Description

From one of Britain’s best selling historians, a sweeping and magisterial history of the extraordinary lives of five queens in England’s turbulent Age of Chivalry

Medieval queens were seen as mere dynastic trophies, yet many of the Plantagenet queens of the High Middle Ages dramatically broke away from the restrictions imposed on their sex, as Alison Weir shows in this gripping group biography of England’s fourteenth-century consorts.

Using personal letters and wonderfully vivid sources, Alison Weir evokes the lives of five remarkable queens: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois.

The turbulent, brutal Age of Chivalry witnessed the Black Death, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Hundred Years War against France and savage baronial wars against the monarchy in which these queens were passionately involved. Queens of the Age of Chivalry brilliantly recreates this truly dramatic period of history through the lives of five extraordinary women.

“Stunning… [Weir has] brought those five queens to life like never before. I just raced through it – it has all the drama and suspense of a novel.” – Tracy Borman, praise for Queens of Crusades

Publisher Review

Stunning... [Weir has] brought those five queens to life like never before. I just raced through it - it has all the drama and suspense of a novel. -- Tracy Borman, praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES [A] historian who has achieved popularity without sacrificing scholarly precision... She writes with the dramatic intensity of a novelist. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times - praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES * The book that I most anticipated this year was Alison Weir's Queens of the Crusades... Told with all of Weir's characteristic verve and exceptional eye for detail, this book should find its way into every history lover's Christmas stocking. -- Tracy Borman * BBC History Magazine *Books of the Year 2020* - praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES * As in previous books, the exceedingly knowledgeable author's prodigious research is impressive. Another treat for Weir fans. * Kirkus Reviews, praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES * Weir... paints a rich image of the lives these queens led... this book shines a light on the turbulent but often forgotten stories of the queens of this important period in English history. * BBC History Magazine *