''Devil's Brood'' is a historical novel written by

Sharon Kay Penman Sharon Kay Penman (August 13, 1945 – January 22, 2021) was an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She was best known for the Welsh Princes trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she wrote four medieval ...

, published in 2008, and is the third volume in her Plantagenet series, preceded by '' When Christ and His Saints Slept'' and '' Time and Chance'', and followed by ''Lionheart'' (2011). The novel is about the last two decades in Henry II's life, his imprisonment of his wife

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

, and his sons who undertake a decade-long rebellion against their father. Penman explores the tensions that built in the royal marriage and the deconstruction of the marriage. The historical details of the 12th century Angevin kings are detailed. Generally the novel received good reviews and became a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' bestseller.

Plot summary

''Devil's Brood'' continues the story of King Henry II and his Queen Eleanor that began in '' When Christ and His Saints Slept'' and continued in '' Time and Chance''. ''Devil's Brood'' opens with the conflict between Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their four sons, which escalates into a decade of warfare and rebellion pitting the sons against the father and the brothers against each other while the mother spends the period imprisoned by her husband. The novel opens in 1172 when Henry and Eleanor have been married for decades and have four grown sons:

Henry the Young King Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Mai ...

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

, Geoffrey II and

John Lackland John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

. During the final 18 years of Henry's life conflict builds with Eleanor, beginning with her desire to choose her successor for

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

. This conflict reaches it peak with the death of

Rosamund Clifford Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – ), often called "The Fair Rosamund" or "Rose of the World" (Latin: ''rosa mundi''), was a medieval English noblewoman and mistress of Henry II, King of England, who became famous in English folklore. Life ...

, a mistress who he flaunted at court. Rumours abound that Eleanor had her poisoned out of jealousy; in a rage, Henry has her imprisoned, first in France and then in England, while he goes to war against France. The four sons each want to rule a piece of territory and war breaks out among the sons as they plot with their mother and enter into a rebellion against Henry, in the process aligning themselves with France's king Louis VII—England's enemy. The consequences of Henry's sons' rebellion weakens the Angevin empire. At the end, Henry dies with only his household knights at his bedside.

Themes

''Devil's Brood'' focuses on the deconstruction of a royal family. The destruction was both personal and spilled over to cause war. In the novel, Penman investigates the role of a strong medieval queen who rebels against her husband. Furthermore, Penman explores the theme of betrayal: Henry II considers the rebellion against him by his sons and wife as personal and political betrayal. Finally, the question of how a man reconciles personal and family needs with the demands of kingship are examined through Henry's actions as father, husband and ruler.

Writing characteristics

Set against a backdrop of political tension, power struggles, war, and hardship, the main characters confront personal drama such as conflict in love, conflict between family members, conflict between one's God, and conflict in friendship, as well as conflicted loyalties between family, self, king and country. A ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' review notes Penman's attention to detail in which she "combines an in-depth knowledge of medieval Europe ...re-creating the complex events and emotional drama of the 12th century."

Reception

The hardcover edition of the book was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. ''

'' gave it a favorable review and recommended the novel. The reviewer writes: "Penman does a remarkable job of depicting passionate, dramatic characters and the perilous times in which they live." The ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' review was not quite as positive. The reviewer noted the novel is "exhaustive (and exhausting)" and that the "prose tends to lumber along like a medieval oxcart."

Publication history

The

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

was published in

hardback A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occas ...

in the United States in October 2008 at 734 pages by

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

() The first British edition was released in 2009 published by Michael Josephs at 736 pages ().British Library Integrated Catalogue
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References