The Reckoning

“Penman’s characters are so shrewdly imagined, so full of resonant human feeling that they seem to breathe on the page.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Never forget, Llewelyn, that the world’s greatest fool is a Welshman who trusts an English king.” His father’s words haunt Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, who has been ruling uneasily over his fractious countrymen. Above all else, Llewelyn fears that his life and his own dream—of an independent, united Wales—might be lost to Edward I’s desire to expand his English empire. Alive from the pages of history, this is the hauntingly beautiful and compelling tale of a game poised to play itself out to its bloody finale as English and Welsh cross swords in a reckoning that must mean disaster for one side or the other. For anyone who has ever wanted to experience the rich tapestry of British history and lore, this bold and romantic adventure must be read. With The Reckoning acclaimed novelist Sharon Kay Penman brings her epic trilogy of 13th-century England and Wales--begun in Here Be Dragons and Falls the Shadow--to a magnificent conclusion. As part of a monumental saga, or standing on its own, the dramatic story of England's warrior king, Edward I, and his determination to control Wales is serious English historical fiction at its best. A novel set in 1271 amidst the growing conflict between England and Wales. Llewelyn of Wales married Ellen de Montfort to spite Edward I; but, he found himself participating in one of the great love stories of the Middle Ages. Caught up in the power struggles and lives of these highborn are a host of lesser characters, for the devotion Llewelyn inspired in his followers was equalled only by the loyalty felt by all who came under the spell of the de Montfort family. Ranged against them was a worthy opponent, Edward I, whose power and success inspired its own support Concluding her magnificent sequence of novels on the death throes of independent Wales, Sharon Penman weaves a dramatic story of abiding faiths, broken dreams - and enduring hearts