Their story is endlessly intriguing, as partners and adversaries but also as unique independent individuals. They brought out the best and the worst in each other. They were heroic, admirable, but also tragic and deplorable. Henry and Eleanor have fascinated historians and romantics for a very long time. But this tale is basically true, consistent with nonfictional information from the period as well as what is known of the characters themselves. She also describes a few characters she invented for her fictional account. I appreciate that the author provides Notes at the end of the book to explain minor changes she made for the sake of good narrative. While we cannot know the exact conversations these historical characters actually had with one another, the structure of their lives is as accurate as the documentation can make it after nearly 1000 years. Readers are invited into the culture and society of this period, contrasting its opulence and brutal hardships. As always, this author has done her research.

His death is described in detail and matches several historical accounts I have read of the event.

Here he is shown as a significantly flawed man, responsible for at least his share in fanning the flames of enmity between himself and Henry. Penman portrays Beckett far differently than as the 'saint' we meet in many other accounts of him. It covers the middle period of their celebrated English medieval marriage and includes the birth of their 8 children, Henry's romance with Rosamund Clifford, and his friendship and infamous fatal conflict with Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. It is the second in a trilogy Sharon Kay Penman has written on the lives of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. 4.5 I rounded my rating up to 5 stars because only round numbers are permitted.

Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman