The second novel in Sharon Kay Penman's Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy was released in 2003 under the title Time and Chance. Picking up where When Christ and His Saints Slept left off, it continues to follow the fascinating story of the Plantagenet's quest to rule England, Normandy and ultimately far beyond.In Time and Chance, it is Maude's eldest son, Henry, who picks up the fight for the crown and goes on to become King Henry II. But England and Normandy are just a small piece of the empire Henry would come to rule. Enter Eleanor of Aquitaine, the infamous beauty who would become the one woman in history to hold both the title of Queen of France and Queen of England in her lifetime.Penman's characterization of Eleanor is riveting. Shrewdly intelligent and ambitious, it is Eleanor who orchestrates her divorce from the overly-pious King Louis VII and throws her lot in with Henry instead. As a result, Henry and Eleanor ruled an empire that stretched all the way to the Mediterranean -- not an easy piece of real estate to manage in the 12th century -- and much of Time and Chance is concerned with the various upheavals and rebellions Henry had to quell.Despite their hectic schedule, Henry and Eleanor still find time to produce eight children (lovingly referred to by later chroniclers as "the Devil's brood") and Henry, like most other royal men, found himself a mistress by the name of Rosamund.One of the more interesting aspects of Time and Chance is the exploration of Henry's complicated relationship with Thomas Becket, his friend, chancellor and later Archbishop of Canterbury. As the legend goes, Henry and Thomas had a falling out and Henry, out of frustration, asked the infamous question: "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?!" Or at least, words to this effect. (Penman wisely chooses a variation of this phrase in Time and Chance.) Regardless of the exact phraseology -- history is a bit fuzzy on this point -- the result was catastrophic. Thomas Becket was murdered in his own church, paving the way for his martyrdom and haunting Henry for the rest of his life.If there are any problems, it is with the sheer volume of historic events Penmen packs into this novel. Events of such a grand scale led to a fracture in the flow of the narrative. After building tension with Henry and Beckett, the conflict then goes unmentioned for several chapters. Likewise with Henry's stormy relationship with Eleanor. The result is a somewhat disjointed feeling to the story, although Penman must be forgiven for this considering the large time frame she is covering.Despite this small flaw, there is no reason not to pick up this second book of the trilogy. Time and Chance focuses on the political scene of the 12th century and provides the necessary broader picture that paves the way for the newly-released Devil's Brood, which explores, on a more personal level, the disintegration of Henry and Eleanor's marriage and the hornet's nest of children they produced.
I am so behind on writing reviews, that it is embarrassing. So here I am, months after I completed this book doing my review. And only because hubby is home watching our recent furry addition to the family. So here goes. Honestly, I should rate this book at a 4.5, or 4 star book. Maybe the distractions that I had during the time frame that I read Time And Chance have somthing to do with my overall feelings off this book. I rarely rate below a 5, especially if the book was entertaining. To me, this book just did not flow quite the way When Christ And His Saints Slept.What I do like about the way that Sharon K. Penman writes is that she keeps her storyline as close as possible to historical fact. This means that she has done exhaustive research, and it shows. Also, she does inform the reader of any poetic license that may have been taken in writing her books. If she has added a fictitious person into the storyline, she will inform you which person was "made up." I have learned that the more that I read historically about the reign of Henry II, the more I realize that it would be nice to have a historian do research, and see if anything new might be uncovered. We know that Henry prior to becoming king of England, had the makings of a great ruler. Despite the fact that he was temperamental, not many kings accomplished what he did, as young as he was when he accomplished them. I possibly think that Eleanor became frustrated with Henry having complete power over her, and so she possibly became resentful of Henry. After all, Eleanor herself came into the marriage with her inheritance of Aquitaine, which when added to Henry's dutchy at the time brought considerable power into the union. Unfortunately, becoming king of England meant that Henry would be busy keeping his vassels in check, meaning that Henry was gone constantly. Meanwhile Eleanor was on the back burner, when I believe she truly was a born ruler. She would have the chance to prove this later on in her life, but I am getting ahead of the story. Also, I can't help but believe that Matilda and Eleanor may have had a bit of discord between themselves. Both women were proven able to rule in their own right. Unfortunately for them, they would not become rulers. While Henry was off settling this dispute, or the other, Eleanor was bringing babies into the world. She immediately proved the king of France wrong ( he was her first husband, to whom she gave birth to two daughters.) She indeed was able to produce male heirs to the crown, which must have been a sore spot with the king of France.As if Henry didn't have enough problems keeping his vast kingdom in order, he had another rather large thorn in his side, in Thomas Becket. I am not 100 percent certain that Becket and Henry II were the friends that history dictates. Perhaps they were, but then they most certainly began a power play, which ended with Beckets' untimely end, and a sour note to Henry II reign.
What do You think about Time And Chance (2003)?
This book is the middle part of a trilogy, the first being "When Christ and His Saints Slept' and the third being 'Devil's Brood'. The focus her is mainly on King Henry II of England, his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. It takes place between 1156 and 1171.The story of Henry, Eleanor and Becket is told very well and sticks to actual history very closely. Unfortunately there is a character named Ranulf gumming up the works. Ranulf is totally fictional. He is supposed to be a bastard son of King Henry I and therefore an uncle of Henry II. Ranulf's mother was Welsh, his wife Rhiannon is Welsh and he and his family live in Wales. Despite this he is supposed to be loyal to Henry II, creating a conflict with his love for all things Welsh.The author, Sharon Kay Penman, also has a love for all things Welsh and this was her way of shoehorning in the story of some of the Welsh higher-ups. To my mind that should have been in a separate novel and not been in here. Henry II was not much interested in Wales, though he had to go in and kick them around some from time to time.I have nothing against the Welsh myself. My mother had a first cousin "Archie" Jenkins who was Welsh on his father's side.Skip the Welsh parts if you like, the rest is very good and more historically accurate than the film 'The Lion in Winter".
—Richard Stueber
Wow, it took me a long time to finish this! That's partly because the Olympics were on TV, but mostly because I felt as if I were reading a history book much of the time. While I love historical fiction, I like a bit more fiction mixed in with my history. My eyes glazed over at times, and I admit to passing over some battle scenes and discussions that seemed to go on forever. Repeatedly.I'm surprised, because Penman is one of my favorite authors! I can't think of another book of hers that I haven't loved, and I've read many of them. This is the second book of a trilogy about the life of Eleanor of Aquitane and I did enjoy the first book - When Christ and His Saints Slept - because it was, for the most part, about Eleanor. This book was more about Henry II and his betrayal by Thomas Becket, who he appointed as the Archbishop of Canterbury.Eleanor wasn't much in evidence throughout much of this book. I think that's part of the disappointment I have in Part Two of the trilogy. To be honest, I'm not certain I want to finish reading the trilogy. I'd rather move on to another historical novel that holds my attention as this did not.I wouldn't recommend this to my friends or my Book Club.
—Suze
Today I saw a quote on Facebook that defined a "Book Hangover" as "the inability to start a new book because you're still living in the last book's world".....well, that's the way this book has affected me. Lucky for me I have the next book in the series (Devil's Brood) waiting for me. It's going to take me a few days, though, to recover enough from this one to begin that one! Ms. Penman has the most amazing ability to bring to life the world of her books, in this case the 12th Century world of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Thomas Becket, as well as making you feel you are living through it all with the characters. Consequently, this leads to a very emotional response to the fates of these people! Eleanor of Aquitaine.....ahhhhh, my Queen.....I would worship at her feet. What a President she'd make! Henry???? He'd tell you he's the greatest man who ever lived. No castle could ever be big enough to hold his ego. Okay, he was a pretty darn good king, but by the time the conflict with Becket is "resolved", I was beginning to wish Henry had been the murdered one....! Not that Becket was lacking in ego.....I've heard of religious conversion, but this guy really took himself seriously! All in all, the suspense leading up to the well-known result was so enthralling, I found myself willing the ending to be different and still managed to be shocked when Becket was dead. Such is the power of Ms. Penman's writing! I cried many tears at Pentraeth....will not spoil it for those who have not yet read it. And for one last rant....that simpering, scheming little twit Rosamund made me nauseous. By the end of the book, I wanted to slap her hard and throw her into the proverbial moat. Well....that's my review. Hope it hasn't offended too many, and I certainly would never forgive myself if my words kept you from reading this magnificent tale!!! Now I have to take some time to recover from my emotional havoc.
—Nancy Ellis
