- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (Mar 15 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312970617
- ISBN-13: 978-0312970611
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 9.9 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #602,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Wales, the 12th Century: As told by Brenda, a mistress of Owain, the Prince of Wales, the court of Gwynedd faces the threat of amalgamation by the English realm and the Christian religion. Afraid of a fateful prophecy about her newborn son, Brenda flees Owain and Wales for the safety of a druid camp in Ireland. Comforted by their spiritual beliefs and the handsome Sein, Brenda begins to adapt to druid ways and to study druid knowledge. But when Owain's men recapture her, she claims that her son Madoc has died and reluctantly returns to court. Disgusted with Owain's bloodlust and the rivalry among his mistresses and sons, Brenda dreams of the day she'll return to her son and the druid community. But Madoc is fostered to a local druid teacher, just as the danger of external invasion and internal betrayal threaten Owain's power. Brenda fears the disintegration of Gwynedd's stability and the loss of the druid values, and finds her fate closely bound to her old lover and her secret son.
Anna Lee Waldo's extensive research, rich details, and skillful writing make this medieval Welsh world of family betrayals, political intrigue, battling religious faiths, and unrequited love spring to life. Like Clavell's Shogun or Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, Circle of Stones describes a historical period with an understanding that highlights the timeless aspects of human nature. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Researching Sacajawea, her first historical novel, Waldo encountered the legend of the blond Welshman, Madoc, who sailed to the Americas three centuries before Columbus. That tale inspired this well-researched but sometimes stolidly paced novel whose Irish heroine, Brenda, is the favored mistress of Owain, Prince of Gwynedd in North Wales, and mother of Madoc. When Owain falls prey to a superstitious prophecy and demands the newborn boy be put to death, Brenda flees with the help of Druids. On her forced return to Owain, she pretends Madoc has been killed. Brenda finds she cannot love Owain, but she does become his trusted adviser and a talented healer. The narrative is anecdotal and episodic, offering a variety of historical characters in the years 1151-1170 A.D, and employing archaic language and spelling. Waldo takes some unconventional risks: Owain's two wives, Gladys and Christiannt, both New Religionists (Christians), are presented as foolish, selfish women, in marked contrast to wise, courageous Brenda, who favors the Old Religionists (the Druids). Madoc, predestined at birth to be a leader and man of peace, later comes to seek out his mother and serve his father. Brenda is only one of several fully realized characters, a woman who struggles with the male-dominated 12th-century social code but still orchestrates a fulfilling life for herself. At times Waldo's determination to represent the religious and political history of the epoch retards the thrust of her narrative, but readers will appreciate the complex dynamics she portrays within her fact-filled epic.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Madoc was born near Snowden Mountain in the Valley of Nant Gwynant in North Wales...the son of Owain Gwynedd, King of North Wales...and...Brenda...therefore not a son of Cristiant, Owain's second wife. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Madoc was born near Snowden Mountain in the Valley of Nant Gwynant in North Wales...the son of Owain Gwynedd, King of North Wales...and...Brenda...therefore not a son of Cristiant, Owain's second wife. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Sacjawea, but still pretty good.,
By
This review is from: Circle of Stones: A Novel (Paperback)
Waldo's Sacajawea is probably one of my all-time favourite books, so that's why I decided to read her series on Madoc. Although this book didn't grab me in the same way, it is still a very well-researched story about a little-known time and a historical person that not many know about. Her descriptions are very real, and in this book are actually quite graphic because the subject matter truly reflects the way that things were back in the 11 century. Life was short and terror, fear and superstition ruled all. I also found that the women in the book, especially Brenda, are very well drawn and they are truly remarkable and memorable. I think Ms. Waldo captures medieval Wales and the passions that drove men and women in these dark days very well. We laugh with these people, grieve with them, cry with them and love with them. That in itself is a sign of good historical novelist. Don't be daunted by the size of the book, or by some of the reviews. If you love historical sagas, then this book is one you shouldn't miss.
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's not that bad ...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Circle of Stones: A Novel (Paperback)
Ok, so it's not as well written or edited as a Morgan Llywelyn novel, but it's not that bad and fans of Ms. Llywelyn will probably enjoy this book. It is incredibly well researched and I appreciated that the author included the rich details (which seem to have bothered other reviewers) because they put the story into the context of 12th century Wales. If you are interested in learning about Wales during the period of Henry and Eleanor of Acquitaine, I can think of no better book than this one. Finally, I disagree that Brenda was a weak and contradictory character. Instead, her decision to return to Prince Owein took tremendous courage and was based in part on loyalty to her father (who gave her to Owein for as long as he wanted her - a concept foreign to us in the 21st century) and, in part, for fear of her life and the life of her son. It is just not appropriate to evaluate women in the past [9 centuries ago] by modern standards. Brenda's actions demonstrated honor, bravery, and skill. But don't take my word for it, read the book and see what you think.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Less than Satisfying,
By
This review is from: Circle of Stones: A Novel (Paperback)
When I read in the 'Circle of Stones' Afterward that the book originally spanned over 1000 pages and was split in two on the advice of Waldo's editor to make two separate entries of a trilogy, I realized why the book seemed pieced together rather than a complete and satisfying narrative. When Waldo sectioned her original manuscript, the strong and compelling style of her earlier work Sacajawea was muddled, resulting in a straightforward chronological genesis that neither intrigues or elicits the reader's interest. This first offering deals solely with Brenda, a Welsh handmaiden of the 12th century, mistress of Owain, prince of Wales whose son, Madoc, purportedly reached the Americas way before Columbus and may have founded the Mandan Indian tribe of North Dakota. Brenda loves Owain, but as one of his concubines, has little power to pursue her dream of becoming a Druid healer. When her third child is born and Owain demands that she give up this child to his bereaved wife or drown him, Brenda decides to flee Wales for Ireland. She successfully protects her child, Madoc, from their pursuers and only after he is fostered does she return reluctantly to Wales where Owain and his household engulf her again with their day-to-day intrigues. As Owain ages, Brenda finds herself in the tumultuous position of make-shift counselor. Fearfully, she watches as his older sons battle for a foothold in their father's realm; one in particular will use any means to gain control of his father's power. Her one hope is Madoc, whom the druids prophesized would accomplish great things for the Welsh people. When he appears in Wales a man grown, she finds he is the lightbearer to a path where she can realize her own dreams and simultaneously aid him in fullfilling his destiny. All the elements of a great historical drama are utilized in 'Circle of Stones', however, their allignment fails to achieve anything beyond a mediocre telling of the tale. Brenda curries no distinguishing character traits that memorialize her in fiction. Owain merely struts and then dodders and drools in a most unsatisfying predictable sequence of events that is meant to illustrate the threat Wales faced in an uneasy alliance with the English king Henry. Rather than compel, the third person narrative style employed by Waldo, bores. I have no intention of picking up the next volume of the trilogy. Instead I will research the Mandan Indians and their connection to the Welsh via the library and the Internet. Even die-hard druid fans would find 'Circle of Stones' lacking...
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