From the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Sharon Kay Penman comes the story of the reign of King Baldwin IV and the Kingdom of Jerusalem’s defense against Saladin’s famous army.The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as Outremer, is the land far beyond the sea. Baptized in blood when the men of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Saracens in the early twelfth century, … the early twelfth century, the kingdom defined an utterly new world, a land of blazing heat and a medley of cultures, a place where enemies were neighbors and neighbors became enemies.
At the helm of this growing kingdom sits young Baldwin IV, an intelligent and courageous boy committed to the welfare and protection of his people. But despite Baldwin’s dedication to his land, he is afflicted with leprosy at an early age and the threats against his power and his health nearly outweigh the risk of battle. As political deception scours the halls of the royal court, the Muslim army–led by the first sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin–is never far from the kingdom’s doorstep, and there are only a handful Baldwin can trust, including the archbishop William of Tyre and Lord Balian d’Ibelin, a charismatic leader who has been one of the few able to maintain the peace.
Filled with drama and battle, tragedy and romance, Sharon Kay Penman’s latest novel brings a definitive period of history vividly alive with a tale of power and glory that will resonate with readers today.
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Although this novel got off to a slow start, I loved discovering the courage, heroism and leadership of a couple of characters I had never heard of before. King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, born in 1161, succeeded to the throne on the death of his father in 1174 when he was 13. In 1177, at the age of 16, he won an unexpected victory against Saladin (Salah ad-Din) at the Battle of Montgisard. He continued to weld his fractious nobles together and keep Saladin at bay until his tragic death at the too-early age of 23 or 24 on 16 March 1185. This is all the more remarkable given that he contracted leprosy at the age of 10, the disease which killed him.
His achievement is all the more glorious set against what happened after his death. Under the inept leadership of Guy de Lusignan (husband of Baldwin’s sister Sybilla) it took only 30 months for Jerusalem to fall to Saladin in October 1187, following his victory at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin on 4 July 1187.
Hattin decimated the native-born Frankish ruling class of Outremer, who had town-houses in Jerusalem, and country estates in what is now Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Syria. They were unable to put up much of a fight when Saladin appeared 3 months later with a large army outside Jerusalem.
They would have been unable to put up any fight at all, were it not for the second character I so enjoyed reading about, Balian d’Ibelin, a Frankish noble born in Outremer (the land beyond the sea) in the 1140s, who somehow managed to persuade Maria Comnena (the widowed Queen of Baldwin IV’s father) to become his wife. Balian was a native-born lord of Outremer, (not a “foreigner” from France) and so he was thoroughly acculturated to that interesting blend of French and Arabic cultures that existed in Outremer (the Crusader States) in the 1100s. He spoke Arabic well, which was useful when he had to negotiate terms with Saladin, who wanted to enslave 33,000 of the poorer inhabitants of Jerusalem. Somehow, Balian d’Ibelin managed to convince him not to do that, but to allow everyone to leave peacefully and re-settle in the Christian territories of Tripoli and Antioch.
How inspiring to read about two men who used their gifts to help their people and do the right thing! If the coronavirus is making you depressed, I suggest you reach for this novel. Five stars. #sharonkaypenman #thelandbeyondthesea #outremer
Not Sharon’s BEST book, but amazing nonetheless. Some rushing must have been done as, uncharacteristically to the author, certain characters lacked the deep characterization I love her works for. Very slow burn and the main focus isn’t really Baldwin IV but the court politics, mostly viewed through Balian d’Ibelin. Her research is well done, and what isn’t covered in the book is certainly covered in lengthy author’s note. Wish the movie Kingdom of Heaven was based on this book (and history) that the fanfiction we got. Finally a neutral, maybe even slightly positive (as far as people participating are concerned), look on Crusades. It is refreshing when they are people doing people things instead of some bloodthirsty monsters.
This book is about the reign of Baldwin IV, the Leper King, during the 12th century Crusades. True to her style, Sharon Kay Penman brings him to life in a way that you will feel his angst as he makes difficult decisions of who will lead Jerusalem into the future after he is gone. He was highly intelligent, a compassionate leader, and brilliant battle commander. The history of Jerusalem was forever changed upon his death.
A brilliantly researched true story of the crusades that has all the intrigue, drama, and warfare of Game of Thrones (truly, some of the twists prove that real life is often stranger than fiction) but without the stupidity of Season 8! If only someone would make a 5-season Netflix show out of this one.
4 stars is a bit of a gift. As someone who reads more historical fiction than any other genre and has, for many years, considered Sharon Kay Penman the best of the best — you can imagine how much I was looking forward to THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA – her first novel in about five years. And it’s a tome – nearly 700 pages of very small type. But, alas, I came away disappointed.
The novel begins in 1163, focusing on all the events that culminated in the pivotal Christian vs. Saracen battle over the Holy Land 24 years later. Much of the story explores complex court rivalries – between ambitious lords vying for power and among church prelates who are just as competitive — all the while featuring girls and women married off as pawns to cement alliances.
There are a few wonderful main characters. At the center is Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, the so-called “leper king”, his mother Agnes of Courtenay, and William of Tyre- Baldwin’s friend, tutor, and father-figure. All three are strong, well-differentiated, and multi-dimensional. All are characters I came to understand and empathize with. Especially the well-intentioned and thoughtful Baldwin, a mere youth who bravely leads his kingdom while battling a disabling and degenerative disease.
I also enjoyed following the story of Balian of d’Ibelin with interest. He was one of the more intelligent and thoughtful nobles in Jerusalem, whose marriage becomes the central romance of the novel. Both Balian and his wife are also well-developed and distinctive.
But then there are all those others. SO MANY of them. And so many that have only a minimal role in the plot. I have to admit I found it a struggle to keep track of who was who. And the similarity in names certainly didn’t help:
• In addition to King Baldwin and Balian — there is also Baudouin d’Ibelin, Bohemond, and Baldwin (the grandson of IV).
• There’s Hugh d’Ibelin, Hugues (son of the Princess of Galilee), and three characters named Humphrey de Toron.
• Among the women, there’s is Esquiva, Etienette, and Eschiva.
• Among the Saracens, you have Nur ad-Din Mahmud b. Zangi, al-Salih Ismaeil b. Nur al-Din, al Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Abu af Musaffur Yusuf, al-Malik al-‘Adil, Taqi al-Din, al-Malik al-Musaffar ‘Umar b. Shahanshah b. Ayyub, and Farrukh-Shah, ‘Izz al’Din Da’ud b. Shanhanshah b. Ayyub.
• Among the other players are Renaud de Grenier (also referred to as Denys), Reynald de Chatillon, and Raymond de St. Gilles (sometimes referred to as the Count of Tripoli)
• We also have Joscius (Bishop of Acre), Jobert (of the Knights Hospitaller), Jakelin de Mailly (Templar knight), and Joscelin de Courtenay (brother to Agnes – referenced way, way back in this review).
But wait. There are roughly another 30 characters not yet mentioned, including several more Williams and a couple of Marys.
One of the things I generally value with this author is the depth of her research. But in this novel, I felt she got a bit buried in it. At times I felt I was reading more of a scholarly work, rather than a historical novel. You will certainly learn a lot about the the battle for the Holy Land – so important to both Christians and Muslims (and Jews too). And Penman’s commitment to accuracy (she only made a few changes according to her Afterword) is admirable — but I found the number of characters and the level of detail (especially around battles) became downright cumbersome. And about 200 pages before the end, I was ready to be done.
Fortunately, the last few hundred pages turned out to be full of building drama. So I kept reading. And I’m glad I finished it. But this one certainly isn’t my favorite historical novel by this author.