Overview

“Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life.”—The Washington Post Book World An “insightful and compelling” (USA Today) biography of Isabella of England, one of history’s most notorious and charismatic queens, from the New York Times bestselling author hailed as “the finest historian of English monarchical succession writing” (The Boston Globe) Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to England’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed, she would become an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. But Queen Isabella’s political machinations led generations of historians to malign her, earning her a reputation as a ruthless schemer and an odious nickname, “the She-Wolf of France.” The newly wed Isabella was denied the attentions of Edward II, a weak, sexually ambiguous monarch with scant taste for his royal duties. As their marriage progressed, Isabella was neglected by her dissolute husband and slighted by his favored male courtiers. Humiliated and deprived of her income, her children, and her liberty, Isabella escaped to France, where she entered into a passionate affair with Edward II’s mortal enemy, Roger Mortimer. Together, they deposed Edward and ruled in his stead as co-regents for Isabella’s young son, Edward III. Fate, however, was soon to catch up with Isabella and her lover. A work of extraordinary original research, Queen Isabella strips away centuries of propaganda, legend, and romantic myth, and gives a groundbreaking new perspective on Isabella, a truly remarkable woman who had a profound influence upon the age in which she lived and the history of western Europe.

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Reviews

Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life. --The Washington Post Book World Insightful and compelling . . . [offers] surprise after surprise about the sensual, rather avaricious but eminently admirable Isabella. --USA Today [Isabella's] story has a distinctly modern appeal. . . . Full of violent men with short tempers, conniving politicians and wildly domineering parents, it's a period-piece melodrama that doubles as a timeless morality play. --The New York Times Book Review Fascinating . . . a work of extraordinary historical reporting that is rich, alive, and truly exciting. --Tucson Citizen Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life. The Washington Post Book World Insightful and compelling . . . [offers] surprise after surprise about the sensual, rather avaricious but eminently admirable Isabella. USA Today [Isabella s] story has a distinctly modern appeal. . . . Full of violent men with short tempers, conniving politicians and wildly domineering parents, it s a period-piece melodrama that doubles as a timeless morality play. The New York Times Book Review Fascinating . . . a work of extraordinary historical reporting that is rich, alive, and truly exciting. Tucson Citizen Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life. -- The Washington Post Book World Insightful and compelling . . . [offers] surprise after surprise about the sensual, rather avaricious but eminently admirable Isabella. -- USA Today [Isabella's] story has a distinctly modern appeal. . . . Full of violent men with short tempers, conniving politicians and wildly domineering parents, it's a period-piece melodrama that doubles as a timeless morality play. -- The New York Times Book Review Fascinating . . . a work of extraordinary historical reporting that is rich, alive, and truly exciting. -- Tucson Citizen Praise for Alison Weir Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley The finest historian of English monarchical succession writing now is Alison Weir. . . . Her assiduousness and informed judgment are precisely what make her a writer to trust. -The Boston Globe Conspiracy, treason, perjury, and forgery, along with . . . political assassination, and several deadly sins . . . While Ms. Weir does not stint on the sensational details, she is above all a historian and dogged researcher. She sifts through sources, which were often compromised, and thinks like a forensics expert. -The Wall Street Journal Eleanor of Aquitaine Evocative . . . a rich tapestry of a bygone age and a judicious assessment of her subject's place within it. -Newsday Extraordinary . . . as delicately textured as a twelfth-century tapestry . . . exhilarating in its color, ambition, and human warmth. The author exhibits a breathtaking grasp of the physical and cultural context of Queen Eleanor's life. -Publishers Weekly (starred review) From the Hardcover edition.

Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life. -- The Washington Post Book World Insightful and compelling . . . [offers] surprise after surprise about the sensual, rather avaricious but eminently admirable Isabella. -- USA Today [Isabella's] story has a distinctly modern appeal. . . . Full of violent men with short tempers, conniving politicians and wildly domineering parents, it's a period-piece melodrama that doubles as a timeless morality play. -- The New York Times Book Review Fascinating . . . a work of extraordinary historical reporting that is rich, alive, and truly exciting. -- Tucson Citizen

<p> Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life. -- The Washington Post Book World <br><br> Insightful and compelling . . . [offers] surprise after surprise about the sensual, rather avaricious but eminently admirable Isabella. -- USA Today <br><br> [Isabella's] story has a distinctly modern appeal. . . . Full of violent men with short tempers, conniving politicians and wildly domineering parents, it's a period-piece melodrama that doubles as a timeless morality play. -- The New York Times Book Review<br> <br> Fascinating . . . a work of extraordinary historical reporting that is rich, alive, and truly exciting. -- Tucson Citizen

Praise for Alison Weir <br>Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley <br> The finest historian of English monarchical succession writing now is Alison Weir. . . . Her assiduousness and informed judgment are precisely what make her a writer to trust. <br>-The Boston Globe <br> Conspiracy, treason, perjury, and forgery, along with . . . political assassination, and several deadly sins . . . While Ms. Weir does not stint on the sensational details, she is above all a historian and dogged researcher. She sifts through sources, which were often compromised, and thinks like a forensics expert. <br>-The Wall Street Journal <p>Eleanor of Aquitaine <br> Evocative . . . a rich tapestry of a bygone age and a judicious assessment of her subject's place within it. <br>-Newsday <br> Extraordinary . . . as delicately textured as a twelfth-century tapestry . . . exhilarating in its color, ambition, and human warmth. The author exhibits a breathtaking grasp of the physical and cultural context of Queen Eleanor's life. <br>-Publishers Weekly (starred review) <p> From the Hardcover edition.

Author Information

Alison Weir is the New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley, and several other historical biographies. She lives in Surrey with her husband and two children.

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