I really enjoyed what Penman did with this book and it's made me eager to seek out her other stuff. So 12th century England is basically A Game of Thrones. “Why is it honesty when a man speaks his mind and madness when a woman does?”

and Down Under by Macmillan and co the publication date is early March, 2020. She has just finished The Land Beyond the Sea, set in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century.

Henry and Eleanor's celebrated and controversial son, Richard the Lionheart is the major character in both books, although Eleanor, John, and Richard's favorite sister, Joanna, also get to spend time on center stage. She soon realized that there was still more of the Angevins' story to tell and the result was Lionheart, followed by The King's Ransom. In 2008, she published Devil's Brood, which was to be the final book in her trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The mysteries did not enjoy the same success as her 'straight' historical novels, to which she returned in 2002, with Time and Chance, again covering the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. In 1996, following the success of When Christ and His Saints Slept (which dealt with the Anarchy and the early career of King Henry II of England), Penman ventured into the historical whodunnit with four mysteries set in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine during the reign of Richard I. The Sunne in Splendour, a novel about Richard III of England is one of the most popular books on the Historical Novel Society's list of best historical novels. Penman received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, she majored in history, and also received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Rutgers University School of Law, and later worked as a tax lawyer.

When christ and his saints slept