The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 13 books · 1982 to 2014 · Often set in Winchester

Sharon Kay Penman

Crime and mysteryHistorical fictionHistorical crimeMedieval and TudorFamily saga

Sharon Kay Penman wrote richly detailed novels of medieval England and Wales: The Sunne in Splendour, a sympathetic life of Richard III; the Welsh Princes trilogy; and the Plantagenet novels about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her Justin de Quincy books are medieval mysteries.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Apart from Justin de Quincy, the characters are real historical figures as portrayed in the novels.

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Who appears in which book

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LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Sharon Kay Penman books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Welsh Princes

3 books · Set in WalesMedieval and TudorFamily saga
  1. 1Here Be Dragons1985With Llywelyn Fawr and JoannaBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Falls the Shadow1988With Simon de MontfortBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Reckoning1991With Llywelyn ap GruffyddBuy on Amazon

Plantagenets

5 books · Set in England and FranceMedieval and TudorFamily saga
  1. 1When Christ and His Saints Slept1994Buy on Amazon
  2. 2Time and Chance2002With Henry II and Eleanor of AquitaineBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Devil's Brood2008With Henry II and Eleanor of AquitaineBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Lionheart2011With Richard the LionheartBuy on Amazon
  5. 5A King's Ransom2014With Richard the LionheartBuy on Amazon

Justin de Quincy

4 books · Set in WinchesterHistorical crime
  1. 1The Queen's Man1996With Justin de QuincyBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Cruel as the Grave1998With Justin de QuincyBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Dragon's Lair2003With Justin de QuincyBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Prince of Darkness2005With Justin de QuincyBuy on Amazon

Standalone

1 book · Set in LondonMedieval and Tudor
  1. 1The Sunne in Splendour1982With Richard IIIBuy on Amazon

Characters

9 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Wales

The Plantagenets

Justin de Quincy

Richard III