Third in Penman's ambitious and admirable trilogy (Here Be Dragons, 1985; Falls the Shadow, 1988) centered on the medieval maelstroms of power, passions, and terror during the reigns of England's King John, weak Henry III, and, here, that ``Hammer of the Scots,'' pounder of the Welsh and any others threatening the supremacy of the Crown—Edward I. This is the story of the deadly reckoning, the final defeat of the descendants and allies of Simon de Montfort (whose rebellion against kingly power is chronicled in the first two novels) as well as the tale of the end of an independent Wales. The focus here, much seen through the eyes of a young squire, is on the tactics of two rulers—Edward I of England and his cousinly kin (a genealogical table—a necessity!—will be included) Llewelyn ab Gruffydd, Prince of Wales—judicious, devoted to his land and people, but not one to underestimate Edward's hunger for absolute English supremacy and his ability to achieve it. Around the two, and back and forth, is a motley group: dangerous-to-loyal kin, rumbling nobles and wily clergy, women in love and in terrible grief. Closest to Llewelyn is Ellen, daughter of Simon de Montfort, whose marriage to him is unconsummated for weary months, serving as she does as Edward's lure in a diplomatic game plan. Also, strangely close, is Llewelyn's brother Davydd, a charming, intelligent Cain, betraying again and again—although love can survive. At the close, Davydd's rash action will precipitate the final battle and the deaths of two last Welsh Princes of Wales. Penman's easy narrative and dialogue (except for a ``mayhap'' here and there, mainly 20th-century all-purpose) move the reader effortlessly from chill prisons to the blaze of festivals, the coziness of women's quarters and in the beauty or punishment of capricious winds and weathers. With a large cast of sturdy characters, a gripping (true) story, and research that supports, rather than impales, good storytelling: a first-rate historical novel, crowning a solid series.
Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1991
ISBN: 0-8050-1014-9
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1991
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...
Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.
After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-345-45071-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
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