A tragic story, made the more so by lots of heavy foreshadowing of tragic events. It starts with an uneasy peace between Edward and Llewlelyn but it soon becomes clear that Edward means to destry any independent Wales. Then the ever hard to understand David kicks it all into war and the quite foreseeable and tragic ending. After I finished, I read some history and it seems she did stick to the known facts and then created characters to make the story. She did a marvelous job of it, a good series of novels and worth reading.

Warning: this review contains spoilers (albeit for events that are part of the historical record).

This book broke my heart. Edward I should have been ashamed of himself for his appalling treatment of the Welsh. His weaselling with words and dicking around with delay tactics were irritating; his callous breaking up of the princes and princesses of Wales and his grossly disproportionate death sentence for David left me fuming.

Edith Pargeter writes very well to fill matters of historical record with suspense and tension, and to bring the personalities to life as characters with whom readers can identify. I especially liked Eleanor and Elizabeth -- Elizabeth's defiant retort to Edward of "YOU were the one who told me to marry David and love and obey him, so anything I do on that score is YOUR fault" was breathtakingly awesome. In your face, Longshanks!

The quartet as a whole is recommended. It's even better to read if you know the area of Gwynedd or can look up pictures as you read. Seeing the landscape will bring home just how much Llywelyn valued the defence of his homeland. ( )