Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons is a historical novel written by Sharon Kay Penman and published in 1985. The novel is the first in a trilogy known as the Welsh Princes series set in medieval England, Wales and France that feature the Plantagenet kings. Plot Here Be Dragons is the first of Penman's trilogy about the medieval princes of Gwynedd and the monarchs of England. England's King John uses his out-of-wedlock daughter Joanna as a negotiating tool by marrying her to the Welsh noble Llewelyn to avoid war between England and Wales. Joanna and Llewelyn's marriage is marred by resentment from Llewelyn's illegitimate son, Gruffydd. Joanna gives birth to two legitimate children, Elen and Dafydd. Growing animosity between the English and Welsh results in Joanna having to act as a diplomatic intermediary between her husband and her father, and the situation deteriorates when Gruffydd is taken hostage by John and narrowly escapes execution. Joanna becomes determined that her own son, Dafydd, will be his father's heir as ruler of Gwynedd, disregarding the Welsh law that all sons should receive equal shares of their father's inheritance. Family disagreements lead Joanna into an affair with William de Braose, who is several years her junior and whom she has met earlier in the story when he was a hostage in Llewelyn's household. Their affair is discovered and William is executed. Joanna is placed in secluded captivity, but at the end of the book Llewelyn comes to find her and offers her forgiveness. Style and genre Penman utilizes characters who are in conflict and develops them well. Penman's characterizations are strong, with innocuous historical figures added to the story. She takes the slight historical mention of a character, such as Llewelyn's brother Adda, and adds him to the story, about whom she says, "All we know of Adda is his name." Llewelyn's seneschal Ednyfed Fychan, the forebear of King Henry VII, is important as Llewelyn's trusted friend. Of Fychan, Penman remarks: "I can't recall a time when I didn't know that Ednyfed was the ancestor of Henry Tudor. I assume I must have encountered that fact early in my research. Despite his dubious descendants, I was rather fond of Ednyfed as a character."