When Christ and His Saints Slept
Ratings6
Average rating4.3
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.
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Series
Series
5 primary booksPlantagenets
Plantagenets is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 1994 with contributions by Sharon Kay Penman.
Series
3 primary booksHenry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1994 with contributions by Sharon Kay Penman.
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Popular Reviews
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Picked it up poping it was Hillary Mantel like in nuance, background research, and political context, but got a YA readability that I found grating. I can see why this book has fans,but it just did not click with me
Great book about the period of time in England when Stephen and Maude fought over who was the annointed ruler of England. Her book is well-researched and puts the reader into medieval England and Normandy and also writes her characters so that you believe they are real, and care about them (or dislike them as the case may be). I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy!
