"A.D. 1135. As church bells tolled for the death of England's King Henry I, his barons faced the unwelcome prospect of being ruled by a woman: Henry's beautiful daughter Maude, Countess of Anjou. But before Maude could claim her throne, her cousin Stephen seized it. In their long and bitter struggle, all of England bled and burned.
Sharon Kay Penman's magnificent fifth novel summons to life a spectacular medieval tragedy whose unfolding breaks the heart even as it prepares the way for splendors to come--the glorious age of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Plantagenets that would soon illumine the world."---Amazon.com

I'm not much good at analyzing books, plots, style etc. All I can say that this book ranks up there with Penman's "Here Be Dragons". I lost several night's sleep staying up to read this book, another can't-put-it-down book.

Sent to my brother today.

My sister is keeping me well supplied with reading material...it showed up in my mailbox. Looking forward to this book. Shorter days and colder weather might help me get through it sooner. I now have 3 Penman books in the in queue. I've read a lot of historical fiction and Penman's is perhaps the most multidimensional. She blends good history, well developed characters and excellent prose in her works.

Enjoyed this book immensely. If you read it, you should rent "The Lion in Winter" on DVD and also see volume 1 of Simon Schama's "A History of Britian. This book has crossed the US once (Olympia, WA to Buffalo, NY) and is now heading for a warmer climate "Tobago, West Indies" Enjoy it

this book began it's journey in washington state, went to new york, and is now in tobago,, west indies. thanks eskielover and nano2nd!