This series delves into the dramatic lives and influential reigns of medieval English queens. It uncovers their often-overlooked roles in governance and political maneuvering, revealing the complexities of their power and struggles. Each volume offers meticulously researched and vividly told narratives that restore these fascinating women to their rightful historical significance. Readers will discover compelling portraits of powerful female sovereigns who shaped the course of English history.
Brings England's Norman queens out of the shadows and dazzlingly to life. Drawing on a wealth of fascinating contemporary sources, Alison Weir presents the drama, passion and intrigue of these extraordinary women's lives and restores them to their rightful place in history. A masterpiece. Tracy Borman
The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens on the battlefield, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval restrictions to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill. Alison Weir's ground-breaking history of the queens of Medieval England now moves into a period of even higher drama, from 1154 to 1291: years of chivalry, dynastic ambition, conflict with the church, baronial wars, and the all-pervading bonds of feudalism. We see events such as the murder of Becket, Magna Carta and the birth of parliaments from a new perspective. Her narrative begins with the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Henry II establishes a dynasty which rules for over three hundred years and creates the most powerful empire in western Christendom - but also sows the seeds for some of the most destructive family conflicts in history and for the collapse, under her son King John, of England's power in Europe. The lives of Eleanor's successors were just as remarkable: Berengaria of Navarre, queen of Richard the Lionheart, Isabella of Angouleme, queen of John, and Alienor of Provence, queen of Henry III, and finally Eleanor of Castile, the grasping but beloved wife of Edward I. Through the story of these first five Plantagenet queens, Alison Weir provides an enthralling new perspective on a dramatic period of high romance and sometimes low politics, with determined women at its heart