![]() ![]() The second aspect of Penman’s style that should set off warning bells, but does not, is the amount of historical information she includes. I’ll grant there are other historical writers who draw their readers through 650 pages without slowing down, but it is a relatively rare talent. Don’t try to hold on with one hand while balancing A King’s Ransom over your cup of tea. So what are the three things? One is the length of her books. Hence my claim that Penman is a kind of literary alchemist, turning the ordinary or even disastrous in most writers’ hands into something transformed and transforming. In the hands of a less skillful writer these stylistic choices would, but the magic here works. She does three things as a writer that ought to make the reader draw back or slow down, and yet, they don’t. That’s the point-she’s so good at it you won’t notice what she’s doing-you’ll be caught in the story. Penman’s novels engage in a kind of alchemy that’s worth analyzing in a review because you won’t be aware of it while you’re in the midst of reading. Penman’s most recent novel completes her cycle about Richard the Lionhearted, including both Lionheart and A King’s Ransom. Penman’s epic novels about the lives of English royalty are much beloved by many-and with good reason. ![]()
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