Sharon Kay Penman

Sharon Kay Penman (b. August 13, 1945 in New York) is an American historical novelist, of Anglo-Irish ancestry. She is well known for her novels and mysteries about English and Welsh royalty during the Middle Ages.

Career

Penman received 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. Penman suffered from an eighteen month bout with mononucleosis ^{[http://www.sharonkaypenman.com/penmanchronicles.htm]} .

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 four mysteries set in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine during the reign of Richard I. The mysteries did not enjoy the same success as her "straight" historical novels, to which she returned in 2002, with "Time and Chance," again covering the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. Two further mysteries have followed.

In UK editions of her books, Penman has now dropped the middle name "Kay" and the initial which she originally used.

Books

Welsh Princes

# "Here Be Dragons" (1985)
# "Falls the Shadow" (1988)
# "The Reckoning" (1991)

Justin de Quincy (mystery series)

# "The Queen's Man" (1996)
# "Cruel as the Grave" (1998)
# "Dragon's Lair" (2003)
# "Prince of Darkness" (2005)

The Plantagenets

# "When Christ and His Saints Slept" (1995)
# "Time and Chance" (2002)
# "The Devil's Brood" (2008)

tandalone novels

* "The Sunne in Splendour" (1982)

External links

* [http://www.sharonkaypenman.com/ Sharon Kay Penman webpage]
* [http://loadedquestions.blogspot.com/2008/07/interview-with-sharon-kay-penman.html Interview Sharon Kay Penman] in which she discusses a stolen Richard III manuscript, her fan base and writing her upcoming novel "Devil's Brood".
* [http://www.llywelyn.co.uk Current website for Aber]