Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

Here Be Dragons is mostly about Llewelyn the Great of Wales and is set in the late 12th century to early 13th century in Wales, England and France. I wasn't familiar with Llewelyn and the history of Wales, and I enjoyed learning through this well-written book. All of the characters had depth, and the story moved along with a lot of excitement, action and romance.

Also prominent in the book was King John, the brother of Richard the Lion-Hearted, and his daughter, Joanna. There were also a few appearances by Eleanor of Aquitaine. I had previously had some knowledge of Eleanor and Henry II and their sons as a result of seeing the movie, The Lion in Winter, so it was nice to learn more about them as well.

In reading the book, I got a good feel for how life was in that time and place. Probably the most remarkable thing for me was realizing how the people had to always be ready to defend their land and holdings, and it seemed like there was not a whole lot of time to relax between the battles that were repeatedly enjoined for one reason or another.

This is the first of a trilogy, and I liked it so much that I'm hoping to be able to read the two sequels someday.