"...for I am Welsh you know good countryman..."

I just finished reading a great book entitled, “Here Be Dragons” by Sharon Kay Penman. She is one of the best Historical Fiction writers there is today, and she focuses her books in the Plantagenet /Medieval era of British history. “Here be Dragons” covers a very important period of Welsh history starting in 1189 when the Welsh king, Llewelyn the Great, was a boy and follows up through the 1230’s. It goes into great detail of his relationship and dealings with King John (you know his as Prince John from the Robin Hood stories). It was beautifully written and the author stayed with the truth chronologically. I was disappointed with some of the things I found out about King John. I had always believed he was a much better King than Richard the Lionhearted, but in this book, I found he was not a very nice Man. I guess all my life I have put certain historical figures up to a specific ideal and when I learn that my “ideal” isn’t quite true it is hard to re-adjust. Be that as it may, if you enjoy English history (and who doesn’t), or you have Welsh ancestry, you will enjoy reading this novel.