Christmas Must-Reads
I spent last Christmas at the court of a
certain young king I’m rather fond of. I was meeting him in Devil's Brood,
the second part of Sharon Kay Penman’s wonderful Angevin Trilogy. This is the
best and the most complete portrait of the Young Henry ever. Make yourself a
wonderful Christmas gift and purchase the book.
I would also like to recommend my friend
Richard’s two very well written texts concerning accordingly the Norman Vexin and Henry the Young King’s youngest brother, John, whose birthday we celebrate on 24 December although 27 December (the feast day of St. John the Evangelist) is another probable date.
I’m planning to spend the upcoming Christmas in
the company of the three lovely ladies: Kathryn Warner who wrote at length
about Edward II’s Christmas celebrations (you will find the texts here, here, here and here); Anerje,
who is Piers Gaveston’s champion and wrote a brilliant The 12 Days of Christmas According to Piers; and Gabrielle, who has
managed to evoke precious memories of my teenage years spent with Roald
Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen, and other polar explorers. To read Gabrielle’s fascinating posts
click here and here .
Merry Christmas! And fruitful reading!
Merry Christmas Kasia! I'm glad you like Piers version of the 12 Days. I haven't read Sharon Penman's book but I'll keep a look out. I hope John doesn't come off too badly, as I'm rather fond of him.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Arenje! Merry Christmas to you too! In the book John appears as a minor but crucial character. He's still a young boy, then a very young man. To meet John as a grown-up and already a king I highy recommend Sharon Kay Penman's Here Be Dragons, the first part of her Welsh Trilogy. The author herself admitted that perhaps she was too kind when John was concerned :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the links, Kasia! Hope you and your family had a really wonderful Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI too thank you Kathryn! For the wonderful 2012 and all the links to Henry's website and blog. I spent a peaceful and quiet Christmas with my family and friends. Hope 2013 will be a good year to us all!
ReplyDelete