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    A King's Ransom
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    A King's Ransom
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    A King's Ransom
    Audiobook28 hours

    A King's Ransom

    Written by Sharon Kay Penman

    Narrated by Emily Gray

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    This long-anticipated sequel to the national bestseller Lionheart is a vivid and heart-wrenching story of the last event-filled years in the life of Richard, Coeur de Lion. Taken captive by the Holy Roman Emperor while en route home—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—he was to spend fifteen months imprisoned, much of it in the notorious fortress at Trefils, from which few men ever left alive, while Eleanor of Aquitaine moved heaven and earth to raise the exorbitant ransom. For the five years remaining to him, betrayals, intrigues, wars, and illness were ever present. So were his infidelities, perhaps a pattern set by his father’s faithlessness to Eleanor. But the courage, compassion, and intelligence of this warrior king became the stuff of legend, and A King’s Ransom brings the man and his world fully and powerfully alive.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books Audio
    Release dateMar 4, 2014
    ISBN9781470392161
    Unavailable
    A King's Ransom
    Author

    Sharon Kay Penman

    For many years while she was a student and then a tax lawyer, Sharon Kay Penman (1945-2021) worked on a novel about the life of Richard III and The War of the Roses. After the original manuscript was stolen from her car, Penman rewrote the entire novel that would become The Sunne in Splendour. Penman is the author of ten critically acclaimed and New York Times best selling historical novels and four medieval mysteries featuring Justin de Quincy. The first book in the series, The Queen's Man, was a finalist for an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America.

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    Reviews for A King's Ransom

    4.5/5

    111 ratings26 reviews

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    • 2/5
      It’s hard to say if the incredibly listless narration biased me decisively against this novel or if the colorless narrative had already turned me off before the narration took its toll. But I gave up after two chapters. Somehow life is more interesting than the Lionhearts pedestrian adventures.
    • 3/5
      There are several ways to look at any historical figure. Richard I of England is as capable of being seen several ways as any other medieval. English people are prone to see him as a man who had great big causes, like the Third Crusade, and maintaining the Angevin possessions in France. He did go on Crusade and did create a stalemated position that lasted for seventy-five years. He did free his sister from a difficult situation in the Kingdom of Sicily. He did create a Western European outpost on Cyprus, that lasted well into the fourteen hundreds, and he did win one set piece battle, and was very good at siege warfare. Into the bargain he was good at personal politics and hand-to-hand combat, and quite charismatic in person. His only drawback to a purveyor of popular entertainment was that he was a very poor husband. Sharon Kay Penman is a good researcher, and her second novel about this rampant angevin has to deal with the strictures of modern romantic fiction, as well as the researched picture of Richard. On this front, she invokes a case of PTSD for Richard, while denying it to any of the supporting characters, male or female. Full marks for research, pretty good look at the supporting love stories, and only a "C" for the main character motivations. It is still a good book to live in for a week.
    • 4/5
      Wealthy businessman closing in on a stock deal gets a call that his 8 yr old son has been kidnapped; however, the kidnappers have taken the wrong boy. King's son is safe but the chauffeur's son was taken by mistake. Will Mr. King pay the ransom for this child? What part will the wife of one of the kidnappers play when she finds out what they've done? What about Mrs. King's feelings. Very good early 1960s story before cellphones and DNA and all the modern technology that solves crimes today.
    • 4/5
      Four stars because she really did a lot with a story that's basically one battle after another. I'm familiar with the period and the people but the cast of characters was overwhelming at times. Sometimes I couldn't tell how many people she was referencing. Bill, Sue, Joe, Bishop of Wherever. Is that 3 or 4? An enjoyable book on the whole, even from this non-fan of my great x 20(ish?) Uncle Richard.
    • 3/5
      I loved parts of this tome and had to drag myself through other parts. Richard the Lionhearted is returning from the Crusades by boat when a terrible storm causes the boat to be wrecked ashore. If he returns to England via land he will need to cross territory ruled by enemies of England, particularly the King of France, who left the Crusades, and the Holy Roman Emperor. Richard decides rather than having a huge entourage which would draw attention, he takes only a young servant and two trusted knights with him. After one bad luck event after another, he is eventually captured by the King of Austria who turns him over the the Holy Roman Emperor.That provides the basis for the rest of the book and the Holy Roman Emperor demands an enormous ransom for Richard's freedom. Meanwhile, his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine; his sister, Joanna, the widowed queen of Sicily; and his wife, Berengaria, wait for him and try to maneuver ways for his release. The characters of Eleanor and Berengaria drew more of my attention than Richard. Eleanor is a particularly powerful woman for her time. Berengaria, on the other hand, is very submissive, religious, and naive as to much of the world. Richard's neglect to his wife is a true heart ache for Berengaria.There are way too many characters whose given names and titled names are confusing. There is a list of characters in the front which helps but more could have been added. Penman is historically accurate (I was enticed to look up more information on several events portrayed.Overall, a good medieval read, but might have been better for me with a bit less detail.
    • 4/5
      This is the sequel to "Lionhearted." In her author's note, Penman writes the first novel is about Richard the legend, this one about Richard the man Maybe that's why I enjoyed this sequel much more than "Lionheart" my least favorite among the almost dozen of hers I've read. Richard is at his most sympathetic as a prisoner of the Germans and dealing with his trauma in the aftermath. And after reading 9 of Penman's books dealing with the Angevins, I felt rather sad leaving them--especially her Eleanor of Aquitaine--I'm sure Penman does too.In many of her books, there is a tension between two adversaries and Penman leaves you suspended in your sympathy towards both--whether it's Matilda versus Stephen or Henry versus his sons or even Richard versus Saladin. This wasn't this sort of book. Heinrich of Germany and Philippe of France are both thoroughly loathsome. Her Prince John though unscrupulous is fun to read and you do feel for him at times. I think though of all the more secondary characters my favorite was Raimond de St Gilles, the Count of Toulouse. Like Joanna, I fell in love with him and wished I could spend more time with him, although considering the tragic fate of Toulouse in the Albigensian Crusade, it's perhaps best we leave him where we did. He was a man sadly out of step of his time in his irreverence and tolerance. Penman is her best at recapturing medieval times from the foods to the deeply held beliefs and a mindset alien to us. It's to be transported to a world as alien as Mars.
    • 3/5
      I had never read much about the reign the Richard the Lionheart so I was really looking forward to this book after reading about his experiences in the Crusades from the previous book. However, I was very bothered by the extreme viciousness in the writing regarding the torture of a 13 year old boy. I had to put the book aside for several months before I could return to the narrative, skipping his actual capture by the agents of the Duke of Austria. The story of his captivity and negotiations regarding his release for ransom were enlightening as to the politics of that era.Did I like it? Yes, but it really wasn't necessary to be that graphic regarding the torture for information. It lost a half star because of that.
    • 5/5
      This is the follow up volume to Sharon Penman's Lionheart, and the action picks up when Richard is on the way back from the Third Crusade, and has to divert overland through the middle of Europe. Thus begins the chain of events leading to his capture by Leopold of Austria and incarceration for a year and a half at the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich von Hohenstaufen, including at his notorious castle, Trifels. This first half of the novel contains some dramatic and chilling scenes, but I did find it a bit repetitive and inevitably lacking in some of the colour and dramatic incident of its prequel novel. The second half is more varied and is almost as much a novel of Richard's mother Eleanor of Aquitaine and sister Joanna, as of the man himself. The infamous crossbow bolt and his death happens with still some 60 pages of narrative to go, much of which focuses on the death of Joanna from a pregnancy-related illness and the effect this has on her mother. As ever, this is a superbly written novel full of fascinating characters and concludes the author's five book sojourn through the lives and times of the Angevins. 4.5/5
    • 3/5
      I have read all Sharon Kay Penman's histories (though not the mysteries, one was enough) and so I was eager to read this one, even though Lionheart was a disappointment.A King's Ransom continues the story of Richard I, begun in Lionheart. The book shows some of Penman's strengths. She immerses you in the Medieval world. She has a great eye for both the sweep of events and the details of daily life. With a Penman novel you never doubt for a moment that she knows what she is talking about - but that might be the trouble.I feel like she's lost her magic as a storyteller. Rather than shaping a narrative, she takes us doggedly through the historical record. So we get an exhaustive list of all the people (including at least three called Hugh) who were present at a given meeting with Eleanor, then all the places where Joanna and Berengaria stopped on a journey.Her characters feel a little flat and two-dimensional. Eleanor is spirited. Richard is loved by all his men. The bad guys are invariably bad. Penman's gift has always been to bring stories to life by showing the complexity of her characters, the conflicts caused not only by religion, war and politics but by their own natures. She was able to show us how Henry II built a great kingdom but couldn't hold his family together. In other novels we see John as nuanced, shaped by his difficult childhood, even while he is undoubtedly cruel. In this book he is a pantomime villain.There's also quite a lot of repetition. It seems like every 100 pages or so we're reminded that high-born women were pawns in the marriage market, though inexplicably, they or their parents seem to keep forgetting and so they (we) need to be told again. And some of the conversations are almost, bizarrely, like watercooler small talk. People asking after each other's families, or what their plans are for Christmas, without any clear impact on the story.Overall I'd say A King's Ransom gives a comprehensive account of the events of the period, but is nowhere near Penman's best work.
    • 5/5
      This is the last in the series of books describing the Angevin/Plantagenet dynasty, from King Stephen and Queen Maud through Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and ending with Richard the Lionheart's death and King John's ascension to the throne. I love all of Penman's books, but this was a favorite among all of them. This book explores Richard's life after the Crusade to the the Holy Land. He is taken prisoner by the German Holy Roman Emperor and this imprisonment colors the rest of his life. This book still has many battles, but statecraft is also an integral part. Richard's speech to the Imperial Diet to affect his release is impressive and his work at getting back his empire from Philippe, King of France, is a combination of warfare and intelligence. I also loved the side story of his sister, Joanna, and her marriage to Raimond, Count of Toulouse. It was a sad book because pretty much every dies (Eleanor's long life means that she witnesses the deaths of almost all of her 10 children), but I still loved this series. I hope that Penman starts a new series as I find her books a great combination of well researched history and fantastic characterization. I'm sad to be done reading these!
    • 5/5
      My first Penman novel and guarantee not my last. Great storytelling made it seem as if you were there. This was a great gift to the historical fiction genre. I look forward to her next book.
    • 5/5
      A great book by one of my favorite authors. The historical detail and research involved to so accurately build her characters is a true gift. After reading all three books in the Angevin series I will particularly miss Eleanor, who I feel was stronger and more politically astute than her two royal husbands and all her sons.
    • 5/5
      Funnily enough, in rereading my review of Lionheart, the precursor to this volume, I found that I could have basically written just about the same exact text for this one (the one departure being that it hasn't been quite so long since I read one of Penman's books). Aside from a few oddly expository sections, this was a great read, and I continue to appreciate how much effort she puts into her research and getting her characters right. I'm sorry that this will be the last of her novels focusing on the Angevins, but certainly look forward to the next book with great anticipation, no matter where it takes us.
    • 5/5
      According to her publisher A King's Ransom is Sharon Kay Penman’s ‘finest work’ and I whole heartedly agree! I am a fan and have been for a long time because SKP never disappoints. I liked A King’s Ransom even more than Lionheart, the first in her Richard I series. In Penman’s hands there is no such thing as boring history and always surprises even if you know the story. She also has a way of making parts of Ransom visceral. You’ll suffer with Richard in prison and through his PTSD, pine with Berengaria, cry with and for Arne, really loath either Philippe Capet or the Holy Roman Emperor or both and be filled with hope for Richard’s sister Joanne. Though Richard looms large in every novel he’s in, he comes alive in Penman’s able hands as does the 12th century.
    • 4/5
      This was a good -reads giveaway. I really enjoyed this book for the in-depth focus on the Richard I and his family. There were parts that were slow moving, and it took me a good while to really get into this book and begin enjoy it. The more I read the more I began to enjoy Penman's writing and her vision of the Angevins.
    • 5/5
      I have been a Sharon Kay Penmaniac for a very long time and I have read each and every one of her books about the Angevin family, and depicting the lives of this very colourful family was a work of love that took Ms. Penman 20 years to create. There are five wonderful books in this historical series. But, although this book wasn't my favourite in this series, it was the one that haunted my dreams at night. The book covers the final seven years of Richard the Lionheart's life. It begins with Richard leaving the Holy Land because he must return home to fight to reclaim his Kingdom. While he was fighting in the Crusades, his feckless brother John made an alliance with his sworn enemy, Philip II of France. Philip has been plundering his Aquitaine kingdom and John is laying waste to the southern part of England. Although Richard has not completed his sworn task in the Holy Land, he must leave in order to reclaim the Kingdom and the legacy that his father Henry II created. The book covers his dangerous journey home, his capture and imprisonment by the Germans and the Herculean efforts that his formidable mother Queen Eleanor (of Aquitaine) goes to to raise the huge ransom that is demanded for his release. Richard finally is freed after much intrigue and double-dealing and heads back to England and France to fight for his Kingdom. There are a lot of battle scenes in this book and of course they are picturesquely depicted by Ms. Penman. She spares no blood, guts or glory in any of her books. Was Richard a good king? Ms. Penman leaves that to her readers to decide, but he was certainly colourful and larger than life. Every character in this book is a real historical figure, and every scene is a real historic occurrence. Ms. Penman's research is extensive and I appreciate that I'm reading books as true to history as possible, but it is her skill in making these historical figures so very real and human and that is what brings me back to her books each time she writes a new one. I am sorry that I've come to the end of this series, but I look forward to the next one. She will not disappoint I'm sure.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was so well-written that I almost felt that I was living in the same time as Richard the Lionhearted. Every part of the book was enjoyable and emotional. I highly recommend it for historical fiction lovers.
    • 4/5
      A fascinating look Richard I's captivity and life after the Crusade. A little long winded at times but few can match Penman's ability to transport readers through time.
    • 5/5
      Richard the Lionheart has come down through history as a figure larger than life. More hero than not his actual record as King of England is mixed but as the subject of a novel - his life is at times stranger than fiction so it makes for fascinating reading especially in the hands of a storyteller such as Ms. Penman. I've been reading her books since she started writing them and I've only missed one - the first in her Angevin trilogy, The Devil's Brood. This conclusion to that series wraps up the life of Richard quite satisfactorily.A King's Ransom covers the period of his life as he tries to come home from his last Crusade and finds himself captured and held for a ransom that is sure to bankrupt England. But his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine will raise that ransom to rescue her favorite son. Meanwhile his brother John will do what he can to thwart Richard's return because he wants to remain in power.Who needs fiction when the facts are so compelling? But it's the fiction that pulls it all together into a very compelling read. I do love my English history and I am never quite so happy as when I have a doorstop of a book to get lost in so with A King's Ransom I was in my glory. I will say that Richard does come across somewhat god like and I take some issue with that as I do not think he was one of England's great kings - he was hardly in England! He was though an eminently fascinating man.The book reads very quickly and while it can stand alone I think it was helpful to me as a reader to have read Lionheart first. Just to have all of that delightful background. There are a LOT of characters and it does take a while to sort them all out especially their titles from their names but once that is done the book is a rich depiction of the last years of a man who left a large shadow on history. A rip roaring good read with a very satisfying ending.
    • 4/5
      This is a large and grand historical work, full of period detail. As with her other works, the author puts great store in historical accuracy. However, lest potential readers think this is a dry, lacklustre work, that is surely not the case. This work reads more like an adventures novel. The author's notes at the end also provide insights and additional details regarding key points in the book. Be warned, this is a long book, not a beach read or one to be consumed in one sitting. Rather, it is a book to be enjoyed and savored over time.
    • 5/5
      Until quite recently it had been a long time since I've read any historical fiction, but after reading Sharon Kay Penman's newest book, A King's Ransom, I may have to return to this genre again. In this book Penman tells the story of the last six years of the life of Richard I, one of the most illustrious kings of England during the middle ages. She picks up the story of Richard as he is returning to England from the Crusades. The engine that drives Richard during this period of his life is the personal enmity he has for Philippe Capet, the king of France and his constant adversary. It would seem that all the conflict in Richard's life is in some way connected to his conflict with Philippe.Penman writes a rich and captivating story, intertwining many real historical events and people. I thought that she did a masterful job in portraying events that actually happened in ways that are plausible, given the relative paucity of archives from the 12th century. Likewise the portrayals of the interior thoughts and emotions of her cast of characters is very believable, without presuming to overlay on them the thought processes and mores of our day.One of the significant supporting characters in the story is Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. A quick online search will reveal the profound influence she carried over the politics of England and France for 50 years, having at one time been the queen of each country. I couldn't read of Eleanor in this book without my imagination being carried to the glimpse of Eleanor's life that was portrayed by Katherine Hepburn in The Lion In Winter. It was a joining of images in my mind which I found continually delightful. I am quite unfamiliar with Penman's body of work and I understand that A King's Ransom is a follow-up to an earlier volume on the first half of Richard's life. I did not feel any loss in not having read the earlier volume and believe this story easily stands all by itself. It is eminently readable and I highly commend it.
    • 4/5
      This is a book I received from Library Thing Early Reviewers offerings. I had not read any previous work by this wonderful authoress, Sharon Kay Penman. I will be looking for other books by her, based upon this read. I knew a little about Richard I. His time of live is not my knowledge specialty. I truly enjoyed this book and happily recommend it to other readers. Reading about the Lionhart was a great experience. I loved hearing about his Mother and his sister Joanna. I was already much aware of his brother John. The descriptions of life in those times makes this worth the read of nothing else. The authoress does a good job of letting us see much of the personality of her main characters as well as some of the secondary characters. It is not my habit to write long reviews. My position is if this is not your period in history and you have no interest - I cannot inspire you. For those of you with even the slightest interest in this period of time - give this excellent book a chance - read it.
    • 4/5
      An in depth look at the life of Richard I, the Lionheart, from his time after the Crusade until his untimely death. It also gives a glance at the lives of his mother, Eleanor, his sister, Joanna and his brother and heir, John during the same time and after Richard dies. It was a different time from now; things and lives handled in ways we would balk at today, but for some, their lives were good anyway.
    • 5/5
      I have, admittedly, been a fan of Penman for a good many years, ever since my forays into historical fiction quickly led me to her work. Known for her attention to historical accuracy as well as her ability to simply tell a whopping good story, she has never disappointed. However even with that in mind, I did not expect the sheer pleasure of A King's Ransom.The sequel to her successful Lionheart, the story of England's Richard I, A King's Ransom picks up where Lionheart left off: as Richard and his crusaders are leaving the Holy Land in 1192 to return home before Richard's smarmy younger brother John, the French King, and the Holy Roman Emperor can do further damage in Richard's absence. Those who know their history are aware that Richard's return to England does not go as planned. And that is the essence of 657 pages of A King's Ransom.Penman has, in my opinion, exceeded all previous efforts here. Not once - not one single time - did the story bog down in tedious detail. Every word counted. Each and every character - not just our primary protagonists - was fully fleshed out and unique. Historical details abounded and never once distracted from the story; they enhanced every page. Simply put: she made history come alive and that is what an accomplished historical fiction novelist can do. I was literally saddened when I turned the last page...as much for the story line (even though I knew my history and knew what was coming) as for the fact the book was finished. (Yes, I know I could always read it again, but you can never quite recapture that feeling that comes from reading a fantastic novel for the first time, can you?)If you've not read the previous book, Lionheart, I strongly suggest you read that before reading this book. If you like it as much as I think you will, you'll want to go back and read her entire series of books on the Angevin family that ruled England because they really are wonderful. Happy reading, everyone!
    • 3/5
      Calling all cars, calling all cars. Here's the story on the Smoke Rise kidnapping. The missing boy is 8 years old, fair hair, wearing a red sweater. His name is Jeffry Reynolds, son of Charles Reynolds, chauffeur to Douglas King. The police at the 87th Precint hate kidnappers. And these kidnappers are stupid, too. They took the wrong boy, the chauffeur's son instead of the son of the rich tycoon, Douglas King. And they want a ransom of $500.000. A lot of money. But it's not too much to pay for a little boy's life...is it?
    • 4/5
      A perfect example of what sets McBain's books apart from the other police procedurals, King's Ransom is a story about a kidnapping that has little to do with the child or the crime, but a lot to do with the men involved and the decisions they make.Douglas King is a successful and cut-throat businessman, and he's about to pull a corporate takeover that will either make or break him. But when his chauffeur's son is accidentally snatched instead of his own, and the kidnappers still demand the ransom, King finds himself having to choose between his future or the life of an employee's son.The focus on this story rests heavily on two men, the choices they make in life, and the women who stand beside them. Douglas King's wife barely recognizes the cold and calculating man as the one she married, while the wife of kidnapper Eddie Folsom is dealing with her own doubts and fears as what she thought was to be a bank robbery turns into a kidnapping. The motivation of both men can be traced to a need to provide for their families, but this desire puts them in direct conflict with the women they strive to work for, and poses questions regarding loyalty, determination, mercy, and the ultimate price of success. The characters, the story, and even the atypical resolution all set this tale apart from the rest. Unlike most crime fiction, the desperation here runs deeper than money.The two female leads draw a stark contrast to the heartless molls in the last couple of novels, showing a level of complexity and depth that one must never forget McBain is capable of. The regular 87th bulls, Carella, Hawes, Meyer, and Kling find themselves spending most of their time at the King Estate, with less legwork then your typical precinct caper. They're also joined by Byrnes, who handles the high-profile case personally, and newcomer Andy Parker, an obnoxious and loudmouthed instigator whose main role seems to be to fill the gap left by the death of Haviland back in Killer's Choice. Every batch has a bad apple, and Parker seems to be the one with the worm. Willis and Brown also make an appearance, but mostly while catching back at the precinct.On a minor note, Hawes' steady Christina from Till Death and Lady Killer, is conspicuously absent. Considering that he makes a date with a stripper this episode, it might be safe to assume that she will not be returning.Cliff Savage, the arrogant reporter that endangered Teddy through his column in The Con Man, phones in a quick guest appearance when he calls the station and attempts to shake down Brown for information regarding the King kidnapping. McBain's one weakness so far, if you can call it that, is his somewhat unflattering portrayal of the news media up to this point.