The private lives of the Plantagenet’s, that ‘passionate brood‘ who were the children of Henry the Second and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard and Johanna, Henry and John.
Margaret Campbell Barnes explores the Crusader King’s triumphs and tragedies in a compelling novel of love, loyalty, and lost chances. The fierce Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine birthed a Plantagenet dynasty before her marriage to Henry II became a mockery, and her family’s future hinges on Richard. With a persistent link you always see the Lionheart in folklore with Robin Hood. Portrayed here as Richard’s foster brother and conscience, who so enraged the King that he is banished. The Passionate Brood is a tale of a man driven to win back the Holy Land, beset by the guilt of casting out his childhood friend, and shouldering the burden of being the lionhearted leader of the Plantagenet’s.
I was so excited to dig into this book. It seemed so promising, I love the Plantagenet’s and Richard the Lionheart; and who doesn’t love the myth of Robin Hood? Well sadly this book just fell flat. None of the characters seemed to have the charisma you would expect from them. They all just fell a little flat. Moreover, the book seemed to be much more focused on Robin than Richard the Lionheart and the rest of the brood. Robin however, is off to the woods very early on. So what do you do with that? Overall, this one was just a disappointment for me, I almost didn’t finish. The only thing that kept me going was enough of the history was overall well studied. At the end of the day though, it was a big sense of relief when this book was complete.
