals in both micro and macro events. We
The characters are memorable and aid the reader in becoming invested in this very early period of English history. One criticism that can be levelled, however, is that the cast of characters seems to be in the hundreds and sometimes it can be difficult to tell your Wills from your Richards from your Ranulfs.
I also found it difficult at times dealing with the idea of child brides - the fact that King John perhaps took a twelve year old bride to bed is anathema to those of us in modern times, and can make for uncomfortable reading. Penman writes readily about the role of women in those days, which can also create a sense of outrage - when daughters are married away to foreign countries for political expediency, it is hard to realise that this was a common occurrence and certainly one that women prepared themselves for.
Mostly, though, this book is a joy to read and I found that the 800+ pages passed in a flash. I was eager to find out what happened to Llewelyn and Joanna. The fact that their love was served up against an historical backdrop which had been lavishly researched only added to the pleasure of reading the events.
I would recommend this wholeheartedly.
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see the world not only in terms of the major historical events that shaped that period of time but also from the point of view of characters in terms of their own relationships.The characters are memorable and aid the reader in becoming invested in this very early period of English history. One criticism that can be levelled, however, is that the cast of characters seems to be in the hundreds and sometimes it can be difficult to tell your Wills from your Richards from your Ranulfs.
I also found it difficult at times dealing with the idea of child brides - the fact that King John perhaps took a twelve year old bride to bed is anathema to those of us in modern times, and can make for uncomfortable reading. Penman writes readily about the role of women in those days, which can also create a sense of outrage - when daughters are married away to foreign countries for political expediency, it is hard to realise that this was a common occurrence and certainly one that women prepared themselves for.
Mostly, though, this book is a joy to read and I found that the 800+ pages passed in a flash. I was eager to find out what happened to Llewelyn and Joanna. The fact that their love was served up against an historical backdrop which had been lavishly researched only added to the pleasure of reading the events.
I would recommend this wholeheartedly.
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LibraryThing member Lila_Gustavus
Splendid! That's all I have to say...just kidding, but if I ever were forced to summarize this book in one word, 'splendid' would be the one. Here Be Dragons is the reason why exactly I read and love historical fiction. This is a kind of book that gives you a story you can truly lose yourself in,
Here Be Dragons is the first book by Sharon Penman I've ever read but it's enough for me to know that this author truly is a master of her art. She painted such a vivid physical and emotional landscape of the 13th century England and Wales, and people ruling them, that it was sometimes very difficult for me to return to the present without regrets. please, don't take it as gushings of a drama queen here, because I'm certainly no drama queen and I rarely love a book this much. That's why when it happens, it is all the more memorable.
Now, mind you, Here Be Dragons is probably not the book for people who are just trying to get into historical fiction. It's a chunkster with tons of characters, a lot of history packed into it, a lot of intrigue and events to pay attention to, and while those are the reasons why I love it so and I'm sure most history buffs do too, some who are just starting may get turned of by the 'too-muchness' of it all. Nonetheless, in the end, I found I cared for almost all characters, even the most vile, because Ms. Penman did a superb job of showing two sides to every story, two sides to every person. Even the cruel king John of England awoke feelings of pity and compassion even sometimes. By the same token, I also got mad and turned off by some of the things done by Llewelyn (the good character) or his wife, Joanna (who by the way, really pissed me off a few times there).
Thank goodness this book is the first in the trilogy of the Welsh Princes and the first of the many books Sharon Kay Penman wrote. Even though I've waited a long time to discover this writer, I now have hours upon hours of more splendid reading ahead of me, because I have no doubt that her other books will be just as good.
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lock the world away and pretend for at least the hours you're reading that nothing else but what's happening on the pages of the book exists.Here Be Dragons is the first book by Sharon Penman I've ever read but it's enough for me to know that this author truly is a master of her art. She painted such a vivid physical and emotional landscape of the 13th century England and Wales, and people ruling them, that it was sometimes very difficult for me to return to the present without regrets. please, don't take it as gushings of a drama queen here, because I'm certainly no drama queen and I rarely love a book this much. That's why when it happens, it is all the more memorable.
Now, mind you, Here Be Dragons is probably not the book for people who are just trying to get into historical fiction. It's a chunkster with tons of characters, a lot of history packed into it, a lot of intrigue and events to pay attention to, and while those are the reasons why I love it so and I'm sure most history buffs do too, some who are just starting may get turned of by the 'too-muchness' of it all. Nonetheless, in the end, I found I cared for almost all characters, even the most vile, because Ms. Penman did a superb job of showing two sides to every story, two sides to every person. Even the cruel king John of England awoke feelings of pity and compassion even sometimes. By the same token, I also got mad and turned off by some of the things done by Llewelyn (the good character) or his wife, Joanna (who by the way, really pissed me off a few times there).
Thank goodness this book is the first in the trilogy of the Welsh Princes and the first of the many books Sharon Kay Penman wrote. Even though I've waited a long time to discover this writer, I now have hours upon hours of more splendid reading ahead of me, because I have no doubt that her other books will be just as good.
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LibraryThing member soliloquies
Beautifully written and researched novel concentrating on the last of the Welsh Princes. Here Be Dragons is the first in the trilogy and the story centres around Joanna, bastard daughter of King John, and Llewellyn Fawr. It portrays John in a much more sympathetic light than many other books, and
I have read this book several times and I never get tired of it. Highly recommended.
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yet he still is ruthless.I have read this book several times and I never get tired of it. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member fuzzi
One of the things I like about Sharon Kay Penman is her ability to write about history in a clarifying way, without making it confusing. I also appreciate her skill in fleshing out the characters of our past, making them much like people we know today.
Here Be Dragons is one of this author's first
Riveting, a hard-to-put-it-down book of more than 700 pages, though it does not read as a typical "chunkster". Highly, highly recommended.
Here Be Dragons is one of this author's first
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works, written about 30 years ago, and it's a keeper. In this first of a trilogy (they can be read separately), we are immersed in the Angevin dynasty politics and intrigue, based mostly in 12th and 13th century England, Normandy, France, and Wales, and come to know the powerful people of that time. At first, King John is a somewhat sympathetic character, as Penman paints his picture through the eyes of his illegitimate daughter, Joanna. After a marriage of political benefit to a prince of Wales, Llewellyn, Joanna's eyes are opened more to the differences between the Norman conquerors and the Welsh, whose ideas of marriage and inheritance appeal to her.Riveting, a hard-to-put-it-down book of more than 700 pages, though it does not read as a typical "chunkster". Highly, highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member JaneSteen
Where I got the book: purchased used on Amazon.
This is the first book I’ve read by Sharon Kay Penman, and it was a product of the Goodreads Effect—I’ve heard so many good things about Penman on Goodreads that I realized I was going to have to get acquainted with her work. This, I believe, was
Given its subject matter, it won’t surprise you to learn that the movement of the novel is chronological rather than thematic; it’s basically a straight telling of what happened during the period, primarily from the point of view of either Llewelyn or Joanna (but see below). If you’re the kind of reader who reads historical fiction to learn history, you will learn a great deal about the period, about Wales and about the personalities involved, and since I’m not a historian I can’t tell you whether it’s accurate or not.
Penman writes well, puts words into the characters’ mouths that don’t generally sound either too modern or too deliberately olde-worlde, and covers, as far as I can see, a great deal of the known history of the time. I can’t fault her on any of those points.
And yet…I wasn’t overly impressed. I read this book a few pages at a time over a very long period, which admittedly isn’t probably the best way to do it, but at no point did the story grab me enough that I wanted to bring this book with me wherever I went. I even tried starting it over after the first 50 pages or so, because I’d let a long time lapse, and then after that I kept doggedly perservering, determined to give Penman a fair try.
I should admit, though, that Welsh settings have never appealed to me much, and I had trouble dealing with so many names, character or place, with L or G or W in them. I kept trying to pronounce the names in my head, and since I haven’t spent much time in Wales this was a frustrating bit of OCD that hounded me constantly as I read. But maybe that’s just me.
I spent much of the 700 pages of this book wondering why I simply couldn’t work up any feeling for any of the characters, and it was only toward the end of the book that the answer began to dawn on me. I had a problem with the narrative voice. Penman writes in the third person omniscient point of view which, admittedly, is probably the best choice for a novel involving a great many characters and a large chunk of history—she is able to show us the inside of the heads of any character she wishes at any point in time. I have nothing against the omniscient POV when it’s done well, but I don’t think that Penman had really mastered it in this book. We are very often deep in Llewelyn or Joanna’s head, and I found it disconcerting to suddenly hop into the head of a minor character, as quite frequently happened. It’s like holding a telescopic device when someone else is playing around with the zoom, so that one second you’re looking at things from miles away, the next second you’re right up close, and then WHAM, back to miles away again. To make things worse, every so often she resorted to historian mode to get over long periods of time in which not much happened, or at least not much happened that she intended to show in the book. So suddenly we weren’t in any character’s head—we were listening to a disembodied storyteller.
And that, I figured, is why I couldn’t get to like any of the characters—the narrative technique made them all seem a bit like a cast of marionettes, not acting under their own free will but at the mercy of the narrated Historical Imperative. And that’s a shame because there was a lot of family drama that also, because of who that family happened to be, was historically important. The abiding impression of what I did like turns out to be King John, who doesn’t appear often enough for my liking but casts an awfully long shadow over Joanna and Llewelyn’s lives. I grew up with an impression of King John taken from the Robin Hood stories, and am glad to have received a more nuanced picture of this much-maligned monarch.
All this makes it very hard to rate this book, but I’m going for three stars because of the sheer struggle I had to stay engaged with the story. Which doesn’t mean I’m giving up on Penman—I have another of her books somewhere in the TBR pile, and I’ll admit that if I want to learn something about a period via historical fiction, she seems like a good author to go to.
This is the first book I’ve read by Sharon Kay Penman, and it was a product of the Goodreads Effect—I’ve heard so many good things about Penman on Goodreads that I realized I was going to have to get acquainted with her work. This, I believe, was
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the second book she wrote, after The Sunne in Splendor, and the first book in her Welsh Trilogy. It covers the years from 1183 to 1234 and tells the story of Llewelyn, a Welsh prince determined to keep Wales Welsh by keeping the English (well, Norman French really) King John out of his country, and his wife Joanna, who was John’s illegitimate daughter.Given its subject matter, it won’t surprise you to learn that the movement of the novel is chronological rather than thematic; it’s basically a straight telling of what happened during the period, primarily from the point of view of either Llewelyn or Joanna (but see below). If you’re the kind of reader who reads historical fiction to learn history, you will learn a great deal about the period, about Wales and about the personalities involved, and since I’m not a historian I can’t tell you whether it’s accurate or not.
Penman writes well, puts words into the characters’ mouths that don’t generally sound either too modern or too deliberately olde-worlde, and covers, as far as I can see, a great deal of the known history of the time. I can’t fault her on any of those points.
And yet…I wasn’t overly impressed. I read this book a few pages at a time over a very long period, which admittedly isn’t probably the best way to do it, but at no point did the story grab me enough that I wanted to bring this book with me wherever I went. I even tried starting it over after the first 50 pages or so, because I’d let a long time lapse, and then after that I kept doggedly perservering, determined to give Penman a fair try.
I should admit, though, that Welsh settings have never appealed to me much, and I had trouble dealing with so many names, character or place, with L or G or W in them. I kept trying to pronounce the names in my head, and since I haven’t spent much time in Wales this was a frustrating bit of OCD that hounded me constantly as I read. But maybe that’s just me.
I spent much of the 700 pages of this book wondering why I simply couldn’t work up any feeling for any of the characters, and it was only toward the end of the book that the answer began to dawn on me. I had a problem with the narrative voice. Penman writes in the third person omniscient point of view which, admittedly, is probably the best choice for a novel involving a great many characters and a large chunk of history—she is able to show us the inside of the heads of any character she wishes at any point in time. I have nothing against the omniscient POV when it’s done well, but I don’t think that Penman had really mastered it in this book. We are very often deep in Llewelyn or Joanna’s head, and I found it disconcerting to suddenly hop into the head of a minor character, as quite frequently happened. It’s like holding a telescopic device when someone else is playing around with the zoom, so that one second you’re looking at things from miles away, the next second you’re right up close, and then WHAM, back to miles away again. To make things worse, every so often she resorted to historian mode to get over long periods of time in which not much happened, or at least not much happened that she intended to show in the book. So suddenly we weren’t in any character’s head—we were listening to a disembodied storyteller.
And that, I figured, is why I couldn’t get to like any of the characters—the narrative technique made them all seem a bit like a cast of marionettes, not acting under their own free will but at the mercy of the narrated Historical Imperative. And that’s a shame because there was a lot of family drama that also, because of who that family happened to be, was historically important. The abiding impression of what I did like turns out to be King John, who doesn’t appear often enough for my liking but casts an awfully long shadow over Joanna and Llewelyn’s lives. I grew up with an impression of King John taken from the Robin Hood stories, and am glad to have received a more nuanced picture of this much-maligned monarch.
All this makes it very hard to rate this book, but I’m going for three stars because of the sheer struggle I had to stay engaged with the story. Which doesn’t mean I’m giving up on Penman—I have another of her books somewhere in the TBR pile, and I’ll admit that if I want to learn something about a period via historical fiction, she seems like a good author to go to.
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LibraryThing member ejj1955
This is a fairly long book, historical fiction about Llewelyn the Great of Wales and John I of England. The central character is really Joanna (sometimes known as Joan), John's illegitimate daughter who married Llewelyn. She is torn between the two men she loves, who are frequently at war. Penman
Penman of necessity takes liberties with history--too many details are simply not known, and certainly the feelings and conversations can only be imagined. But they are well imagined.
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paints John as responsible for some extremely cruel and vicious acts (some supported by history and some simply speculation). Ultimately, the book is a love story about Joanna and Llewelyn, including a famous scandal in which Joanna is caught with another man in her bedchamber; Llewelyn hangs the other man and imprisons Joanna for nearly a year before restoring her to her position as his consort.Penman of necessity takes liberties with history--too many details are simply not known, and certainly the feelings and conversations can only be imagined. But they are well imagined.
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LibraryThing member lollypop917
This wonderful book by Sharon Kay Penman is one to be read slowly savoring every page. I purposefully took my time with this one as I knew from the beginning I wasn't going to want it to end. This story follows the lives of John I of England and Llewelyn the Great of Wales along with John's
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daughter Joanna as there lives entwine. I'm not going to go into details of the plot as I'm sure other reviewers have done this already, but I will say that this is a must read for lovers of historical fiction. I will be reading the next in the Welsh trilogy as soon as I can! Show Less
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
This is a favorite book--one I read years (decades?) ago yet still remember lines and scenes from. One of those rare books that have moved me to tears. I've read a lot of Sharon Kay Penman's books--I'm currently reading her latest release and then will have no more of her to read until "Prince of
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Darkness" comes out. This one and "Sunne in Splendor" are by far my two favorites, the two I'd rate a full five stars. Not only engrossing, solidly ground historical fiction but one of the best love stories I've ever read. I'm not saying this is deathless literature--there are aspects of Penman's style I find clunky (point of view, dialogue tags, etc) But that doesn't stop me from flat-out loving this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member bhowell
the first of the series and the best in my view.
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Read this for bookclub - which is good for making me branch out. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but this novel caught me at a good time. Having just read a history of medieval times, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Ms. Penman had done a good job of portraying some of the realities
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of that time - particularly in terms of the pervasiveness of the Catholic Church and the reality of the afterlife that so many believed in. I enjoyed learning more of the history of the times and found the book very readable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Suuze
Wow. I love historical fiction, *especially* when it's well researched. Therefore, I really liked this book, as I kept googling the information weaved around the storyline, and it was factually accurate. Somehow that just makes the book come alive for me.This is definitely not a book you can read
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quickly! It takes place mostly in Wales in the 13th century, and having little knowledge about that time period, was fascinating to me. I did know that you never call a Welshman 'English' and vice-versa, but I never really knew why until I read this book. The English and Welsh princes are always at odds or at war. Their interaction with one another as well as the women in their lives is hard to keep up with, though. I had to keep flipping back to check the years, etc. Read this book when you have lots of quiet time - you have to pay attention. No speed reading in this one! Show Less
LibraryThing member brnoze
This author has become a favorite of mine. I enjoy how she develops the story in her historical fiction. She can bring the characters to life. I should have paid more attention in my history classes, because I was surprised by the ending. Pretty amazing to be surprised after reading 650 pages.
LibraryThing member twilightlost
Well researched. Penman brings the 13th century alive.
LibraryThing member sarams
Good solid historical fiction. Really brought the characters to life.
LibraryThing member dianaleez
Penman's Llewellyn is perhaps the most charismatic and compelling hero I have encountered. A fascinating portrait of an interesting time.
LibraryThing member lookingforpenguins
Brilliant story involving King John, Richard the Lion Heart, and John's illegitimate daughter Joanna, whom he wed off to Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales. A little too romance-y, but excellent. First in a trilogy; followed by 'Falls the Shadow' and 'The Reckoning.'
LibraryThing member CathyLeming
I became lost in this story, and fell in love with Llewellyn Fawn, the last true Prince of Wales.
LibraryThing member lunanshee
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. One of the best books I've read. Action, adventure, political intrigue. This book will have you laughing and crying. A must for any lover of Historical Fiction. Love it!
LibraryThing member AmandaB18
First book in the trilogy. A great book for historical fiction readers. If you like The Other Boleyn Girl, I think you will enjoy this series very much. It was informative, yet entertaining with characters that you come to care for and a story that you don't want to end. Also for those of you who
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like a little (well written) romance mixed in, there is a love story involved. Show Less
LibraryThing member BobH1
I come away from this book feeling a little disappointed and I don’t quite know why, the book has all the ingredients for a good historical romantic yarn, a young woman, the illegitimate daughter of a king, marrying for dynastic and political reasons the neighbouring countries Prince. But I never
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quite got in sympathy with the main characters, I was still an outsider looking in at the end of the book, never having taken sides and become a partisan to one side or the other. King John has received a possibly unjustified bad press, just as Richard (the Lion Heart) has received an unjustified good press. (A king who spent no more than six months of his reign in his country and then beggared it to find his ransom, was not a good king. A King who was hamstrung by crippling debts left him by his brother, was going to have problems what ever he did.) Llewellyn might well have been a good personal leader, but he was not a dynast, if he had been a better man then may be his unified Wales may have lasted beyond his death, with the implications that would have on the future history of what is now the United Kingdom. So a good book, well researched etc, but not enthralling. Show Less
LibraryThing member sds6565
Here Be Dragons tells the story of the marriage of Prince Llewelyn of Wales and Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of England’s King John.
The book is well researched by the author about the life and times of King John and his court as well as the court of Prince Llewelyn.
As all of her books the
The book is well researched by the author about the life and times of King John and his court as well as the court of Prince Llewelyn.
As all of her books the
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story line is super. I love the romance angle, and the intrigue. My attention was caught from start to finish. Show Less
LibraryThing member Den76
When I finished reading this book I regretted reading it as I would never have the experience of reading it for the first time again :-) Although I have read several times since.
Simply put, it is the best book I've ever read. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history although since first
Simply put, it is the best book I've ever read. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history although since first
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reading Here be Dragons, I have completed a History Degree and actually shy away from historical fiction now, even when based on fact, as want a more balanced view of history. Show Less
LibraryThing member loriemaenza
This is the first book I've read by author Sharon Kay Penman. I must say, I loved it. I like to read about the middle ages and I have never read anything about Wales so I thought I would give it a try. I was not disappointed in "Here Be Dragons".
Set in the time of Richard the Lionheart, Queen
I was drawn into the lives of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, and Joanna, who was arranged to marry him to bring about a fragile alliance between England and Wales. Through this marriage the intricacies of political machines governed by Kings, family, Princes and Popes, weighs in the balance with the power of love and loyalty. So well is this complicated struggle weaved in and out of the relationships and lives of the characters, Penman is able to bring depth and strength to the people and the story.
I am already reading the second book in the trilogy, picking up where the last one left off! I am so glad to be able to stay connected and continue reading about these extraordinary people and the time in which they lived.
Lorie M.
Set in the time of Richard the Lionheart, Queen
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Eleanor Aquitaine and king John, Sharon Penman brings to reality the complicated political struggles within England's royalty and the ongoing treaties and wars with the Princes of a fiercely independent and divided country of Wales.I was drawn into the lives of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, and Joanna, who was arranged to marry him to bring about a fragile alliance between England and Wales. Through this marriage the intricacies of political machines governed by Kings, family, Princes and Popes, weighs in the balance with the power of love and loyalty. So well is this complicated struggle weaved in and out of the relationships and lives of the characters, Penman is able to bring depth and strength to the people and the story.
I am already reading the second book in the trilogy, picking up where the last one left off! I am so glad to be able to stay connected and continue reading about these extraordinary people and the time in which they lived.
Lorie M.
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LibraryThing member babyfacetiger
Sharon Kay Penman brings history to life
LibraryThing member beentsy
I love this book and seem to reread it almost every year. Wonderful historical fiction.
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0345382846 / 9780345382849
Physical description
720 p.; 5.07 inches
Pages
720