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The book's description from the author's website:
A sweeping novel of thirteenth-century England, Falls the Shadow
is the story of a weak and willful king and a brilliant but uncompromising baron: once
they had been friends, yoked by ties of marriage and by mutual if irksome need;
ultimately
they became implacable enemies enmeshed in a brutal war from which only one would emerge
alive. Falls the Shadow is the story of Henry III, cursed with the Plantagenet temper but lacking the Plantagenet will: faithful son of the Church, faithless liege lord; father of England's most famous warrior-king, wretched ruler of a rebellious realm. But for an accident of birth, he might have been a visionary architect, content in the role of paterfamilias. Instead, he inherited a crown -- and with it, all the problems left unresolved by the untimely death of his father, King John. Unable either to rule or to subdue, he would retreat into querulous impotence. And Falls the Shadow, finally, is the story of Simon de Montfort, youngest son of an influential French family, entitled to inherit neither land nor titles -- who talked his way into an earldom and marriage with the King's sister. Theirs would be a singular union: founded on a lie, defended by intense carnality, yet preserved by a fidelity unimaginable in an age of shifting allegiances based on self-interest alone.
Uncommonly able and dangerously outspoken, a fierce battle commander and a ruthless ally willing to risk all in defense of honor, Simon de Montfort embodied the chivalric code, stirring passions -- for good and for ill -- in all he brushed. It was inevitable that he would clash with Henry.
Oh what a book! And what a writer! I can count on the fingers of my one hand the contemporary authors of historical fiction whose skills parallel those of Sharon Kay Penman (and no, Philippa Gregory is not on that list). You read Penman's books and you can hope that maybe not all is yet lost in this 'limping' literary world of ours. We're lucky to have Sharon (and very few others) still write for us.
I'm sure you've heard it said (written) about good or great historical fiction authors (including Penman, no doubt) that they bring history to your doorstep. Well, let me tell you what Sharon does: she takes you and brings you to history's doorstep. What I mean by that is when you read Falls the Shadow, you read history in its purest, most entrancing form. The author doesn't modernize it, make it fluffy and simplistic enough to be easily processed and assimilated by our contemporary minds. As soon as you open this book (just as any other by SKP) and start reading, you will be whisked away, dropped off at 'the doorsteps' and will be given an enormous opportunity to walk through the history's wide open door.
And it's not only thanks to the author's impeccable research but also because of her great writing. Penman's gift to make all the characters be alive again just for us, readers is truly something to be treasured. And no, she doesn't make those people, who once lived and made history, just like us. No, she writes them just as they may have been during the reign of Henry III. They're their own persons and when you read about Simon de Montfort, about Nell, Countess of Pembroke, about King Henry III, his wife and about every other character thrown into this creature called History, you'll know there's no need to have them emulate our feeling, behaviors and personalities. I rather had a desire to be like them instead.
I've seen it written that Falls the Shadow wasn't up to a readers standards because they disliked Simon or Nell, or any other character because of the things they did. The problem with this is that Falls the Shadow might be fiction but the people in it, just like things they'd done were very much real. Ms. Penman couldn't have very well made Simon different from what he was. This book wouldn't then be claimed to be very well grounded in fact, would it?
Two more words of advice. Falls The Shadow is part two of The Welsh Trilogy (Here Be Dragons coming before and The Reckoning after). It's better to read them in order. Besides, Here be Dragons, which I reviewed previously, is just as fantastic. Another caution, make sure you have a box of tissues handy for the last 100 pages, because you will cry. I thought my heart was being ripped open, I swear.
gland, Mahelt Marshal’s life changes dramatically when her father is suspected by King John. Her brothers become hostages and Mahelt is married to Hugh Bigod, heir to the earldom of Norfolk. Adapting to her new life is hard, but Mahelt comes to love Hugh deeply; however, defying her father in law brings disgrace and heartbreak. When King John sets out to subdue the Bigods, Mahelt faces her worst fears alone, knowing neither she, nor her marriage are likely to survive the outcome. A story of huge emotional power set against the road to Magna Carta and the fight to bring a tyrant king to heel. 
though. If I didn't have to get up at 4:30 am every day (yes. that's when my son gets up), I would no doubt stay up all night just to read a little more and then some, of this story. 
Bastard-born but cherished daughter of King John, Joanna becomes a political pawn when her adored father arranges her marriage to Llewelyn Prince of Gwynedd, Wales, his bitter foe. The young bride is a stranger in a hostile land, married to a man she does not know. Until she comes to love her brilliant husband, leader of men, and passionate opponent to the English laws that chain his homeland. And as bloody wars break out once more between England and Wales, Joanna is caught in the crossfire of fatal enmity, her loyalties cruelly divided between her father and the man she loves.
is the reason why exactly I read and love historical fiction. This is a kind of book that gives you a story you can truly lose yourself in, lock the world away and pretend for at least the hours you're reading that nothing else but what's happening on the pages of the book exists.