When Christ and His Saints Slept tells the story of England's 'troubles'- when King Henry I died in 1135, leaving only a female heir (Matilda). Many at the time didn't want a female to reign, and Maud spent the better part of two decades fighting Stephen, her cousin, for the English throne. They eventually struck an agreement- Stephen would reign until he died (1154), and then Matilda's son, Henry II, would reign. It thus transpired, with Henry II becoming the first in a long line of Plantagenet kings.
This book was okay, not great, so I put it down after 100 pages. The history seems correct, but my personal problem with historical fiction is the degree of liberty the author must take with the famous figures. We know so little about Stephen and Maud from history, but Penman has to flesh out each character, so she does the best she can by creating plausible personalities and dialogue based on sparse historical evidence. Her efforts aren't poor, but I always worry in such situations that the inventions miss the mark, and create wrong impressions. I'm beginning to realize that I like my history in one of two ways:
- scholarly historical works, where no attempt is made to take liberties with the unknown
- historical fiction where the characters are fictional but live in a historical setting (like in Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth), so you get the idea while having to take fewer liberties with known historical figures.
Rating: B-
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