I dearly love getting lost in vast historical sagas, so when I heard about The House of Lanyon, I knew I just had to read it. Having plowed through this book, I can say that while it is huge and also historical, the characters never fully come to life. Nearly 600 pages of bland, colorless characters is a little much for anyone and, while this book has some good points that raise it to a level slightly above average, I would still advise giving it a pass.

The story covers the fortunes of the Lanyon family, farmers and sellers of wool in Exmoor, and their rivals, the landowning Sweetwater family. Richard Lanyon is a proud and ambitious man, and he resents his aristocratic landlords. When the Sweetwaters’ hunting party disrupts the funeral of his father, Richard sees that as the final straw and much of his life thereafter is devoted to proving himself to the Sweetwater family.

Richard aims to better himself by, among other means, betrothing his son Peter to Liza Weaver, the daughter of cloth merchants with whom Richard does business. The fact that Peter loves another does not factor into the equation. On the other side of the marriage, Liza’s own forbidden love gets no consideration either. As a result, each party enters the marriage with a broken heart – a situation one would expect to lead to more heartbreak.

However, the Lanyon’s story has a much larger focus than simply the early disappointments of Peter and Liza. The story covers nearly fifty years and readers see the changing fortunes of the Lanyons, as well as the effects upon ordinary folk of the tumultuous last years of the Wars of the Roses.

One does not see familiar historical events inserted into Anand’s story as often as is common in historical fiction. However, given the parameters of the story, this plotting choice makes a lot of sense. None of the major characters travel in high Court circles and the machinations of the royal families would not be directly seen in their day-to-day lives. In the 15th century, one could not broadcast news instantaneously and a rural town would hear of events long after they occurred. In addition, the effects of events elsewhere in the country might be seen only in subtle or indirect fashion in daily village life.

The Lanyons and Sweetwaters’ everyday lives and disagreements are well-drawn, and that is the book’s chief strength. The details of the Lanyon’s trade and what they must do to rise in society, given the laws and social rules of the time, are explained well without the reader feeling lectured. This all made the lives of the characters seem much more real.

However, even this aspect could not save the story from having a rather distant quality. The various Lanyons and Sweetwaters simply do not come alive as they should. One gets little insight into the minds and hearts of the characters, so their struggles do not resonate with the reader as they need to for the book to fully succeed. If you are looking for a vivid historical saga with well-drawn characters, I would recommend searching out Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ wonderful Morland Dynasty series rather than wasting hard-earned money on The House of Lanyon

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