Sharon Kay Penman
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Image:Sharon Kay Penman publicity photo with her dog.jpg Sharon Kay Penman (b. August 13, 1945 in New York) is an American author of fiction, of Anglo-Irish ancestry. For her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, she majored in history, and also received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Rutgers University School of Law, and later worked as a tax lawyer. She is well known for her novels and mysteries about English and Welsh royalty during the Middle Ages, which have proved to be very popular. Penman suffers from mononucleosis[1].
Penman's twist on history is to take a minor figure who actually existed, but of whom little is known beyond their name, and makes them the protagonist in the story. Her research is thorough; most of the events she describes have a basis in historical sources and mentions in the author's note if they are otherwise untrue. The Sunne in Splendour, a novel about Richard III of England is one of the most popular books on the Historical Novel Society's list of best historical novels. In 1996, following the success of When Christ and His Saints Slept (which dealt with the Anarchy and the early career of King Henry II of England), Penman ventured into the historical whodunnit with two mysteries set in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine during the reign of Richard I. These did not enjoy the same success with her loyal readership as her "straight" historical novels, to which she returned with Time and Chance.
In UK editions of her books, Penman has now dropped the middle name "Kay" and the initial which she originally used.
Books
- The Sunne in Splendour (©1982) (novel about Richard III)
- Here Be Dragons (1985) (first part of trilogy on 13th century Wales and England)
- Falls the Shadow (1988) (second part of trilogy on 13th century Wales and England)
- The Reckoning (1991) (third part of trilogy on 13th century Wales and England)
- When Christ and His Saints Slept (©1995) (novel about The Anarchy)
- The Queen's Man (©1996) (first novel in mystery series)
- Cruel as the Grave (©1998)(second novel in mystery series)
- Time and Chance (2002)
- Dragon's Lair (2003) (third novel in mystery series)
- Prince of Darkness (2005) (fourth novel in mystery series)