Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penham

★★★½
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: Crusades, Christianity
Setting: Sicily, Palestine,
CHARACTERS: Richard I - the LionHearted, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joanna of Sicily, Phillipe of France, Berengaria of Navarre, Henri of Champagne, Conrad of Montferrat, Hugh Duke of Burgundy, Saladin
DATE READ: October 29 - November 14
NO. OF PAGES: 665
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   no, new purchase

PLOT:....................................................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.50
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................3.50
Average..............................................................................................3.50

Eleanor of Aquitaine, a "barren queen" for Louis of France bore 4 sons for Henry II.  The most notable and her favorite was Richard known as the Lionheart.  After his older brother Hal's and his father's deaths, Richard became the King of the England and ruled Normandy, Aquitaine, and all the other little duchies that Henry had amassed  as well but Richard was a warrior and had pledged to take the Cross and liberate Jerusalem.  

Shortly after he was crowned, Richard, along with Phillipe of France, headed toward the Holy Land.  He stopped in Sicily, liberated his widowed sister, married his bride from Navarre, captured Cyprus, and freed Acre once in the Holy Land.  Single-minded in his quest, this skilled battle commander recklessly endangered himself to protect his own forces throughout numerous battles. 

However, Richard was no diplomat and quickly alienated not only his ally, Phillipe of France, but also Conrad of Montferrat (new King of Jerusalem) and  Hugh Duke of Burgundy.

Unfortunately, without the complete support of the other Christian commanders, Richard was unable to fully liberate Jerusalem from he Muslim control and was forced to a peace where the Holy Land was open  to Christians but still occupied by Muslims.

This was a fascinating story filing in the portion of Richard's life that was engrossed by his quest to free the Holy Land.  Very few books that I have read deal with this time in his life and I  was completely engrossed.