Review: The Lion In Winter By John Goldman

The second play I read recently, and book 86 for the year, was The Lion In Winter by John Goldman.  I have seen the movie starring Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole about 100 times, it is one of my favorites, and I finally knuckled down and read the play last week.

The Lion In Winter takes place at the twilight of the reign of King Henry II, the first Plantagenet king of England, at a fictitious Christmas court held in Chinon, English-occupied France, in 1183.  Henry has recently buried his eldest son and heir, Henry the Young King, and at age 50, with death encroaching upon him, he must make the decision of who among his remaining three sons should succeed him as king.  There is Richard the Lionheart, the eldest, cold, ruthless, and distant -- a splendid fighter who hates his father Henry as much as he favors his mother.  Second in line is Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, a capricious schemer who resents his middle-child status.  Finally, there is John, who at sixteen is Henry's favorite, a stupid, spoiled, rapacious youth.  Thrown into the mix is the boys' mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, dungeoned up for the last ten years after daring to lead a revolution against Henry II, set free for the Christmas court to once again scheme and plot against Henry for the crime of loving others more than her, and Philip, King of France, who has come to settle accounts with Henry for taking his younger sister, Princess Alys, as a mistress instead of marrying her off to Richard as previous agreed.  The play takes the term "family dysfunction" to new heights as Henry battles in vain to keep his empire intact.

This is a play of little action, and all talk, same as the film.  Nothing happens in the film, except for one two-minute battle scene in the first 10 minutes.  After that, it's all talking, back-biting, scheming, and sarcasm.  But it is great.  Henry's interactions with his wife Eleanor are the best as they fight and tussle, hating and loving each other indiscriminately.  The boys are equally as entertaining, as sympathetic as they are vile.  The only character that I think is judged unfairly is Princess Alys, relegated to a sniveling complainer for the entirety of the play.  A fantastic piece of literature, which leaves me hankering to watch the movie.

Rating: ****