As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.

Home / Books / Time and Chance
Time and Chance cover

Book

Time and Chance

by Sharon Kay Penman Book 2 in the Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine series.

First published 2002

Amazon
4.4(1,825)

England and the Angevin lands, 1156–1171. Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine rule a realm stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees while raising a large royal family. Henry’s efforts to strengthen royal justice bring him into conflict with Thomas Becket, his former chancellor and newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

The dispute over church privilege becomes exile, public confrontation and eventually Becket’s murder. Alongside the political crisis, the novel follows Eleanor’s role in dynastic government, Henry’s relationship with Rosamund Clifford and the growing ambitions of their sons, showing how the apparent strength of the Angevin court contains the foundations of later rebellion.

Historical Periods

Angevin Empire1154–1214 CE Thomas Becket and Church–Crown Conflict1162–1170 CE

Historical people

Eleanor of Aquitaine1124–1204 Henry II of England1133–1189 Richard I of England1157–1199 Henry the Young King1155–1183 Thomas Becket

Series reading order

Books in the Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine series

View the complete series

More from this period

5 more top-rated novels about Angevin Empire

Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.

Best novels about Angevin Empire

More from this period

5 more top-rated novels about Thomas Becket and Church–Crown Conflict

Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.

Best novels about Thomas Becket and Church–Crown Conflict

More by the author

Other books by Sharon Kay Penman

View all books by this author

Discover more

Authors similar to Sharon Kay Penman

Recommended from shared genres and periods.