DEVIL'S BROOD Hardback - 2008

by Penman, Sharon Kay

The long-awaited and highly anticipated final volumein Penman's trilogy of Henry II and Eleanor ofAquitaine a tumultuous conclusion to this timelessstory of love, power, ambition, and betrayal.

Where the second novel in the trilogy, Time And Chance, dealt with the extraordinary politics ofthe twelfth century, climaxing with the murderof Thomas Becket and Henry's confrontation with the Churchand self-imposed exile to Ireland, Devil's Brood centers on theimplosion of a family. And because it is a royal family whosedomains span the English Channel and whose alliances encompassthe Christian world, that collapse will have dire consequences.This is a story of betrayal as Henry's three eldest sonsand his wife enter into a rebellion against him, aligning themselveswith his bitterest enemy, King Louis of France. But it isalso the story of a great king whose brilliance forged an empirebut whose personal blind spots led him into the most seriousmistake of his life.

Sharon Kay Penman has created a novel of tremendouspower, as two strong-willed, passionate people clash, a familydivides, and a marriage ends in all but name. Curiously, it is anovel without villains only flawed human beings caught up inmisperceptions and bad judgment calls. Most devastating toHenry was not his sons' rebellion but his wife's betrayal in joiningthem. How could it happen that two people whose love foreach other was all consuming end up as bitter adversaries? Thatis the heart of Penman's tale in Devil's Brood.