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Well folks, today is the sad day that saw the end of When Christ and His Saints Slept. It’s always a good book that leaves me mourning its close. I can still remember finishing Wuthering Heights in high school and moping on the couch for days, just so sad that there was no more.

Moment of silence.

The story of Maude/Henry and Stephen/Eustace’s 19-year battle for the English crown ended a little bit anticlimactically, which is no judgment on Penman’s part since she stuck to history! But wasn’t a let-down, or anything. She finished on a hopeful note, with Ranulf and Rhiannon heading happily home to Wales with baby Gilbert; and I came away with the feeling that justice was more or less served all around, which is a strange coincidence when dealing with historical fact. Her afterword and author’s note were gold to me, by the way; definitely worth the 5 minutes or so it takes to read these few pages. She ties up the historical endings for myriad characters, and then discusses historical accuracy (thank you!!) and where she chose to take liberties, and where she chose between different accounts. This is where I learned that Ranulf was an invention; I really appreciated what Penman wrote about enjoying playing god with this one character, which is an unusual experience for her. What fun! I guess that’s how she was able to give us such a happy, hopeful ending, that we get to finish for ourselves. Ahhhh.

So unlike in the case of Wuthering Heights, there are sequels; this book is the first in a trilogy, and there are still a number of Penman novels that await me. That earns another Ahhhh.

Next up: I’m watching the poll below for a tiebreaker betwixt Room and Still Missing. Help a girl out; at this time tomorrow I will have started one or the other! Thanks for your time.

Filed under: book reviews | Tagged: historical fiction, reading as education |