Rating: 
Summary: Excellent !!
Review: Virginia does it again!! She weaves a magical tale of kinghts and ladies; kings and queens that will keep you from putting the book down until you're finished. Simon and Eleanor are one of the most adorable couples that romance fans will ever encounter!
Rating: 
Summary: A Love Story For The Ages & Excellent Historical Fiction!
Review: Virginia Henley brings 13th century England to life with this historical novel about Princess Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John and sister to King Henry III, and her warrior hero husband Simon de Montfort.Married at age 10 and widowed by age 16, Eleanor swore a vow of chastity to the Church. She didn't figure on someone like Simon de Montfort, a disinherited aristocratic Frenchman who become an English earl, entering her life. Swept away by their passionate love for each other they risked the wrath of King and Church to wed. Ms. Henley, an award-winning author, tells a tale filled with conflict, treachery, betrayal, pageantry and true love with such skill that the reader truly gets a picture of life in medieval England and a look into one of history's most intense romances. A great read that is hard to put down.
JANA
Rating:
Summary: The Dragon & The Jewel will always be my favorite book!
Review: Virginia Henley is the best! I though history boring until I began reading her novels. Now I'm a history buff. The Dragon & The Jewel is the first historical romance novel I read & I quickly became hooked. I've now been to England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland twice to trace the history that she portrays in this wonderful book and her others. She really does her homework!!! The facts are accurate & the places artfully described! She's unbelievable! Standing at the entrance of the castle, you really can imagine Simon & Eleanor rushing back to Chepstow. Their "beloved Kenilworth Castle" is awesome & you can imagine their lives there thanks to the picture that Virginia paints of life & events at those times. Some people laugh at romance novels - but I challenge them to tell me what they know about world history & my knowledge leaves them in the dust - all because artists like Virginia Henley make it interesting & real for us! Thank You Virginia!
Rating: 
Summary: If you're desperate . . .
Review: When you read historical romance, you know what you're going to get. It's obvious Virginia Henley has a great time writing her books, but she can and does take enormous liberties with history, namely compression. The events described in this book took place over a thirty-year period--she compresses it into maybe three (God forbid her heroine should approach thirty!). If you want to read a much better novel about Simon de Montfort and Eleanor Plantagenet, I strongly recommend Sharon Kay Penman's "Falls The Shadow." Okay, maybe the sex isn't as interesting, but Penman isn't afraid to let her characters grow old.
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