Wales Books

First in a trilogy Here be dragons is amazing. Slow sometimes but rather fast at others it gives King John, Richard and even Henry real character. Joanna is amazingly well portrayed for the young woman she is.

This is the first book of the wonderful trilogy of the Welsh Princes and England. The author, Sharon Kay Penman has the very gifted ability of placing the reader into the story as an unseen observer of events. If only our history lessons could come in the guise Ms. Penman gives us, she brings the stories to life once again as we discover that although our surroundings do change thru time still, royalty/leaders, politicians and the church/clergy have remained much the same thru the ages being that, what qualifies as deception and treason remains the same.

The book I ordered arrived on time and in great condition. It was a bit longer than I anticipated but it is an interesting read. I always enjoy doing business with Amazon.com!

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Not having any prior knowledge of Wales and their laws, this book brings it all to life in an understandable, comprehensive manner. I never thought a book so filled with politics and war could be so captivating!!! There is a fleet of characters to remember, but somehow it all works without mass confusion. SKP's writing is superb-even the way she snuck into the dialogue how the Welsh pronounce the double d!!! Her writing style made the Welsh language and words easy to understand. This book is a compelling page turner that made me sad to finish! The characters are vibrant and SKP brings them to life on these pages. This book brought out deep emotions - especially when Joanna was unfaithful- I could feel her actual confusion about Will and the pain of her sin against her husband and their sacred wedding vows. Llewelyn's shock and disbelief was all too real. I felt as if I knew them personally!I found myself rooting for Joanna and Llewelyn to the point where I was emotionally worn out!!! I was even dreading the nasty Gruffydd's release to his snotty-nosed, sneaky wife and hoping he would stay imprisoned forever!!!This is one incredibly powerful book filled to the brim with interesting people and accurate history! An amazing read!!!

This was the first Penman novel I read (recommended by another Amazon reader) and it's a whopper. I had serious doubts about it in the first chapter...I wasn't certain I'd be able to keep all of the historical figures straight and my unfamiliarity with anything Welsh made it difficult to follow at first. But as it turns out, after that first chapter, I simply could not put this book down.

This is not a cheap romance book, folks. Rather, it is an extremely compelling historical novel in which Penman takes real-life people and fills in the historical blanks (personal details which we have no way of knowing for certain). Her research is absolutely meticulous and where historical mistakes are made, she acknowledges them on her website.

Whether you are a medieval historian or just curious about this period of history, Penman will deliver a first-rate history lesson and a great tale at the same time.

A friend loaned me her copies of this series. I enjoyed them so much I wanted my children to be able to read them, but I was apprehensive about having them read her autographed copies, and they weren't available at our local library. I was so delighted to find them at amazon.com and at such a great price I just couldn't pass them up. This is one of those true classics, great for both kids and adults. Enjoy!

The third book in Alexander's Prydain Chronicles is certainly the most romantic of the five books--Taran practically admits to being attracted to Eilonwy and shows jealousy when he learns that she's being sent to the Isle of Mona not just for "princess training" but, rather, because a prince (Rhun, providing the book's comic relief) is her intended husband.

This book takes the form of a standard rescue-the-damsel-in-distress story but Alexander keeps the pace brisk and introduces new characters that will return in future books: Llyan, a giant mountain cat, and Glew, a giant. Dallben and Coll only appear in the opening chapters, but returning characters include wandering bard Fflewddur Fflam, Prince Gwydion, and evil Queen Achren.

I woouldn't say that this is the best book in the series (that would be The High King, in my opinion) but it's a close second.

The princess needs a bit of deportment apparently.


When you decide you need to work on the aristocratic side of a girl, of course you would send her off with a pig keeper and a beast man, wouldn't you?

Because of this, and a bit of a princess triangle, they all end up in a Land of the Giants type scenario, or at least in part.

Here, along with a bit of magic, is a fantasy book where a crow actually comes in useful as a good thing.

This is a great series. One of my favorites and my husband's favorites.

All of Alexander's main characters are back in this book (besides Doli I think), and once again Alexander does a wonderful job of portraying the battle of good vs. evil in the fun garb of a fictional adventure. This book highlights self-sacrafice, as Taran has to choose whether or not to help the man competing for the same things that he wants. It also highlights the immorality of selfishness, as Glew is pretty much selfishness incarnate and ends up stuck in a cave with no way to get out, until Taran and co. decide to be merciful to him even though he tried to kill them.

This books is lots of fun, definitely a recommended read, along with the rest of the series.

Overall grade: A-

This book is without question the top of my list of favorites. I have given it as gifts, and treasure my copy. I found it to be faith-building and life-changing!

Those familiar with the lives of George Muller of Bristol, or J. Hudson Taylor will appreciate the story of Rees Howell's life. Here is another giant of the faith who's life, more than anything else, is a testimony to the security found in totally trusting God for all our needs. This book is also an excellent primer on what it means to be, and how to live out the life of, an intercessory prayer warrior.

Rees Howells: Intercessor book is very good. I am in the middle of reading it now. I find it hard to put it down. He really shows what surrendering your whole life over to the Lord is all about. I am learning so much from his book and see in my own life how I must get closer to the Lord. I thought I was doing OK until I started reading this. Excellent book for new believers and well seasoned believers. You will want to buy a few to give out to your friends and family!

I read this book for the 1st time more than 25 years ago and have re-read it many times over the years. It is easy to read and understand and yet, with each reading, it so inspires you to move closer to God, be willing to surrender and do all that He asks, and to seek a deeper relationship of service. The tests may be difficult, as with Mr. Howells, but that makes the reward even sweeter!!

If you seek an inspiring book, with the power of the Holy Spirit, read this book and let the Lord use it to give you passion for His work.

I find it interesting that the few reviewers' low rating of this book because of Howells theological understanding of intercession. As though we can't find fault with his life, we must fault his theology. Notice this man, like many in the Bible, does not talk to God, or merely listen to Him--he talks WITH Him. That's the greatness of this man. After reading this book, by His grace, I will be on my knees more often. Perphas one day, I will talk less to Him, listen more from Him, and in between talk more WITH Him. Another thought: as exemplfied in this book. Prayer and faith are inseparable. The deeper the prayer, the greater the faith. And in turn, that faith reinforces even a greater need for prayer and dependence upon the Lord.

An accolade to Ms. Penman in taking the sequel form to a greater and more meaningful level in the Medieval Welsh Trilogy, of which the second account is titled "The Reckoning." This trilogy of Welsh history is for the reader devoted to historical novels. These lengthy editions give equal writing to both English and Welsh happenings (by date), which are infinitely researched and sincere to lavish detail of the times.

For those who have stayed the course through formal education of medieval-period British history, Penman's "There Be Dragons", and two sequels continuing the intricate histories and relationships of the initial and earlier characters, are a banquet to be enjoyed, not suffered.

For the reader who has enjoyed Seton ("Katherine"), Chadwick ("The Greatest Knight" and "The Red Lion") and Wainwright ("Within the Fetterlock"), Penman's "There Be Dragons", "Falls the Shadow" and "The Reckoning" are a must to appreciate all the drama and history of the Welsh during the same period of time. Even the author's explanation of how she titled the first book of the trilogy will bring a smile to the reader.

To tie the package together, watching the Academy Award winning "The Lion in Winter" and acclaimed A&E two disc series "Lancelot" will give a stark and revealingly accurate vision of the times--you will even recognize the historical characters and settings!

After finishing McCullough's Masters of Rome series, I yearned for another historical fiction series to fill in the void. I assumed it was a tough act to follow, until I picked up the first book in this trilogy "Here Be Dragons". The narrative sucked me in, mesmerized me, and put in me in complete amazement of the cast of characters that surrounded me. Reading Penman makes you not only a virtual eyewitness to the momentous events of Medieval Wales, but grafts you into the families involved--so much so you mourn and grieve with the deaths as if you've lost a loved one. It's rare for books, for author's to be able to do that. Then you realize these characters were real persons that shaped history, your sense of loss and awe magnifies exponentially. She continues the trend skillfully, without letting up, in "Falls the Shadow". This final installment left me with my jaw on the floor. It's not a happy ending, but Penman's skill is in how she takes tragic events of history, vividly paints them by fleshing out the players involved so that you feel the blood that runs through their veins...you even feel like you bleed when they do. If there were a way to make tragedies beautiful, like a sad symphony, Penman has discovered it. The proof is this trilogy. Everyone I've recommended these books to has become a fellow believer.

Completing the trilogy that began with Here Be Dragons and continued with Falls The Shadow, this novel,almost impeccably historically accurate, depicts the struggle by Welsh national hero Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to maintain sovereignty for Wales against the machinations of the ruthless and unscrupulous Edward I of England.
After Simon De Montfort is defeated and killed, his charter of freedoms is destroyed and King Edward reigns supreme as England's king.
After his bride Ellen , the daughter of the late Simon De Montfort, is captured by pirates hired by Edward and imprisoned by the English king, Llywelyn takes the field against England and is defeated and forced to submit to Edward's humiliating terms.
Meanwhile Llywelyn is hindered by the three-time treachery of his mercurial brother Davydd.
These events lead to eventual tragedy for Wales and for Llywelyn and his family.
Dafydd Ap Gruffyd's execution at the hands of the English was very similar to that of Scottish patriot William Wallace 12 years later, also on command of Edward I.
Edward I was a tyrant who crushed Welsh national self-determination, tried to subjugate Scotland, and expelled the Jews from England.

The book has a glittering cast of characters, and traces the lives of Simon's widow Nell, and her family, as well as Llywelyn's family, including his vibrant niece Caitlin.
It is filled with action and emotion, as the author gets into the heads of the characters involved, making for a truly human drama.
This is historical fiction at it's most alive.
The book mends with a prophecy of the restoration of Welsh sovereignty by the Day of Judgement, that on the Direst Day of Judgement no race but the Welsh would give answer to the Allmighty for this corner of the earth.

It has been five years since Simon de Montfort and his followers died at Evesham in their ill-fated rebellion against the English King Henry. Henry's charismatic son rules England in all but name. Simon's family is slowly rebuilding their lives. His wife, Henry's sister, Nell, is seeking a marriage for her beautiful daughter, Ellen. Although betrothed at 12 to Llewelyn, ruler of Wales, her engagement was ended by Simon's rebellion and death. Simon's youngest son Bran still struggles to cope with his guilt over failing to reach his father before Edward's army butchered Simon and Bran's older brother, Harry. In Italy, Bran's clever older brother, Guy, has married the ruler of an Italian province and is gaining fame as a soldier. On the surface, the de Montforts appear to be getting on with life; but the hatred and guilt created by Evesham will prove too strong to save all the de Montforts. In Wales, Llewelyn has reluctantly named his faithless younger brother, Davydd, as Llewelyn's heir. But Davydd's ambitions and his reckless disregard of the dangers of plotting with Edward set in motion events which will destroy Wales. Penman has written a sad, magnificent tale of courage, boldness that illuminates the inevitable clash between two cultures: the proud, independent Welsh and the determined England. She is most adept at creating the minor characters who are swept up in events not of their making: Hugh, the loyal squire to the doomed Bran de Montfort; Caitlin, Davydd's illegitimate daughter torn between her father and Llewelyn, the generous uncle who raised her. Through Hugh and Caitlin, the reader experiences the tragedy of the battle between Edward and Llewelyn. It is the human face of history that endures for the reader; the people who die; the places that are destroyed.

This final novel in Sharon Kay Penman's Welsh trilogy chronicles the last throws of the Welsh resistance to English takeover. The beloved Prince of Wales, Llewellyn ap Gruffudd leads the charge in a final but futile attempt to unite the quarrelsome Welsh to the common cause of defeating the English invasion. He faces down Edward I, the brutal English King who will stop at nothing to make England a complete island nation. Meanwhile, Llewellyn's double-dealing silver tongued brother, Davydd, is the wild card in this equation and changes loyalties whenever the wind blows.

Sharon Kay Penman has created a fast paced, emotional roller coaster. The characters are complex and multifaceted. She brilliantly gets inside their heads to portray how each is convinced of the justness of their cause. There is war, killing, and horrible brutality, yet none of the characters are portrayed as either saints or devils. They are simply human.

The Welsh trilogy begins with Here Be Dragons, follows with Falls The Shadow, and ends with The Reckoning. Individually these are some of the best novel's I've ever read but in order to appreciate them to the full and understand the complexities and depth of the characters, you must read them as a trilogy.

I have such mixed emotions about this book. It is so well written that it really made me overlook some serious problems that I usually hate in a normal romance. Simply put, this was a bodice ripper. I don't usually like them but I couldn't put this book down. It's a big book and I read it in a day and a half.

Here are the problems I had with this book:

Repetitive. There were hundreds of times that the author mentioned the color of Raine's eyes. Yes we know. They're gray and they change color when he's sexually aroused, mad, happy, sad. Not realistic and it was mentioned a LOT. This was not the only example but was the most annoying. I'm sure that the book could have been edited down to only 400 pages.

The character Taliesin was extremely annoying. He was constantly interupting scenes between the main characters that could have been the most interesting. I don't know why authors do this but it drives me crazy. It's almost like the chicken out when things get really emotional.

Raine was utterly horrible for the first half of the book. Not even a glimpse of humanity in this guy. He kills the heroine's brother at the very beginning and we never see an ounce of remorse. That's all fine and dandy but the heroine got over it within 2 chapters and it was never dealt with again. There were many more unforgivable instances but they were also dealt with very unrealisticly. I am pretty good at suspending my beliefs in the name of fiction but the fact that the heroine fell in love with this man while he was displaying his most horrific self was just beyond my imagination.

*** Kind of a SPOILER***
I seriously wanted to kill Raine after his birthday celebration. What he did was completely unforgivable and he never showed any remorse at all. I had a lot of trouble getting over it.
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The fact that I was a complete emotional wreck by the end of the book is really the reason for the 4 stars. The story really sucks you in and you feel the pain, sadness, happiness and aggravation of the characters throughout the book. It definitely could have been a 5 star with the quality of the writing but there was just a bit too much unforgivable behaviour on the hero's part.

A really, really, good book that deserves everyone of its many five star reviews. Rich characters and a great plot. Very well written, with depth , and not your usual lame stuff. I was sorry to see it end, and even MORE SORRY that Penelope Williamson has written only one book about Wales!

Penelope sure knows how to capture you into her books, this book is brilliantly written and it is one you cant put down! It is magical and one I will read and re-read for ever!

Penelope Williamson BLOWS ME AWAY! What a gifted and unique talent she has. This was my 2nd novel of hers that I've read, the first being Once In Blue Moon, and I can say with certainty that this author is the "real deal".

In Keeper of the Dream, we are transported into the medieval period. Lords and Ladies, Knights, bards, mystical "Merlins", and unforgettable battles. This is my favorite period, and this book is reminescent of Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught and all medieval books by Julie Garwood...my favorite.

This is a forced marriage book....another favorite subject of mine. Raine is the illegitimate son of an Earl and is a feared knight, the Black Dragon. Arianna is a Welsh princess. They are forced to wed by edict of the king and Arianna's father. It is not a union that either is excited about..at first.

The chemistry between these two is intense to say the least. Arianna spends the greater part of their first meeting, and for some time following, trying to kill him whenever she gets the chance. He spends the greater amount of his time trying to bend her will and get her to submit to him...not an easy undertaking.

Williamson's books are not short. They are not quick, easy reads...but they possess a smartness and depth that is quite simply missing from historical novels written today. She takes her time weaving this story together. We see the progression from hate to lust to love in very slow, clear, and detailed ways that make sense. These are two intense individuals who become multi-dimensional...another rarity in romance novels.

This is a beautiful and memorable love story. This is a book worthy of your time. This is a keeper.

For me, the perfect romance! I've been an avid romance reader for twenty years and I've re-read Keeper of the Dream five times, I love it that much. As I rely alot on Amazon reviews when I do my book shopping I thought it was about time I got at least one review in here. If you like tortured heroes, heart-wrenching plot twists and steamy sex scenes, this is the book to buy. The author seems to know just when to break our heart, and just when to put it back together again, and then some. In addition, the setting is vividly brought to life by lovely historical detail that is nicely woven into the story, without overwhelming it.

Thanks for the quick delivery. Got book in 2 days of ordering. Could not believe it came so quick
Thanks
Linda

Did Forrest Carter have character flaws? Well so did Ricard Wagner.

These are the best two westerns I've ever read. For all his faults, Carter could write.

I loved the movie, but the book was far better.

Intrigued by reviewers who placed the novel "Gone To Texas" by Forrest Carter on their top-ten greatest books of all-time list, I purchased an old first-edition copy and proceeded to read it cover to cover.

Having seen the "Josey Wales" movie starring Clint Eastwood on a couple of occasions, the author's descriptive prowess caught me completely by surprise in creating a boldfaced narrative, which seemed fresh and unfamiliar, unrelated in many ways to the more popularized big-screen version.

It begins with Wales being pursued by United States horsemen:

"It was cold. The wind whipped the wet pines into mournful sighing and sped the rain like bullets. It caused the campfires to jump and flicker and the soldiers around them to curse commanding officers and the mothers who gave them birth.

The campfires were arranged in a curious half-moon, forming a flickering chain that closed about these foothills of the Ozark mountains. In the dark, cloud-scudding night the bright dots looked like a net determined to hold back the mountains from advancing into the Neosho River Basin, Indian Nations, just beyond.

Josey Wales knew the meaning of the net. He squatted, two hundred yards back in the hollow of heavy pine growth, and watched ... and chewed with slow contemplation at a wad of tobacco. In nearly eight years of riding, how many times had he seen the circle-net of Yankee Cavalry thrown about him?"

The author seems to have vast knowledge of flora and fauna and in relating indian culture and ways of life.

"Like many of the Cherokees, he was tall, standing well over six feet in his boot moccasins that held, half tucked, the legs of buckskin breeches. At first glance he appeared emaciated, so spare was his frame ... the doeskin shirt jacket flapping loosely about his body, the face bony and lacking in flesh, so that hollows of the cheeks added prominence to the bones and hawk nose that separated intense black eyes capable of a cruel light. He squatted easily on haunches before the fire, turning the mealed fish in the pan with fluid movement, occasionally tossing back one of the black plaits of hair that hung to his shoulders.

The clear call of the nighthawk brought instant movement by the indian. Nighthawks do not call in the light of day. He moved with silent litheness; taking his rifle, he glided to the rear door of the one-room cabin ... dropped to belly and slid quickly into the brush. Again the call came loud and clear."

His decsription of a prostitute in a desolate town in Texas, near the border of Mexico is funny:

"She wasn't ... young that is. Her hair was supposed to be red; the label on the bottle had proclaimed that desired result ... but it was orange where it was not straked with gray. Her face sagged from the years of sin, and her huge breasts were hung precariously in a mammoth halter. There was no competition in Santa Rio. The last stop for Rose.

Rose was like Santa Rio, dying in the sun; used only by desperate men or lost pilgrims stumbling quickly through; refugees from places they couldn't go back to ... watching the clock tick away the time. The end of the line; a good horse jump over Texas ground to the Rio Grande."

Anyone interested in this type of genre, I believe, will love the book. Hell, you'll probably love it anyway -even if you're not.

Forrest Carter did a great job depicting the violence of the post-civil war era. Especially in the South Central part of the country that was never written about in our history books. A very descriptive representation of how things really were. No wonder Clint Eastwood bought the rights to the book for his movie.

Steve Thompson

Great story. Great action. Much grittier than the movie, this book doesn't pull punches when it comes to blood-lettin' the in the finest traditions of the Missouri guerilla-outlaw turned Texan. The characters are well-developed and the "code" underlying Wales' and Lone Watie's partnership is richly detailed. Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey novels are for politically correct sissies. This book and its two novels tell it like it really was. If you like westerns, you'll find this to be one of the best you've ever read!

A Child's Christmas In Wales CD: And Five Poems
Hurrah! Now I won't have to wait for the radio to play Dylan Thomas reading his wonderful Child's Christmas every Christmas. Truly a beautiful recording of the other poems as well.

My goodness, these illustrations are ugly. They completely detract from the beauty of the language. Either read it out loud to a blind person or stick with the version illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

This reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales is tops! It wouldn't be Christmas for us without hearing Dylan Thomas tell his story. He recounts a holiday of simple, family and neighborhood doings, and paints a picture of snowy, seaside Wales of the 1920's.

I love this story, as do all my children, who, from their earliest years, have not much struggled with the density of the language nor the scatteredness of the story. 5 of my 8 great-grandparents are from Wales, and the remaining 3 have the blood in them as well, so maybe it is like drinking water for us.:-D Our minds are all scattered, and words, even English words ;-D, fall on us in clumps....which makes it doubly hard to keep a clean house. LOL

The sort of prose-poetry imaginative way of seeing and describing the world unique to Welshwomen and Welshmen and Welshchildren, which does not seek to keep up the pretense that history can be separated from myth, story and desire, and which requires loving with eyes wide open to [and eventually embracing] one's own and others' bumps, bruises and idiosyncracies included, is extraordinarily well represented here. So, by the way, is speaking and listening to the close and Holy darkness!

My favorite version isthe one illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. To me she has captured the complexity of the Welsh personality best, though i have nothing to say against the other illustrators praised in these reviews. I DO have a warning for you: there are some skinny versions flying about which do not have the poem-story complete and correct. This sort of work cannot suffer removal or modification, IMHO.

gbg

If you have read A Child's Christmas in Wales, you know that it has to be a classic. But you can't fully appreciate it until you have heard Dylan Thomas read it. What a deep, expressive, poetic voice. For years, I have listened to the recording on a Caedman record. It is wonderful to have it on a CD.

Vincent M. Wales provides with a different format of reading that hooked me the moment I opened the book. You read the different views in very uniques ways of the characters within this very serious topic and debate that has been in existence for decades that could be our possible future with the current trend of events.
At first many would believe this to be a political story, but under the layers you find the story is about much more. It's about people.
In a world where so many are unable to see through the eyes of another person, this story provokes our thoughts to open our minds and see that in the end, we are all people.
There is no amount of thanks that can be put into words for such a unique and amazingly wonderful book. I have definitely done my part in spreading the word about this amazing book. Thank you Vincent.

I really enjoyed this book! Vincent M. Wales uses unconventional media to tell a touching and terrifying story, full of political and personal strife. While my first reaction was that this potential future would never be tolerated by the citizens on today's USA, it is a very real possibility and one to be wary of. His characters were well developed and revealed to their fullest, highlighting the complicated, dynamic nature of the human mind and heart. A great read.

I just finished the book One Nation Under God, and I was not disappointed. This is a great book for anyone to read, and I'd recommend it any day. The book is able to touch on a lot of controversial subjects, and it will definately open your eyes to a lot of issues that have been happening and may continue to happen in the future.

It's definately a good read, and once you start, you won't be able to put it down.

I read this book from start to finish in the same night. Not only does Mr. Wales captivate you with the unique structure of his book, but he aslo does it with it's intense subject matter and intimate portrayal of the main character.

Mr. Wales paints a vivid reality that doesn't seem to far-fetched given the world we live in today. The subjects of religion, sexuality, and morality have always been, and will continue to be, topics of hot debate.

But what happens when those in power get to decide what the right religion is? What the sexual orientation of a person should be? And what is morally right and wrong?

This books gives us a look at that haunting reality. There are some who would read this book an be frightened by the reality it proposes.

But this book gives us hope as well. It gives us the realization, that when those in power abuse it to bend their will onto the masses, there will always be somebody to fight back.

I recommend this book to everyone. Whether you are atheist, theist, straight, gay, whatever, this book will open your eyes to the intolerance and bigotry we have in this world.

This book may or may not change your mind on certain subjects, but it will may you think about them.

And that is the most powerful kind of literature there is.

This coming of age novel is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, it presents an American theocracy in the near future where civil rights go down like dominoes and church-state conflicts roil in the very bosom of the First Family. In this dystopia, the religious right controls all branches of government.

We are privy to 12-year-old Mary's covert emails as she wrestles with big religious questions. As her father's two presidential terms of office unfold, Mary is increasingly captivated by the ideas of a powerful underground movement aimed at unseating her father and his political allies. We also get occasional peeks into the President's own anguished diary, and his wife's. In this family of three, people do not easily converse with one another, though they appear to love each other.

The novel's structure is as revealing as the story. Marshall McLuhan famously wrote, "The medium is the message." This story moves forward with confidence and energy solely by means of emails, blogs, diary entries, websites, newspaper articles, and broadcast speeches - all predigested materials without a shred of connective tissue between them. Wales stands every so-called rule of fiction on its head, and yet the book is a page-turner. I had serious trouble putting it down once I figured out the players. I stayed up reading too late at night.

The message from the medium is a basically a positive view of social change brought by communications technology. The horizons of a lonely child are as wide as the web, and she can "talk" earnestly about important matters to friendly strangers - a good thing since the neighbors or grandparents of previous generations are absent. This is a world where strangers deeply connect and form political and social alliances without ever meeting face to face, and where people present themselves in tidy electronic formats instead of trailing haphazard impressions in their wakes as they blunder through a messy world. But the flip side is a pervasive, disturbing emotional distance.

Eagerly I awaited the moment when Mary would meet the stranger she had emailed so many years. I had built the man up in my mind, but "in the flesh" he seemed ten sizes smaller. The mystery had evaporated from The Voice of Reason. Mary mentions no such disappointment in her writings, but that doesn't mean she didn't feel it. Still, one imagines she did not. If a person has never known intimacy, she might not recognize age-old cues of body language, chemistry, and sparkle in the eye. It almost seemed a sad relief to return to cyber space - where so many people today spend increasing amounts of time.

Perhaps even more evocative of the dark side of this brave new world is the book's climactic scene. It is not viewed through the actual eyes of any protagonist, but through the palm-sized electronic screen of an TV journalist as he stands in the backyard of a 2-story house while mayhem is happening inside, upstairs. A tiny lens on the tip of his telescoped wand relays the action to him. His excitement at having arrived in time to capture this on film spills out in his words as he narrates the instant news to an unseen audience. Thus the reader "sees" this shocking episode as a video-piece by a total stranger who never once considers helping our imperiled protagonist. The chilly distance of this way of telling the story seems all too familiar as 24/7 news programs blanket the electronic age. We have come a long way from John Wayne.

Upon finishing the book, I immediately turned to the first page and began re-reading to find details I had missed before I put the puzzle pieces together. Finally, about half way through again, I put it down - thinking. And that's what I want a novel to do, make me think. Independently published, experimental works like this book are changing the face of literature, but few are as interesting as this one.

--Naida West, Ph.D. in sociology, author of River of Red Gold, Eye of the Bear, and Murder on the Middle Fork

If I had to name a favourite author, it would have to be Susan Howatch; her novels never fail to delight me and nourish my need for stories that do more than entertain. And if I had to choose a favourite Susan Howatch novel, it would have to be the Wheel of Fortune. This sumptuous novel drew me in from the very first page and soon I was lost in richness, following the drama of the Godwin family and living their lives with them in their fabulous Welsh estate, Oxmoon.
As in all of the Howatch family sagas which precede it, The Wheel of Fortune is written through a multiple third-person perspective, a structure which Howatch has mastered to perfection. Thus she leads us through the story by allowing us to identify first with one character and then with another, each time forcing us to rectify the opinions we have already formed on each indivual in turn. It's as if we move around each character, seeing him or her from a multitude of aspects, from the inside and the outside, and thus gain insight into the whole personality.

While reading Howatch I often felt that this is perhaps her way of showing her readers the necessity for compassion and understanding in our lives, for she whips away our prejudices and preconceptions about her characters simply by switching perspectives. For me this happened in the Wheel of Fortune with the character of Kester, who first appears as a thoroughly unlikeable, spoiled child, a misfit who never failed to exasperate those around him - and of course the reader. The moment Kester himself was allowed to speak, however, and I saw the situation through his viewpoint, he became my favourite character and I could identify with him completely, and appreciate him as the creative genius he is.

Then there is Robert Godwin, the personification of male chauvinism, an uptight London barrister who takes leave of all his senses when he falls for his cousin Ginevra. Ginevra herself is at first rather silly and self-absorbed, but as she grows in depth and self-esteem she develops into a warm, strong, well-rounded personality and a driving force in the novel. John Godwin is the epitome of good upbringing: his motto is "Here I have my standards, and here I draw the line!"; but then he meets Bronwen, a lower class Welshwoman who embodies the passion and mysticism that is simmering just beneath the surface of John's own consciousness, and John throws caution to the wind. Finally there is Harry, Kester's nemesis and greatest rival, the perfect public school boy . It's the rivalry between Kester and Harry, both of whom seem to mirror each other, each one having what the other most desires, rising and sinking on opposite sides of the Wheel of Fortune, which provides the foundation for this wonderful story.

Last but not least there is Oxmoon itself, their home; fabulous, haunting, living, Oxmoon: the orchestra playing the Blue Danube in its grand hall while the dancers dance beneath the glittering chandeliers. The magical atmosphere which pervades this wonderful story and draws us into the wonderful world teeming with rounded, living, breathing, characters we feel we have known all our lives.

I've just finished Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch. (1171 pages in 5 days it was so good!) What a fascinating book. The book starts with one person's point of view and then the story picks up at the end of that section with someone else's point of view. When they reflect back on something you already know about it gives you another perspective. I don't think I've ever read a book written like this one. What is so interesting about it is that it shows that what is seen by others is not the reality in the mind of the person being looked at. What we perceive to be an ideal situation is really not so ideal at all if we knew the truth of the matter. Behavior that seems dreadful from the outside makes perfect sense when we can look inside and see why someone behaved the way they did. If we knew what others really think of us we would probably be shocked at how far off the mark they are from what we think of ourselves. It's remarkable how things from past generations that we may not even know about effect us in ways that we are not even aware of.

Another interesting thing is the idea of time. That time is not a straight line leading forward and behind us. But instead it is a circle and we can hear echos of the past and the future across the circle of time. I like books that make me sit back and say, "Hmmm" after I have read them and this one had that effect on me. The whole time I was reading the book I thought it a work of fiction. I was somewhat surprised to get to the end and read the author's note that it is a re-creation in a modern dimension of a true story involving King Richard II, King Henry IV, and King Henry V. Amazing. Wish I had read the author's note first. Oh well, I think my mind will be chewing on some of the concepts of this book for at least a few days. How well do we really ever know someone else that we think we know? Fascinating question.

I have just finished reading "Wheel of Fortune" and frankly I am exhausted. I literally couldn't put it down and by the time I was finished I felt emotionally drained. The best book I've read in many a moon.

Anyway, I read Wheel of Fortune in hardcover, two volumes. On the last inside page, S. H. says in Author's notes "The Wheel of Fortune is a re-creation in a modern dimension in which the following people play leading parts:

Edward of Woodstock, 1330-1376, The Black Prince
His wife and cousin, Joan of Kent
John of Gaunt, his brother
His younger son, later King Richard 11
John of Gaunt's legitimate son Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry 1V who restored England to her former military glory and completed the full circle of the Plantagenet family's wheel of fortune.

I didn't know all this when I was reading--- I just read it as a family saga that kept me engrossed from start to finish.

Susan Howatch is probably the closest approximation we have to a modern day Anthony Trollope in her character driven style of writing, and plot development. Howatch, like Trollope, is fascinated by the moral choices people make, and the reasons for making them (eg. religious belief, guilt, envy, etc.). However, where Trollope tends to use more wry sarcasm, Howatch relies on (often deceptively) romantic scenes, and generational bonds.

"Wheel of Fortune," 1171 pages long, revolves around the idea that people are tied to the mis-deeds committed by past generations, and, unless great effort is applied to break the destructive cycle, are usually condemned to repeat history. Most of the story takes place at an historic mansion known as Oxmoon in early twentieth century Wales on the Gower Peninsula. The main characters are frequently obsessed with "doing the done thing," "drawing the line," and generally keeping up appearances, often with tragic results.

The book is divided up into six parts, each of which is told from the perspective of a different character, and which, in total, spans over 60 years. Robert Godwin, the narrator of Part One, is the oldest son and heir to Oxmoon. Outwardly, he's a hard man, completely rational and highly intelligent. His obsession is his slightly older cousin Genevra, and the greatest moment of his life was waltzing with her, as a teenager, under the Oxmoon crystal chandeliers to the "Blue Danube," though Ginervra loves another. Howatch repeats this romantic scene over and over again, usually as a metaphor that things aren't as grand as they appear to be (anyone who reads "Wheel of Fortune" as a romantic novel needs to read it again). Through Ginevra's section (Part Two), we learn how vulnerable Robert really is, in more ways than one.

Parts One and Two of "Wheel of Fortune" are mere preludes to the heart of the book. In Part Three, Robert's younger brother John, who becomes the head of the family, narrates. John excels at drawing everyone's "line" except his own. The love of his life, Bronwen, is several stations below John, but John finds he can love no one else. John acts as sort of the family referee, especially between the greatest rivals of the story, Harry and Kester.

Parts Four and Five (repectively Robert's son, Kester [who in adulthood, bears some unsettling resemblance to Michael Jackson], and John's son, Harry) turn the book into a page turner, and make "Wheel of Fortune," into a terrific read. The relationship between Kester and Harry (and their rivalry with respect to Oxmoon) is always intriguing, and takes some unexpected twists and turns, to say the least. Their destinies intertwine, usually in a destructive manner, and both ultimately pay for their hatred of the other.

Howatch could have ended the book with a final struggle between Kester and Harry, but chose to look into the future with Hal, Harry's son, (but emotionally closer to his uncle, Kester) in a spell-binding part Six, where Hal attempts to unravel the last great family mystery. There is always hope and redemption, the author seems to say, and we are not necessarily condemned to repeat the past.

All-in-all, I found "Wheel of Fortune" to be engrossing and memorable. I didn't give it 5 stars, because I think Howatch can be heavy-handed and repetitious with romantic metaphor and pithy speeches. How many times do we need to hear about that waltz under the chandeliers to the "Blue Danube?" Do the characters necessarily have to say that they are "drawing the line" or "doing the done thing" on every other page?

Another quibble has to do with the character Bronwen (John's true love). Although many of the Welsh names and towns sound like they come from "Lord of the Rings" (perhaps the British Tolkien was influenced by this), does Bronwen really have to talk like the immortal queen of the Elves, or Yoda from Star Wars? Every time Bronwen would open her mouth and spout some celtic mysticism, I would almost groan out loud.

I also cannot accept how young children get over the death of a parent so quickly, and visa versa. I think I understand the stiff-upper-lip attitude of this culture, but the death of a mother to a young child surely would affect him more than, for example, a rivalry with a cousin over a piece of property.

Even so, I highly enjoyed "Wheel of Fortune," and recommend it, even given its length. If you like Susan Howatch, may I also recommend Gail Godwin, and Stuart O'Nan's "Wish You Were Here." And, of course, the master himself, Anthony Trollope.

This is the BEST book I have ever read. I know that many people place Gone With The Wind at the top of the list (and rightly so) but I consider this book the "English Version" of Gone with the Wind.

Instead of Scarlett and the Tara Plantation, you get to meet the Goodwins and their magical home Oxmoon. This book is divided into six chapters with each chapter being told by a different character. By doing this, the author gives the readers a chance to see other characters from different points of view. She also ends each chapter with a bang and the next character picks it up where the last character left off.

If you are looking for a book filled with love, hate, envy, greed, murder and so forth, you don't need to look any further. The book is over a 1000 pages long but it moves right along. I found myself wishing that it had been 2000 pages long. I did not want the book to end. Lucky for me, this author has other great novels.

PLEASE GET THIS BOOK AND READ THE FIRST CHAPTER, YOU WILL BE HOOKED!!!!!

I would go on but I don't want to bore any readers and anyways I am starting on another Susan Howatch book.

If anyone has read this book and knows of another great author such as Susan Howatch (I doubt it), please email me at mitzibilly@yahoo.com.

I really enjoyed learning about Diana and how her taste in clothes evolved and improved. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how she had clothes re-worked and how many times she wore the same outfit - or an outfit without a portion of the outfit (i.e. the Elvis dress - without the jacket), and dresses, etc. reworked to update or change the look of it - making it new again. The impression I believe the public was left with was that she never wore anything more than once which was not true. She learned well and knew what she needed to fulfill what task she would wear the outfit to. She was adept at working her wardrobe around where she would be traveling to..... no one missed the attention she made to detail and loved her for it..... she will always be well remembered by the publich who loved and still love her.

I LOVED this book for it's beautiful color fashion photos of the Princess Diana. In particular, I really enjoyed that there were many head to toe photos of many of her most famous outfits. There was also was a nice section on her hat makers as well as Jimmy Choo and some of the shoes he made for her. This book has many photos showing her shoes which is something I really enjoy seeing as part of her outfit. She was very coordinated with her shoes and her hats which was pointed out in this book. It also had many nice close-ups of the materials used in her outfits, which brought out details that I had never seen before, in some smaller pictures in other books. Overall, if you enjoyed the fashions of Princess Diana, I think that you are going to LOVE this book. To me it is a "must have".

this is the best pictur biography the princess could have asked for

I have a vast collection of Princess Diana memorabilia. My collection of Diana books is quite enormous, and sometimes I lose track of the books I own, but this book is one in my collection that ALWAYS comes to mind first! It is one of the most well done books I have seen. The photos are fabulous, and the design of the book is very cleverly done. It shows Diana in her most famous outfits categorized on each page by colour.(Her red gowns, her blue gowns etc.). If your a Di collector, this book is a must for your coffee table.

This book will attract two kinds of individual: those who loved Diana and those who love fashion. Everyone would agree that Diana was one of the most stylish women of our day, and this photographic visit to her clothes closet is a wonderful opportunity to browse and maybe dream a little.