Editing Sharon Kay Penman (section)

== Writing career ==
''[[The Sunne in Splendour]]'' is about the end of England's [[War of the Roses]]. In the book, Penman characterizes [[King Richard III of England|King Richard III]] as a healthy, if misunderstood, ruler.<ref>{{cite news |first=George |last=Johnson |title=New and Noteworthy: The Sunne in Splendour |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/04/books/new-noteworthy.html|newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 2, 1990 |access-date=2009-07-27}}</ref> She chose to write Richard's character in such a way after becoming fascinated with his story and researching his life, both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, which led her to believe that "his was a classic case of history being rewritten by the victor."<ref name=zollo />

Once finished with ''The Sunne in Splendour'' she claimed to have become "hopelessly hooked" on writing. She had plenty of material to be written about the "rebellious sons and disgruntled brothers and conniving kings and willful queens" of the [[House of Plantagenet|Plantagenets]] and hoped to write as many as a dozen books on the subject.<ref name=R3 /> After the publication of ''The Sunne in Splendour'', Penman began work on the Welsh Trilogy, set primarily in Wales.<ref name=R3>{{cite web |url=http://www.r3.org/fiction/roses/penman.html |title=On Reshaping History |work=Ricardian Fiction |publisher=Richard III Society, American Branch |access-date=2010-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211073431/http://www.r3.org/fiction/roses/penman.html |archive-date=February 11, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The "Welsh Trilogy" was followed by the "Plantagenet series", which presents the events of the life of [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] and [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]].<ref name=Baird1>{{cite journal |last=Baird |first=Jane Hendrikson |date=September 2008 |title=Devil's Brood |journal=Library Journal |volume=133 |issue=15 |pages=46–47 }}</ref>

Penman's settings are all in the [[Middle Ages]]; the Welsh Princes trilogy is set in the 13th century, two centuries earlier than ''The Sunne in Splendour''.<ref name=zollo /> During her research for ''[[Here Be Dragons]]'', the first book in the series, she became fascinated with the complexity of the role of women in medieval society; for example, Welsh women at the time had a great deal more independence than the English women. Whether in Wales or in England, a noble wife had responsibility for a household, complete with household knights, whom the wife relied upon to keep the household safe.<ref name = Moran>{{cite web |author=Moran, Michelle |title=Q&A With Historical Fiction Author Sharon Kay Penman |url=http://historicalfictionauthorinterviews.blogspot.com/2008/10/q-with-historical-fiction-author-sharon.html|date=October 13, 2008 |work= History Buff|publisher=sharonkaypenman.com|access-date=2010-02-16}}</ref>

In 1996, Penman published the first in the series of medieval [[Mystery fiction|mystery novels]]. Penman's first mystery, ''The Queen's Man'', was a finalist for an [[Edgar Award]] for Best First Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America.<ref name="The Edgar Awards Database"/> Penman explained her reasons for turning to the mystery genre after writing only historical novels: "By the time I'd finished researching and writing ''When Christ and His Saints Slept'', I was in danger of burning out. For the first time in nearly two decades, my boundless enthusiasm for the Middle Ages had begun to flag. So I decided I needed a change of pace, and since I am a long-time mystery fan, it occurred to me that a medieval mystery might be fun to write. Once that idea took root, it was probably inevitable that I'd choose to write about Eleanor of Aquitaine, surely one of history's most memorable women."<ref name=readinggroupguides>[http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_C/cruel_as_the_grave2.asp Author Interview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116002824/http://readinggroupguides.com/guides_C/cruel_as_the_grave2.asp |date=January 16, 2010 }} Reading Group Guides.2009. Retrieved 2009-15-06.</ref>

Set in the 12th century, Penman presents the young Justin de&nbsp;Quincy as a medieval [[Detective|sleuth]]. In the first book he is elevated to the status of "queen's man" by [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]].<ref>{{cite journal |author= Klett, Rex E. |year=1996 |title=The Queen's Man |journal= Library Journal|volume=121 |issue=16 |pages=130 }}</ref> ''The Queen's Man'' and ''Cruel as the Grave'' depict the period after [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]]'s death, as Eleanor, about age 70, rules the [[Angevin empire]] with one son [[Richard I of England|(Richard)]] in captivity, and another son ([[John of England|John]]) hovering at the edge of power.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery |url=http://www.r3.org/penman/queensmn.html |year=1996 |publisher=Richard III Society, American Branch |access-date=2009-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413054702/http://www.r3.org/penman/queensmn.html |archive-date=April 13, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The third novel in the series, ''The Dragon's Lair'', is set during the same period, but Penman shifts the locale to northwest England and north Wales.<ref>{{cite journal |year=2003 |title=Dragon's Lair |journal= Kirkus Reviews|volume=71 |issue=16 |pages=1049}}</ref> And finally, in the most recent novel of the series, ''Prince of Darkness'', Penman continues to show the conflict between mother and sons, and weaves in de&nbsp;Quincy's conflicts as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prepub Mystery|access-date=2006-06-06|date=December 15, 2004|url=http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA485975.html|publisher=LibraryJournal.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607135602/http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA485975.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In addition to the Edgar Award, Penman was the winner of the 2001 Career Achievement Award for Historical Mysteries from Romantic Times.<ref name=prepub /><ref>{{cite web|title=RT Book Reviews: 2001 Career Achievement Award Winners|access-date=2010-02-14|url=http://www.romantictimes.com/books_awards.php?year=2001&type=author&level=2|publisher=Romantic Times Book Reviews |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080213092316/http://www.romantictimes.com/books_awards.php?year=2001&type=author&level=2 |archive-date = February 13, 2008}}
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