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Alix of Wanthwaite #1
Het Schild met de drie Leeuwen
Het schild met de drie leeuwen is een historische avonturenroman waarin beelden, klanken en geuren uit de tijd van de kruistochten moeiteloos vervlochten zijn in het meeslepende verhaal van de jonge edelvrouw Alix.
Na een afgrijselijk bloedbad waarbij haar familie omkomt, ontvlucht zij vermomd als jongen haar ouderlijk kasteel. Op haar gevaarvolle tocht naar de koning om steun te zoeken voor haar wraak, ontmoet zij de robuuste, onverschrokken Schot Enoch Angus Boggs, die een beslissende rol in haar leven zal gaan spelen.
De 'jongen Alexander' wordt door Richard Leeuwenhart, een door duistere passie verscheurd man, uitverkoren hem als zijn persoonlijke page te vergezellen op een jarenlange kruistocht. De reis naar het Heilige Land, vol ontberingen, plunderingen, ziekte en dood, vormt de achtergrond van een van de meest ongebruikelijke driehoeksverhoudingen ooit beschreven.
Na een afgrijselijk bloedbad waarbij haar familie omkomt, ontvlucht zij vermomd als jongen haar ouderlijk kasteel. Op haar gevaarvolle tocht naar de koning om steun te zoeken voor haar wraak, ontmoet zij de robuuste, onverschrokken Schot Enoch Angus Boggs, die een beslissende rol in haar leven zal gaan spelen.
De 'jongen Alexander' wordt door Richard Leeuwenhart, een door duistere passie verscheurd man, uitverkoren hem als zijn persoonlijke page te vergezellen op een jarenlange kruistocht. De reis naar het Heilige Land, vol ontberingen, plunderingen, ziekte en dood, vormt de achtergrond van een van de meest ongebruikelijke driehoeksverhoudingen ooit beschreven.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
137 people are currently reading
1363 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Kaufman
12 books54 followersPamela Kaufman, Ph.D., is the author of the bestselling medieval novels Shield of Three Lions and Banners of Gold. She lives in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
June 29, 2019
When I read Pamela Kaufman's The Shield of Three Lions as a teenager, I absolutely adored the book and stayed up all night reading until I had finished. It was an exciting, fast paced, massively entertaining historical romp and also presented and featured everything I at that time desired in historical fiction, Medieval England, the Crusades, a spunky heroine who disguises herself as a boy, and the added bonus of a brave Scotsman on whom I developed a massive literary crush (so much so that I was actually a bit jealous of the main protagonist, of Alix of Wantwaite, and that Enoch was attracted to her, even whilst she was still disguised as a boy). And yes, in 1984 (the year I read The Shield of Three Lions), the implausibilities of the plot, of the entire storyline (and that King Richard I was only ever rumoured to have been homosexual, that there is in fact scant if any proof of this), all this did not really much bother me (although I did research the novel's, Pamela Kaufman's claims, and was even in 1984 rather surprised at how lacking ANY legitimate, factual historical details and proofs are with regard to Richard I supposedly being homosexual).
That all being said, when I recently tried to reread The Shield of Three Lions, I was indeed and frustratingly mostly just massively annoyed and bored (and so much that I ended up skimming much of the plot, much of the story). For not only had the above mentioned historic implausibilities now been chafing to such an extent that I was no longer even remotely enjoying my read, even more of an issue has been the almost constant use of gratuitous off colour language and the fact that the author seems to almost revel and wallow in this (with the most outrageous descriptions possible, dirty, violent, vicious). Now I do know and realise that the Middle Ages were NOT some gentle and genteel time, and when I first read The Shield of Three Lions as a teenager, I was actually appreciative of the earthiness of Pamela Kaufman's writing style, her vocabulary choices, her word and world building. As an older adult however, and as an older adult who has read much since 1984, I strongly feel that Pamela Kaufman simply goes too far, exaggerates too much and really seemingly just seems to use her off colour descriptions constantly and en masse to basically shock and awe, often, actually generally, at the cost of penning a believable and realistic story. As while a Medieval based novel about a young girl's experiences as a participant in a Crusade without violence, without dirt, sexual issues etc. would of course also be unbelievable, so would and so is The Shield of Three Lions in so far that the constant centering, the constant pointing out of the violence, the dirt, the sexual issues, combined with the rather vile, harsh, disgusting language choices used throughout, all this makes Pamela Kaufman's novel just as unbelievable, just as annoying as would a story that appears too sedate and too squeaky clean. Two stars (and that two star rating is mostly because I did so much love this novel as a teenager, for if I were reading The Shield of Three Lions for the first time now, I would more than likely have ranked it with but one star). And I seriously doubt I will even consider reading any of the sequels, as I am so totally not interested anymore and am of course also assuming that Pamela Kaufman's writing style and choice of words will also likely not have improved.
That all being said, when I recently tried to reread The Shield of Three Lions, I was indeed and frustratingly mostly just massively annoyed and bored (and so much that I ended up skimming much of the plot, much of the story). For not only had the above mentioned historic implausibilities now been chafing to such an extent that I was no longer even remotely enjoying my read, even more of an issue has been the almost constant use of gratuitous off colour language and the fact that the author seems to almost revel and wallow in this (with the most outrageous descriptions possible, dirty, violent, vicious). Now I do know and realise that the Middle Ages were NOT some gentle and genteel time, and when I first read The Shield of Three Lions as a teenager, I was actually appreciative of the earthiness of Pamela Kaufman's writing style, her vocabulary choices, her word and world building. As an older adult however, and as an older adult who has read much since 1984, I strongly feel that Pamela Kaufman simply goes too far, exaggerates too much and really seemingly just seems to use her off colour descriptions constantly and en masse to basically shock and awe, often, actually generally, at the cost of penning a believable and realistic story. As while a Medieval based novel about a young girl's experiences as a participant in a Crusade without violence, without dirt, sexual issues etc. would of course also be unbelievable, so would and so is The Shield of Three Lions in so far that the constant centering, the constant pointing out of the violence, the dirt, the sexual issues, combined with the rather vile, harsh, disgusting language choices used throughout, all this makes Pamela Kaufman's novel just as unbelievable, just as annoying as would a story that appears too sedate and too squeaky clean. Two stars (and that two star rating is mostly because I did so much love this novel as a teenager, for if I were reading The Shield of Three Lions for the first time now, I would more than likely have ranked it with but one star). And I seriously doubt I will even consider reading any of the sequels, as I am so totally not interested anymore and am of course also assuming that Pamela Kaufman's writing style and choice of words will also likely not have improved.
December 19, 2014
In 1983 apparently it was perfectly fine to introduce the heroine's eventual love interest by having him scam the heroine six ways from Sunday, including forcing her to swear a blood oath, while thinking she's an eight-year-old boy. I flipped to the end to confirm that they do actually ostensibly fall in love, and yes, they do--though even in that final scene it is completely implausible.
There's graphic rape, murder, battle, prostitution, etc. That doesn't bother me, though I did feel Kaufman was laying it on a bit thick in the name of "historical accuracy". But the heroine is written as a complete ignorant fool, the hero is a nasty piece of work (and incidentally fulfills quite a lot of unpleasant sterotypes about Scots), and I don't read books where the protagonists aren't interesting or at least vaguely sympathetic. Why would I spend any time with these people when I could be hanging out with literary characters I actually like?
DNF.
There's graphic rape, murder, battle, prostitution, etc. That doesn't bother me, though I did feel Kaufman was laying it on a bit thick in the name of "historical accuracy". But the heroine is written as a complete ignorant fool, the hero is a nasty piece of work (and incidentally fulfills quite a lot of unpleasant sterotypes about Scots), and I don't read books where the protagonists aren't interesting or at least vaguely sympathetic. Why would I spend any time with these people when I could be hanging out with literary characters I actually like?
DNF.
January 30, 2011
While I found the story interesting enough to keep reading, I found the prose awkward. The mixing of archaic words and phrases like "soothly," "'twas," and "be as be may" seemed to me intruders in an otherwise modern voice of the narrator, Alix. On the other hand, I did find the creative spelling that rendered Enoch's Scottish accent to be quite interesting and I suppose realistic. I understand that Mrs. Kaufman's use of the those few jarringly outmoded phrases was probably meant to add historical flavor and authenticity to the piece, I found myself resenting them because they jumped out of the text like Alex attacked Enoch "in the act".
Speaking of "the act," I found it hard to believe that a girl with the education the narrator possessed had also received no basic information about human reproduction and therefore didn't comprehend rape or passion.
I also find the idea that a girl could construct a functioning "prick" out of willow preposterous, especially without causing herself pain and possible injury. Furthermore, it seems highly unlikely that such a device would fool the casual observer much less a grown man whose hand encountered in a the throes of passion.
I don't want to give the book a completely negative spin, so I'll repeat what I said at the beginning, I found the story intriguing.
Speaking of "the act," I found it hard to believe that a girl with the education the narrator possessed had also received no basic information about human reproduction and therefore didn't comprehend rape or passion.
I also find the idea that a girl could construct a functioning "prick" out of willow preposterous, especially without causing herself pain and possible injury. Furthermore, it seems highly unlikely that such a device would fool the casual observer much less a grown man whose hand encountered in a the throes of passion.
I don't want to give the book a completely negative spin, so I'll repeat what I said at the beginning, I found the story intriguing.
January 5, 2012
Absolutely ridiculous waste of money. I can only assume that the author was pulling a prank of some kind and only continued with this series because of the money rolling in. The plot, which consists of an 11 year old heiress riding off to Crusade and catching the eye of the King, was flimsy enough, but the book itself is poorly written and clunky. The author tries far too hard to be earthy and authentic, and instead comes off as someone who has spent far too much time at a cheap Renn faire.
February 11, 2009
This book was first published in 1958, and silly me, I had very low expectations, thinking it would be written with the same stereotypes and constraints as "I Love Lucy" and "Father knows best." I was pleasantly surprised! After the first 3 chapters I was completely hooked! It takes place in 1189, in England, and reminds me a lot Sharon K. Penman's books.
The main character is an 11 year old girl, who through a series of tragic events ends up going with Richard the Lionhearted on his crusade to Jerusalem, posing as a boy.
The author paints a picture of the brutality of life in the 12th century and the subjugation of women in that society. Sex roles, homosexuality and love are all a part of this extremely well written story. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The main character is an 11 year old girl, who through a series of tragic events ends up going with Richard the Lionhearted on his crusade to Jerusalem, posing as a boy.
The author paints a picture of the brutality of life in the 12th century and the subjugation of women in that society. Sex roles, homosexuality and love are all a part of this extremely well written story. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
May 1, 2018
Seriously, what did I just read? That was one of the most bizarre and awful books I’ve read in quite a while. None of the characters are like able. And the weird love triangle thing with 30 something men and a 12 year old girl who they think is a 10 year old boy is disturbing. I had to finish it because I wanted to be able to see if it got better, but it didn’t. It’s also hard to believe a woman wrote this book about a young girl. Some of her descriptions of women and how Alix describes woman makes me think of those bad male authors who don’t know how women work. It was so strange. Also, the whole scene of Robin Hood trying to rape her was just ridiculous. Seriously, probably going to recycle this book because I don’t want to inflict this awfulness on anyone else.
June 16, 2007
Set at the time of King Richard the Lionheart's reign and the Crusades, this book follows Alix, a young orphaned girl trying to win back her family's castle and estate. Forced to disguise herself as a boy for safety, she becomes Richard's page and travels with him to the Holy Land. She has to wrestle with puberty and the budding feelings of love, while trying to keep her disguise intact.
Bawdy, crass, and coarse in its language, this book brings to mind the Canterbury Tales. And, reading it as an adult, it's a lot of fun to see the vulgarity medieval life through Alix's completely innocent eyes.
Bawdy, crass, and coarse in its language, this book brings to mind the Canterbury Tales. And, reading it as an adult, it's a lot of fun to see the vulgarity medieval life through Alix's completely innocent eyes.
April 1, 2008
LOVE this book! And the two follow-ups. Tells the story of Alix of Wanthwaite, an 11 year old girl, who disguises herself as a boy to ride on the Crusade with King Richard. Very fun page-turner. There are some questionable themes, so be prepared, but overall a good read.
August 14, 2022
Historical Fiction taking place during Richard The Lionhearts reign. Our protagonist is a young girl, Alix of Wanthwaite, who witnessed the slaughter of her family. Her family's land is taken and Alix is forced to flee. During her flight she disguises herself as a boy and meets up with a Scot. Enoch. Believing she is the male heir to Wanthwaite, Enoch promises to protect and help her if she gives him 1/2 her land.
I had issues with this author/book. Although a lot of references of the time hold up, for me there was more speculation than I care for. One large blunder, IMO, was the author painting King Richard as queer. I have done enough reading about this time and this man and there is no proof of his sexuality . Another issue I had was her over-use of abuse, and foul language. I got the impression she enjoyed shocking her readers with it.
These instances were all a problem for me, however the story kept me reading.
All that being said, it was a decent read for me, but I can't go higher than 3 stars, There is a book 2 and I enjoyed Alix and Enoch enough that I will read it at some point.
I had issues with this author/book. Although a lot of references of the time hold up, for me there was more speculation than I care for. One large blunder, IMO, was the author painting King Richard as queer. I have done enough reading about this time and this man and there is no proof of his sexuality . Another issue I had was her over-use of abuse, and foul language. I got the impression she enjoyed shocking her readers with it.
These instances were all a problem for me, however the story kept me reading.
All that being said, it was a decent read for me, but I can't go higher than 3 stars, There is a book 2 and I enjoyed Alix and Enoch enough that I will read it at some point.
July 28, 2008
Fun read. Sometimes a bit unbelievable, but I'll give the writer the benefit of the doubt. Alix is a wonderful character. I was worried about relating to an 11 year old at first, but if she'd been written any older, her innocence would have been unbelievable.
I adored Enoch, however for much of the book I thought he was quite old. (I don't think his age is ever stated.) Then we learn that he's 10 years junior to Richard (who I thought quite young). Also, too many times, I couldn't puzzle through Enoch's words. The dialect was WAY to strong.
Still, I'd recommend this to those that like historical fiction/adventure.
I adored Enoch, however for much of the book I thought he was quite old. (I don't think his age is ever stated.) Then we learn that he's 10 years junior to Richard (who I thought quite young). Also, too many times, I couldn't puzzle through Enoch's words. The dialect was WAY to strong.
Still, I'd recommend this to those that like historical fiction/adventure.
August 19, 2012
This book was a lot of fun. It's the story of Alix of Wanthwaite, whose parents are killed when an unscrupulous neighboring lord attempts to take over their lands. Alix survives, dresses as a boy, ends up teamed with a Scotman named Enoch, and goes in search of King Richard in order to regain her lands. She ends up studying in Paris, travelling with a minstrel troupe, and ultimately going with King Richard and Enoch on Crusade. There's a lot of adventure, and some romance (both with Richard and Enoch). The book also provides something of a tour of late 12th century Europe. I'm a little skeptical of some of the historical authenticity, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless.
September 19, 2007
OMG if you can find this book you must read it! It's kind of cheesy but totally addicting...Jessie will disagree but many, myself included, were totally sucked in. I bought this for 50 cents at the Smith Library in Lakeview and it was the best purchase ever! I literally stayed up all night to finish it-- I lent it to Walt when he had mono and he was sucked in too! My copy became a Katrina victim, so will have to purchase a new one soon...
June 7, 2017
I finished because I cared about what became of Alix. However, I almost did not finish because there was So. Much. Peen.
That did not further the story, well enough to read all of that waytoomuchpeen.
A previous reviewer stated the same but I must have forgotten that when I ordered and read this book. I will not be reading the rest of this series.
That did not further the story, well enough to read all of that waytoomuchpeen.
A previous reviewer stated the same but I must have forgotten that when I ordered and read this book. I will not be reading the rest of this series.
February 6, 2021
Really couldn't get into this book.
January 7, 2025
Kind of like mulan
September 19, 2020
Many parts of this story are far fetched but I really enjoyed it and this is one of my favorite non-true HF HFR stories. It is well written for what it is. However if you are a HF purist do not even go here! You will toss this book long before you finish it! It is kind of a farce in that sense. But I remember it wrapped up nicely and although I was sad that it ended I didn't walk away feeling not satisfied.
(Now I am writing this review MANY years later from when I have read it so keep that in mind...) I also read this when I was much much younger, but I don't think that it would change what I think today even tho I know my Medieval history now much better...
This isn't a true HF novel more of a fantasy HF. With a likable main character Alex who is 11 when the story opens she is the daughter of the baron of Wanthwaite and her entire family is killed and lands seized and spends the rest of the trilogy trying to get her lands back as she promised to do. She went to see King Richard, dressed as a boy to be able to travel un-escorted, and meets up with a very likable Enoch who takes "him" under his wing and protects young Alex on his way. (Enoch's speech is written in a heavy Scottish brogue and took some time to grasp what the author was trying to get him to say!) Being a young girl Alex makes for a beautiful young boy and catches the eye of Richard the Lion Heart, who if you know history was a king who liked 'pretty young boys'. Alex thought that he knew she was in disguise because had no idea that the King was like that...but he didn't, not at first. There were many bits of actual fact here and there so it did give me satisfaction on that end of it as well.
(Now I am writing this review MANY years later from when I have read it so keep that in mind...) I also read this when I was much much younger, but I don't think that it would change what I think today even tho I know my Medieval history now much better...
This isn't a true HF novel more of a fantasy HF. With a likable main character Alex who is 11 when the story opens she is the daughter of the baron of Wanthwaite and her entire family is killed and lands seized and spends the rest of the trilogy trying to get her lands back as she promised to do. She went to see King Richard, dressed as a boy to be able to travel un-escorted, and meets up with a very likable Enoch who takes "him" under his wing and protects young Alex on his way. (Enoch's speech is written in a heavy Scottish brogue and took some time to grasp what the author was trying to get him to say!) Being a young girl Alex makes for a beautiful young boy and catches the eye of Richard the Lion Heart, who if you know history was a king who liked 'pretty young boys'. Alex thought that he knew she was in disguise because had no idea that the King was like that...but he didn't, not at first. There were many bits of actual fact here and there so it did give me satisfaction on that end of it as well.
April 15, 2008
3+ Like many Historical Fiction this is fun and somewhat educational. I like the character Alix and her lands are near Scotland a plus for me. Nina liked this too after I passed it on to her and then she found the next in the series and now I am reading it.
April 11, 2016
This was such a great book. When I first picked it up I thought 'Historical romance set in Scotland about a girl who pretends to be a boy?? What?' but I am so glad I read it because it was awesome! Lovely writing, strange dialogue, loooots of description and a GREAT ending :)
December 16, 2007
Implausible but entertaining
January 20, 2011
This book, as other readers already pointed out, is a mixture of historical fiction and historical romance. I'm not sure if I will read the whole trilogy.
December 2, 2013
A cute but very powerfully written story about a Medieval tomboy and the Scots warrior who saves her life during the crusades. Wonderful stuff!
September 8, 2019
About 150 pages too long, but notwithstanding, pretty good. It had a kind of gender-bendery, polymorphously perverse feel to it.
July 13, 2019
I cannot believe the pedophilia themes in this. Also the obsession with the construction of a fake penis, which still seems ridiculous to me. Somehow I finished this book, but I never want to read a love scene from the POV of a 12-year-old again. Especially not one where the other party believes she's 9. WTF. If she'd been aged up 5-6 years I still would have thought this book was ridiculous, but at least it wouldn't have been skeevy AF.
(I should have guessed what I was in for when the phrase "Margery's dried cuds dangled near to her waist" appeared on page 2).
(I should have guessed what I was in for when the phrase "Margery's dried cuds dangled near to her waist" appeared on page 2).
June 23, 2021
This started out good, but went steadily downhill. The main character is a girl, Alix, who is 11 years old at the beginning of the book and 13 or 14 at the end. The narrative is first-person, but it's definitely written for adults (not YA) and a large part of it is illustrating how she doesn't understand what is going on. I didn't find her to be a likable character. She wasn't just naive, she was stupid.
November 16, 2024
Ik dacht: leuk, een ridderromannetje voor in de zomer. Het is nu bijna december en nu pas is deze lijdensweg op z'n eind. Dit boek is de reden dat ik mijn leesdoel dit jaar niet ga halen. Alsnog twee sterren, omdat ik hoop dat het de vertaling is die dit zo'n hemeltergende pil maakt, maar eigenlijk weet ik wel beter. Dat einde!! En wie heeft besloten het lettertype zo godvergeten klein te maken?! Deus juva me.
August 7, 2019
Got almost half way through. Should have paid more attention to the negative reviews than the positive. I ended up experiencing nearly all of their complaints. Started off bloody, but OK. Seemed like a decent picaresque adventure, but events started getting more & more unbelievable. Still, I stuck with it, but then it started heading towards creepy, pedophile stuff. Definitely didn't want to go any further much less read two more volumes of this trilogy.
March 5, 2021
Wildly imaginative and fast paced. It got my fantastick cells brimming
April 20, 2015
I picked this one expecting a solid historical romance fiction book set during the Third crusade with young adult flavor.
Sure enough, the protagonist is an eleven-year-old girl, and the plot is linear, a coming-of-age-quest story with gender-bender elements but it is, by my standards, wholly adult. First of all Alix, the protagonist, is basically the only character so young, then the book deals a lot with very delicate subjects, ones that may be out of the comfort zone for some, like rape, ghastly superstitions, the treatment of women as chattel, 'peccatum illud' and sexual awakening at tender age. However, the culture is the Middle-Ages' and the whole story is from the point of view of child Alix, certainly not well-versed to worldly affairs and perils, but all her experiences, the sorrow, the joy, the horror and the feelings she discovers are conveyed through her eyes and untried perceptions, rendering some crude passages and the moral decay behind the gilt with appropriate tact.
The historical background is really a protagonist in itself, the beginning of the Crusade from England to France to Sicily to Cyprus and Acre, it feels vivid and it is probably accurate, along with the right dose of speculation and fiction.
I never had a strong feeling of deliberate gruesomeness but the author goes a little for shock value, in the historical events and most prominently in depicting the medieval society of the time.
Welcomed tropes, plot stretching, time skips, improbable expedients and convenient bends are also present, not too obtrusive for the whole structure of the tale, the historical part is surely stronger (including a certain irony on the Church, the "sheep masses", the game of kings and religion in general) than the characterization or the plot anyway. I had an easy time accepting what was going on, after all some aspects were so exaggerated (like the impromptu I-am-a-boy antics) I think I was expected to overlook the fantastic.
The protagonist is compelling but not always consistent, she is terribly naive in a scene and a consummate manipulator in another, but on the whole the story flows nicely and I liked it. The portrayal of Richard The Lion-Heart is a mix of history, myth and speculation, oh yes I liked it. The Scot protagonist speaks a very peculiar dialect, I guess it may be another technique of the author to stress authenticity, a bit confusing at first since all the others speak modernly with a choice of archaic colloquialisms or expressions like "I trowe" or sooth supplanting truth. Not detracting.
In short, a nice read, light on characterization, entertaining on history, even-paced and surely not lacking in humor. Of course I'll read the sequel.
But I wasn't really prepared to an encounter with Robin Hood.
Sure enough, the protagonist is an eleven-year-old girl, and the plot is linear, a coming-of-age-quest story with gender-bender elements but it is, by my standards, wholly adult. First of all Alix, the protagonist, is basically the only character so young, then the book deals a lot with very delicate subjects, ones that may be out of the comfort zone for some, like rape, ghastly superstitions, the treatment of women as chattel, 'peccatum illud' and sexual awakening at tender age. However, the culture is the Middle-Ages' and the whole story is from the point of view of child Alix, certainly not well-versed to worldly affairs and perils, but all her experiences, the sorrow, the joy, the horror and the feelings she discovers are conveyed through her eyes and untried perceptions, rendering some crude passages and the moral decay behind the gilt with appropriate tact.
The historical background is really a protagonist in itself, the beginning of the Crusade from England to France to Sicily to Cyprus and Acre, it feels vivid and it is probably accurate, along with the right dose of speculation and fiction.
I never had a strong feeling of deliberate gruesomeness but the author goes a little for shock value, in the historical events and most prominently in depicting the medieval society of the time.
Welcomed tropes, plot stretching, time skips, improbable expedients and convenient bends are also present, not too obtrusive for the whole structure of the tale, the historical part is surely stronger (including a certain irony on the Church, the "sheep masses", the game of kings and religion in general) than the characterization or the plot anyway. I had an easy time accepting what was going on, after all some aspects were so exaggerated (like the impromptu I-am-a-boy antics) I think I was expected to overlook the fantastic.
The protagonist is compelling but not always consistent, she is terribly naive in a scene and a consummate manipulator in another, but on the whole the story flows nicely and I liked it. The portrayal of Richard The Lion-Heart is a mix of history, myth and speculation, oh yes I liked it. The Scot protagonist speaks a very peculiar dialect, I guess it may be another technique of the author to stress authenticity, a bit confusing at first since all the others speak modernly with a choice of archaic colloquialisms or expressions like "I trowe" or sooth supplanting truth. Not detracting.
In short, a nice read, light on characterization, entertaining on history, even-paced and surely not lacking in humor. Of course I'll read the sequel.
But I wasn't really prepared to an encounter with Robin Hood.
October 3, 2018
First book in a series. If you love English history [Richard the Lionheart time period:], this is a interesting fictional account of a young noble woman whose family is slaughtered in a poltical/power struggle. She is advised by her dying father to disguise herself as a boy and to travel to London to seek out the help of King Henry. Unfortunately, she soon finds out that King Henry has died, and his son Richard has become king. Her adventure unfolds as she attempts to find a way to restore her family lands, while maintaining her disguise. She manages to become a page for Richard and secures his promise for the return of her lands after she accompanies him to the Crusades, but she soon finds that continuing her disguise as a boy brings about unfathomable challenges and heartbreak. When her true identity is revealed, she learns an even harder lesson about what life is like for a young woman without the protection of her father.
October 11, 2008
There used to be this awesome book-shop slash coffee boutique in downtown Easton, PA that I loved to go to. It was off of the main streets and in a grand old building. Soooooo many books, you could get lost in the shelves. I really hope it is still there.... I will have to look for it this Thanksgiving...
This was an odd-ball find that simply looked interesting. It's the journey of a young noble-born girl in Medieval England escaping from pillagers of her father's castle with a twist. It was a great discovery....turned out to be a really good story and one of the very few stories with a little romance in it that I enjoyed.
This was an odd-ball find that simply looked interesting. It's the journey of a young noble-born girl in Medieval England escaping from pillagers of her father's castle with a twist. It was a great discovery....turned out to be a really good story and one of the very few stories with a little romance in it that I enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews