Book Review and Giveaway: The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes

This book is a rich tapestry of fictionalized history.
 The Passionate Brood: A Novel of Richard the Lionheart and the Man Who Became Robin Hood by Margaret Campbell Barnes.

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402242050
• ISBN-13: 978-1402242052
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 (A good book but not necessarily a "need" to read and not for everyone.)

Description:

A Spirited Retelling of King Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade

"Margaret Campbell Barnes has been one of the most reliable of England’s historical novelists.”
—Chicago Tribune

In this compelling novel of love, loyalty, and lost chances, Margaret Campbell Barnes gives readers a new perspective on Richard the Lionheart’s triumphs and tragedies. Drawing on folklore, Barnes explores what might have happened if King Richard’s foster brother were none other than Robin Hood, a legendary figure more vibrant than most in authentic history. Thick as thieves as Richard builds a kingdom and marshals a crusade, the two clash when Robin Hood so provokes the king’s white hot temper that Richard banishes him. 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 Plantagenets.

Review: This started slowly but once I relaxed into the story I enjoyed it.

It will help if you start with the understanding that this is Historical FICTION.  Focus on the fiction.  Because this tells the tale of real historical people I (as others I am sure) was tempted to verify the accuracy of the chronology, conquests, loves and familial relationships.  That struggle remained during a good part of the book.  You may have seen some reviews that denounce the story for not being historically factual.   It may be noted that the book was initially published in 1944 and certainly the research abilities we have at the touch of a keyboard were not available then. I finally decided that if I treated it all as fiction I would enjoy it more... and so I did.

Richard’s military prowess and crusade campaign seem to be loosely based in fact. The chivalry and brutality may both be exaggerated.  The relationship with Robin Hood makes for an interesting story but is not consistent with the stories of Robin Hood as they have been popularized.  This created part of the “factual” inaccuracy for me. However it is likely that the popular stories of Robin Hood are fictional interpretations of folklore so they should not be deemed “factual” anyway.

What I found most interesting about the book was the consistent passionate portrayal of the Plantagenet family members: the controlling King Henry, the matriarchal and strong-minded Queen Eleanor, Henry the intense elder son, Richard the stubborn, warrior knight, Johanna (Joan) the lively sister, and John the youngest, covetous and contentious son and brother.  The early part of the story includes Robin as Richard’s foster brother, the son of Richard’s nursemaid. As Richard is the French raised son, Robin is portrayed as the promoter for the welfare of England and particularly of the common Englishman.  Robin and Richard are the closest of friends and Robin often serves as a calming influence and diplomatic intervener for Richard. They don’t always see eye to eye and this reaches a disastrous end when Robin calmly refuses to do as Richard desires,  provoking the King’s stubborn and blind fury. Although Robin does not appear much directly after the first third of the story, his influence remains by the effect of his absence in Richard’s life.  Robin’s influence is partially summed up in these phrases on pages 253-254 when Johanna, also raised with Richard in France, describes Robin saying: “...he showed us England....There was something in Robin that English people have–a sort of independence of soul...”

I enjoyed the author’s portrayal of Richard’s courtship and strong (if not completely faithful) love of his wife, Berengaria. Unfortunately Richard’s greatest love was military strategy and the Crusade. These ultimately cost Richard his kingdom, his bride and finally his life. Yet he is remembered for his bravery in those crusades as Richard the Lionheart.

The author had managed to wrap me into the personalities so that I was greatly saddened by the ending.  This is an often true-to-life sentiment that Berengaria makes during a quarrel with Richard near the end of the book, as Richard finally begins to see her sacrifice and frustrations with his military pursuits:“That’s just the tragedy, isn’t it?  Two people living together–thinking they know each other–and they’ve no idea...”

There are arranged marriages, political alliances, maneuvering and betrayal. There are emotional shortcomings and revelations. There is jealousy, hatred and love with lots of conflict throughout.  I enjoyed the depth of the writing and I believe if you read the book with the premise that it is not intended to be an accurate accounting of history, then it can be enjoyed as a fine romantic, historical fiction.

 xxx

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the book to read and review.

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