Customer Reviews
Wonderful, as always... - By: C. Ball, 19 Mar 2009 
This is the secondin Sharon Penman's Wales trilogy, although this one deals more with England & the Second Barons' War between Simon de Montfort & Henry III than it does with Llewelyn & Wales. Again, I love this book. Simon is one of my historical heroes, the father of parliamentary democracy, & it always makes me sad when I get the end of the book & his death at the Battle of Evesham. I always dread it coming, even though, you know, it happened 700-odd years ago! Sharon Penman's books are wonderful, the best historical novels out there, & I'd recommend them to everyone.
This book sweeps you into medieval England and Wales.. - By: Anna Tigg, 21 Jun 2007 
This, the second part of Sharon Penman's Welsh/Norman trilogy, focuses mainly on the career of the "greatest soldierin Christendom" & the oft-called father of representative government, Simon de Montfort. The book's other focus is on Wales, particularly the northern principality of Gwynedd, divided & beset by enemies after the death of Llewelyn Fawr. The story of Simon de Montfort is a thrilling one, & Penman brings him to lifein these pages with her usual skill. The English monarchy is shownin a far less sympathetic light, & no wonder, since Henry III was one of England's weakest kings, petty, vindictive & vacillating. His greatest achievement was undoubtedlyin his offspring, for there were few medieval kings greater than Edward I. His rivalry with Simon dated almost from the time of de Montfort's semi-clandestine marriage to Henry's youngest sister, & relations between the two men werein a constant state of flux, with Henry embracing Simon as a brother one day & turning on him the next. The climax of Simon's career was his astounding political & military victory at Lewes, where he captured not only Henry, but also Prince Edward & Henry's younger brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall. The latter, who was a calculating & practical man, would have made a far better king for England than the brother only a year his senior. De Montfort's triumph after Lewes was relatively short-lived. Edward escaped, & Simon was betrayed by some of his closest allies. Trappedin a curve of the River Severn, he awaited the army of his second son, Simon (known as Bran) - however, Bran, through his own carelessness, had been ambushed by Edward, & the latter advanced on Simon's army at Evesham flying Bran's captured banners. As a result, Simon & his followers were unaware of their danger until too late, & the outcome was a massacre. Simon, as he lay dying, was cut to pieces, & various parts of his body were despatched around the kingdom.
The Welsh side of the story is largely focussed on Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, grandson of Llewelyn Fawr & heir to his dreams of a united Wales. Walesin the 13th Century was a land beset by enemies - not only the immensely larger & more powerful English Crown but also enemies from within, for it was a divided country, with several small principalities generally at odds with one another. The most divisive element was the Welsh law regarding succession - forin Wales all a man's sons could inherit, & the system fostered fratricide & civil war.
Sharon Penman's love for the period shines throughin every chapter. The reader is superbly drawn into the medieval world, & will find themselves rooting strongly for certain characters & hating others. The battle scenes are very well depicted (as usual), but Penman's true talent liesin bringing the everyday detail to life. Be prepared for some tear-jerking scenes - I have read this book several times & I still cry!
Penman is a Closet Snob - By: K Culbertson, 24 Mar 2007 
Having read Elizabeth Chadwick's "The Greatest Knight," I set aside my natural preference for male authors when it comes to novels involving war, & read "Falls the Shadow." While I adored "The Greatest Knight", I find two major problems with S. Penman: she does not do male historical subjects justice, & she is a closet snob.
The first is proven by the fact that fully a third of this novel is setin bed: eitherin birthing scenes, death scenes or to a lesser degree love-making scenes. These scenes are obsessively drawn-outin relation to the historical sweep the novel purports to compass. The point is even more starkly proven by the fact that death scenes & female gossip scenes pre-empt the pivotal time the supposed main protagonist spends crusadingin the Holy Land, a time which made Simon de Montfort's name & reputation are made as "The greatest soldierin Christendom." Not a single scene is setin Outremer where the Crusades took place, nor is any scene even narratedin retrospect. There are a grand total of two battle scenesin a 500-page novel. Considering the epoch-shaping battles that took place during de Montfort's lifetime, this is perhaps unforgiveable.
The proof of the second point, that Penman is a closet snob, is well illustrated by the way she has her heroine, Nell, treat an impoverished country priest when he is brought to minister to her in-law, Ellen, who is dying at childbirth. Prior to the death, Nell threatens the priest with Royal wrath if he doesn't perform sacraments contrary to church doctrine, then, further threateningly exhorts him to lie about the nature of the death, then physical abuses him when he meekly descends the stairs to try to fill his empty stomachin the hall following the death. This scene, & others, bespeaks a rather nasty personality behind the novel. This is not the way a Royal would act towards an unfortunate lesser: it is the way a middle-class author with imaginary pretentions to higher rank might behave.
Penman also has an extremely distracting & irritating habit of conspicuously omitting conjunctions. Example: "I'd have taken them with me if only I could, hope they'll understand one day." Extremely awkward, & distracting. The author is trying too hard to be clever or original & it doesn't work.
Allin all, not worth reading when one could have Elizabeth Chadwick instead.
Heartbreaking - By: Misfit, 30 Jan 2007 Part II of the Welsh trilogy. Much tragedy, heartbreak & courage. I had never heard of Simon DeMontfort before -- & we all have much to be thankful to him for his courage to fight for what is "right" no matter what the cost.
Simon de Montford shines through Ms Penman's writing - By: aapjebaapje, 25 Nov 2005 1231-1267. I liked this one more even more than the two books which precede this one chronologically. Since my family have strong links with Kenilworth, Simon de Montford’s main castle, he has always been a name bandied around the house but until now I didn’t know anything about him. Ms Penman makes him out to be a man of our time believingin democracy for the people. I thought she might be romanticising her character for the sake of a good read but having surfed the net I find that she has just put her inimitable stamp on what turns out to be the accepted view of Simon de Montford as the “father of Parliament”. I am glad I know more about Simon de Montford & I’m glad it was Sharon Penman who introduced me to him. I too will now read more about him & since my family are stillin the locality I shall be visiting Evesham & seeing Kenilworth castlein a new light. I wish I livedin the locality as the Simon de Montford Society basedin Evesham seems to have a very interesting programme of monthly events this year!
