Sharon Kay Penman Quotes & Sayings

When people want to insult a man, they cast slurs upon his courage. But the worst they can say about a woman is to impugn her chastity. — Sharon Kay Penman

If disliking Richard be grounds for accusing a man of conspiracy, I daresay you could implicate half of Christendom in this so-called plot. Richard endears himself easiest to those who've yet to meet him. — Sharon Kay Penman

Richard forced him from his sickbed, broke his power, his pride. But you, John, you broke his heart. I truly wonder which be the greater sin. — Sharon Kay Penman

In my life, I've been both the besieged and the besieged, and I know damned well which I prefer! — Sharon Kay Penman

We tend to forget at times that it is the little ones, the children, who do suffer the greatest hurt. If we cannot comprehend why certain sorrows are visited upon us, how on earth can they? — Sharon Kay Penman

Get some sleep. Our troubles will still be there on the morrow — Sharon Kay Penman

May I offer you some advice?"
"I'd rather you offered me a fast horse and a head start," Richard said with a tight smile. "But I'll take the advice, too. — Sharon Kay Penman

The art of governing, Dickon, is that of making use of talent wherever you do find it. Trust is too rare an attribute to make it your prime prerequisite for holding office. If I relied only upon those I truly do trust, we'd have a council of empty chairs! — Sharon Kay Penman

At least it was never dull, my darling. And you will be remembered long after we've all turned to dust. But so will I. — Sharon Kay Penman

It puzzled Maud that her male relatives could not see this. Was it that men could not believe a woman might share their ambitions, their need for power? Eleanor saw herself as more than Henry's queen, mother of his children. First and foremost, she was Duchess of Aquitaine, never doubting that she could have ruled as well as any man and better than most. — Sharon Kay Penman

He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor was that day. He'd have been content to gaze into her eyes for hours, trying to decide if they were green with gold flecks or gold with green flecks. She had high, finely sculpted cheekbones, soft, flawless skin he'd burned to touch, and lustrous dark braids entwined with gold-threaded ribbons he yearned to unfasten; he'd have bartered his chances of salvation to bury his face in that glossy, perfumed hair, to wind it around his throat and see it spread out on his pillow. He'd watched, mesmerized, as a crystal raindrop trickled toward the sultry curve of her mouth and wanted nothing in his life so much, before or since, as he wanted her. — Sharon Kay Penman

For every wound, the ointment of time. — Sharon Kay Penman

Statecraft and kingship were not for the faint of heart — Sharon Kay Penman

As was his way, once he acknowledged the problem, he set about finding a means to resolve it — Sharon Kay Penman

During the day, memories could be held at bay, but at night, dreams became the devil's own accomplices. — Sharon Kay Penman

back all he'd been — Sharon Kay Penman

He believed that his superior intellect mattered more than his physical defects and saw no reason why he must defer to these fortunate young men with handsome faces and healthy bodies and empty heads. — Sharon Kay Penman

She might be that most unfortunate of women, a barren queen, — Sharon Kay Penman

Barbed banter was the coin of their realm and heartfelt admissions of affection were rejected out of hand as counterfeit. — Sharon Kay Penman

More than men had died at Lincoln. It seemed to Stephen that reality was a casualty, too, for nothing made sense anymore. What was he doing here in the solar of Lincoln Castle, bleeding all over the Earl of Chester's wife? — Sharon Kay Penman

Hell and furies!" Eleanor had begun to pace, her skirts swirling about her ankles. "What was he thinking?"
"When does he ever think?" Richard straddled a chair and accepted a wine cup from Raoul. "If he were to sell his brain, he could claim it had never been used. — Sharon Kay Penman

Soldiers have many vices, but vanity is not amongst them. How could it be? What man is going to worry about his hair when he might lose his head? — Sharon Kay Penman

Eleanor had followed Richard, marveling, as always, at the male inability to speak the language of the heart. "One day I hope to understand why men see sentiment as the ultimate enemy," she said dryly, "but I'll not be holding my breath until it happens. — Sharon Kay Penman

Outside, the sky was clear, stars gleaming in its ebony vastness like celestial fireflies. It was bitterly cold, and Hywel's every breath trailed after him in pale puffs of smoke. The glazed snow crackled underfoot as he started towards the great hall. — Sharon Kay Penman

I am not going to let him win, Guillaume. Not this time. I could not keep him from making my mother pay the price for our failed rebellion. Fifteen years she has been his prisoner, fifteen years! And she is his prisoner, for all that she no longer wants for a queen's comforts. I have had to submit to his demands and subject myself to his whims and endure the indignity of having him brandish the crown before me as he would tease a dog with a bone. But no more. I will not let him rob me of my birthright, and I will not let him keep me from honoring my vow to defend the Holy Land. I do think he is behind that very opportune rebellion in my duchy, and I would not put it past him to be conniving with the Count of Toulouse, either. And if by chance he did not, it is only because he did not think of it. No, a reckoning is long overdue, and we will have it at Bonsmoulins. — Sharon Kay Penman

Apparently too much candour can become tedious, or so Lady Emma tells me. — Sharon Kay Penman

In a contest of wills between John and his mother, he did not think John would prevail, indeed he hoped he would not. But he did not care to be a witness to their confrontation; he suspected Eleanor's methods would be neither maternal nor merciful. — Sharon Kay Penman

I'd not want to answer for the lives of other men; not at seventeen, by God's Grace. — Sharon Kay Penman

Richard knew, of course, that his was thought to be an unlucky title; only twice before had a Richard ruled England, and both met violent ends. — Sharon Kay Penman

Why is it honesty when a man speaks his mind and madness when a woman does? — Sharon Kay Penman

As they lay entwined together afterwards, they both were sure their future was blessed, and it would never have occurred to them that Henry and Eleanor had once believed that, too. — Sharon Kay Penman

Indeed. But I was not thinking of his immortal soul, Matilda. I was thinking that history is chronicled by monks. — Sharon Kay Penman

Men are born to sin ... What does matter most, is not that we err, it is that we do benefit from our mistakes, that we are capable of sincere repentance, of genuine contrition. — Sharon Kay Penman

What followed was for him a very entertaining spectacle, with one of Edward's brothers seemingly intent upon the most subtle of seductions and the other barely able to force malmsey past the gorge rising in his throat. — Sharon Kay Penman

Between the two of us, we've got a family tree rooted in Hell! — Sharon Kay Penman

There's not a man alive who doesn't know fear, Dickon. The brave man is the one who has learned to hide it, that's all — Sharon Kay Penman

Yesterday I heard some of the castle servants talking about a funeral for one of the stable lads. He went skating last week on the pond in the village, but the ice was not thick enough and he drowned. I like to skate on the ice,too, Papa, have my own pair of bone skates. I could drown crossing the Channel as Uncle Robert fears ... or I could drown back in Angers, if I was unlucky like that stable lad." Geoffrey's mouth twitched. "God help me," he said, "I've sired a lawyer! — Sharon Kay Penman

For whatever reasons - which had never interested him in his youth but which he sometimes pondered as an adult - the Angevin House had always taken Cain and Abel as role models. — Sharon Kay Penman

Brother Euddogwy did not know how to respond to that, for only the Angevins would see a rebellion as an opportunity for brotherly bonding. — Sharon Kay Penman

I do not set specific work hours as some writers do. I generally stay with a chapter until I am satisfied, do very little rewriting, and if a scene is going well, I've been known to keep night owl hours. — Sharon Kay Penman

Abigail Adams could become my favorite historical sleuth. — Sharon Kay Penman

What is a thing worth, if it comes with no risk? — Sharon Kay Penman

Removing his helmet, Edward knelt by the stream called Swillgate, a name that effectively quenched any desire to drink from its depths. — Sharon Kay Penman

You seem to forget, Dickon, that we are dealing with the Spider King. Louis realized, just as you have, that it would take more to mate dog to cat than a shared lust for the English crown. — Sharon Kay Penman

Whenever I've had to tamper with history for plot purposes, I make sure to mention that in my author's note, and I try to keep such tampering to a bare minimum. I also attempt to keep my characters true to their historical counterparts. This is not always possible, of course. — Sharon Kay Penman

Well, dearest, what would you tell a farmer who had an over-abundant harvest? To plant less, of course!" ...
"I am not complaining about the frequency of the planting," she said. "I'd just rather not reap a crop every year. — Sharon Kay Penman

Yes, there were good memories, too, thirty-seven years of good and bad. Quarrels and reconciliations. Eight cradles and too many gravestones and Rosamund Clifford and power that rivalled Caesar's, an empire that stretched from the Scots border to the Mediterranean Sea. — Sharon Kay Penman

I feel that historical novelists owe it to our readers to try to be as historically accurate as we can with the known facts. Obviously, we have to fill in the blanks. And then in the final analysis, we're drawing upon our own imaginations. But I think that readers need to be able to trust an author. — Sharon Kay Penman

War was war and soldiers were the same the world over, although killing came easier to some than others. — Sharon Kay Penman

I suppose I should just be thankful that since you are so much given to treachery, you're so reassuringly inept at it. — Sharon Kay Penman

There are secret sins and found-out sins, and it is foolish to worry about the first until it becomes the second. — Sharon Kay Penman

For he of all men knew how dangerously stubborn Henry Fitz Empress could be.
There were faint bloodstains upon the tiles in Canterbury Cathedral testifying to that. — Sharon Kay Penman

In writing my historical novels, I have to rely upon my imagination to a great extent. I think of it as 'filling in the blanks.' Medieval chroniclers could be callously indifferent to the needs of future novelists. But I think there is a great difference between filling in the blanks and distorting known facts. — Sharon Kay Penman

You might as well face it. You're not going to be able to fight for the crown. You'll just have to grit your teeth and let us hand it over to you at the bargaining table. — Sharon Kay Penman

He'd never seen one so vibrant, though, or so vividly compelling ... those glowing green eyes sparkling with sunlight and curiosity and silent laughter, and when she glanced in Henry's direction, she held his gaze, a look that was both challenging and enigmatic ... He was utterly certain that this was Eleanor of Aquitaine, and no less sure that the French King must be one of God's greatest fools. — Sharon Kay Penman

Many people don't know that New Jersey is a fertile breeding ground for writers, some of them quite renowned. And I would wager that most would be truly startled to learn that the star in the Jersey firmament is - drum roll here - Newark. — Sharon Kay Penman

Tonight," he said, "we shall get quietly and thoroughly drunk ... in memory of all that was lost. And on the morrow, I begin the struggle to win it back. — Sharon Kay Penman

... she remembered watching a summer sunset from this very spot. Not so long ago; just a lifetime. — Sharon Kay Penman

If that's how you'd rather remember it. But I did not mean that as a reproach. I do not, in truth, think less of you for having the common sense to abandon a ship once waves began to break over the bow. Nor, after sixteen years shut away from the sun, am I likely to find tears to spare for Henry Plantagenet. — Sharon Kay Penman

Men kill for many reasons, they steal but for one-greed. — Sharon Kay Penman

Eleanor's greatest grievance was not a simpering lass with flaxen hair and smooth skin. It was Aquitaine, always Aquitaine. — Sharon Kay Penman

Now our poor Gib never had a sense of humor to lose ... — Sharon Kay Penman

Francis stared down at the Duchess of York's letter. He swallowed, then read aloud in a husky voice, "It was showed by John Sponer that King Richard, late mercifully reigning upon us, was through great treason piteously slain and murdered, to the great heaviness of this City."
As Margaret listened, the embittered grey eyes had softened, misted with sudden tears.
"My brother may lie in an untended grave," she said, "but he does not lack for an epitaph. — Sharon Kay Penman

I would see him, Edward.'
It was no request; he knew it to be an ultimatum. He shook his head violently, not trusting his voice. Time passed. She was staring at him, saying nothing, and on her face was a look of stunned disbelief, of anguished accusation he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. But when she spoke, her voice held no hint of tears. It was not a voice to offer either understanding or absolution, spoke of no quarter given, of a lifetime of love denied.
'God may forgive you for this,' she said, very slowly and distinctly, 'but I never shall. — Sharon Kay Penman

The last time Ranulf had run into Sulien, the older man had called him a misbegotten English Judas and spat onto the ground at his feet. Yet now that same man was approaching the bed with a jovial smile, so apparently pleased to see the Judas again that Ranulf half-expected him to announce that a fatted calf had been killed in his honor. — Sharon Kay Penman

Life without sinning was like food without salt, pure but tasteless. — Sharon Kay Penman

When does he ever think?" Richard straddled a chair and accepted a wind cup from Raoul. "If he were to sell his brain, he could claim it had never been used.", Chapter 7 — Sharon Kay Penman

Richard grinned, very pleased with himself for having found a way to honor his mother, thwart his father, and serve God, while having a grand adventure at the same time. — Sharon Kay Penman

The Lancastrian army had been on the march for fully fifteen hours, had managed to cover twenty-four miles in that dash for the Severn. But Edward had done the impossible; in just twelve hours, he'd ridden an astonishing thirty-five miles. — Sharon Kay Penman

And it is not in any of our interests to have the balance of power turned on its head like this. An overly mighty French king is no improvement over an overly mighty English one. — Sharon Kay Penman

There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination. — Sharon Kay Penman

He'd passed the longest night of his life locked in mortal combat with his ghosts, calling up and then disavowing twenty years of memories. He would banish that bitch from his heart if it meant cutting her out with his own dagger. And when at last he allowed himself to grieve, he did so silently and unwillingly, his tears hidden by the darkness, his rage congealing into a core of ice. — Sharon Kay Penman

In time of war, the Devil makes more room in Hell. — Sharon Kay Penman

An intimate enemy, death, capricious and cruel, ultimately invincible. — Sharon Kay Penman

Here I was, rushing off to save my little brother from pirates, only to find that he fancies being a pirate himself! — Sharon Kay Penman

Hal and Richard show all the good will of Cain and Abel. — Sharon Kay Penman

I know you do not care much for such revelries, but trust me - this one you will enjoy, Harry. You and I will sit at the high table, eating porpoise and swan, whilst we watch my male kinfolk eating humble pie! — Sharon Kay Penman

His was a lonely, unorthodox conviction that war was man's ultimate failure. — Sharon Kay Penman

To call it a "setback" is like calling the Expulsion from Eden a minor misunderstanding. — Sharon Kay Penman

Poor Wales. So far from Heaven, so close to England. — Sharon Kay Penman

That may be infidel wisdom, but it is wisdom all the same. — Sharon Kay Penman

What shall we drink to, Ned? To England?"
"I've a better thought than that. It is not precisely the season for it, with Epiphany still four days hence, and I daresay our lady mother would never forgive me for saying it! But blasphemy or not, I think it fitting, nonetheless."
He touched his cup to the one Richard now held. "To the Resurrection," he said. — Sharon Kay Penman

for each age interprets the past in the light of its own biases. — Sharon Kay Penman

Ranulf had spent much of his life watching those he loved wrestle with the seductive, lethal lure of kingship. It had proved the ruination of his cousin Stephen, a good man who had not made a good king. For his sister Maude, it had been an unrequited love affair, a passion she could neither capture nor renounce. For Hywel, it had been an illusion, a golden glow ever shimmering along the horizon. He believed that his nephew had come the closest to mastery of it, but at what cost? — Sharon Kay Penman

They had gathered at Eastcheap to wait. At this time of day, the marketplace ought to have been thronged with people looking for bargains, moving from stall to stall, examining the fresh fish, choosing the plumpest hens, buying candles and pepper and needles. The stalls were open, but the fishmongers and cordwainers and butchers were doing no business, despite the growing crowd. The sun was hot, flies were thick, and the odors pungent; no one complained, though. They talked and gossiped among themselves, strangers soon becoming friends, for the normally fractious and outspoken Londoners had forgotten their differences, at least for a day, united in a common purpose and determined to revel in their triumph, for they were pragmatic enough to understand this might be their only one. Now they joked and swapped rumors and waited with uncommon patience, and at last they heard a cry, swiftly picked up and echoed across the marketplace: She is coming! — Sharon Kay Penman

I should like to freeze in time all those I do love, keep them somehow safe from the ravages of the passing years ... Rather like flowers pressed between the pages of a book! — Sharon Kay Penman

Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet, saffron and russet, and the days were clear and crisp under harvest skies. — Sharon Kay Penman

Geoffrey looked startled to see both his great-uncles bearing down upon him with such haste; he hadn't realized men their age could move so fast. — Sharon Kay Penman

I do my best to build a strong factual foundation for each of my novels and rely upon my author's notes to keep my conscience clear. — Sharon Kay Penman

After that, he was still. They could hear church bells chiming in the distance. Somewhere Vespers was being rung, people were at Mass, life was going on. Andre had not thought there was a need for words of farewell, not between them. But now he found himself approaching the bed, suddenly afraid that he'd waited too long. "Richard." He held his breath then, until the other man opened his eyes. "Listen to me," he said hoarsely. "You will not be forgotten. A hundred years from now, men will be sitting around campfires and telling the legends of the Lionheart."
The corner of Richard's mouth twitched. "Only ... a hundred years?" he whispered, and Andre and Eleanor saw his last smile through a haze of hot tears. — Sharon Kay Penman

This was the moment he most loved about tourneying, that first glorious sortie with banners streaming, trumpets blaring, and the earth atremble with pounding hooves as hundreds of knights came together in a spectacular clash of sound and fury. — Sharon Kay Penman

She opened her mouth, clamped it shut again. This was new, this sudden favor shown Gloucester, had been brought back with him from Burgundy like some malevolent foreign pox. — Sharon Kay Penman

Respect can be as elusive as the unicorn. I know something of this because I write books that are set in the Middle Ages, and the historical novel is often seen as the unwanted stepchild in the fictional family. I know even more about respect - or the lack thereof - because I live in New Jersey. — Sharon Kay Penman

Simon said nothing, thinking of all the good men who'd died because this inept, faithless fool had been born a King's son. — Sharon Kay Penman

He could not change his nature, could not help being cautious, deliberate, introspective, not traits to be scorned by any means, but traits that seemed dull, bland - even to him - when compared with Davydd's hell-for-leather dazzle. — Sharon Kay Penman

You must try to understand, my dearest one. It was not treason, was but a dream bred before its time, that the King should not be accountable only to God. No mortal man ought to be entrusted with power such as that, for any king's son may be born a fool. — Sharon Kay Penman

We've schemed and fought and loved until we are so entangled in hearts and minds that there is no way to set us free. God help us both, Harry, for we will never be rid of each other. Not even death will do that. — Sharon Kay Penman

When I moved to Wales more than twenty years ago and began to research 'Here Be Dragons,' I was fascinated from the first by the Welsh medieval laws, by the discovery that women enjoyed a greater status in Wales than elsewhere in Europe. — Sharon Kay Penman

She knew she'd wounded him when he'd least expected it, and her satisfaction lasted until the door had closed behind him. Once he was gone, it ebbed away along with her anger, leaving her with naught but the ashes and embers of a dying hearth fire. — Sharon Kay Penman

Troubles may ofttimes be so dire that they cannot get better. But they are never so dire that they still cannot get worse. — Sharon Kay Penman