Strongbow

From the Publisher
In a desperate attempt to reclaim his lost kingdom, Aoife’s father offers her in marriage to Strongbow, son of the Anglo-Norman conqueror Lord Pembroke. This dramatic portrait of a fierce warrior who sought glory in a hostile foreign land and his wild Irish princess is an epic saga of love, war, and survival in 12th-century Ireland. Llywelyn is the renowned author of Lion of Ireland among other acclaimed works.

Kirkus Reviews
A fictionalized biography based on true events in 12th-century England and Ireland, and told in alternating chapters by the principals, Richard de Clare-Strongbow-and Aoife. Both are children of warriors who have been stripped of their titles by hostile kings. Richard and Aoife’s desires to regain what has been lost bring them together in a war for control of Ireland.

The events of the tale are inherently compelling, but for a story grounded in warfare, the battle scenes are rather tepid. The alternating first-person narrations are oddly confusing-it may be hard for readers to keep track of all of the names. Llywelyn (Brian Boru, 1995, etc.) has created a book that, as an introduction to little-known historical incidents and people, is valuable and interesting; as a novel it is flawed.