Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
London : Jonathan Cape, 2005.
Description
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Alison Weir's Mary Boleyn. In this vibrant biography, acclaimed author Alison Weir reexamines the life of Isabella of England, one of historyâ??s most notorious and charismatic queens. Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to Englandâ??s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed she became an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. Many myths and legends have been woven around Isabellaâ??s story, but in this first full biography in more than 150 years, Alison Weir gives a groundbreaking new per… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Kasthu
Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England is a biography of the wife of Edward II. It's actually a composite of things: a biography of Isabella's most intimate household moments, drawn from her extensive household account books (want to know what was used as toilet paper
My major problem with this book is Weir's extreme bias in favor of Isabella. Weir even goes so far as to blame Edward entirely for the breakdown of the royal marriage and for Isabella's changed demeanor during it. It's almost as though the author went into the research and writing of this book thinking, "I'm going to vindicate Isabella." This is a work of popular history, and as such, I feel that Weir could have been more impartial in her assessment of Isabella's story. All that's really known about Isabella's day-to-day life comes from her book of household accounts, and Weir continually tries to make presumptions about how the queen "might" have felt or "perhaps" have thought.
All that said, however, I enjoyed the detail that Weir goes into in telling what little is known about Isabella's life. Weir certainly has a way with words, and she's very good about bringing historical figures to life on the page. If you're a newcomer to the history and politics of early-14th century England, I wouldn't recommend this, however.
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in the English royal household? It's in there), as well as an account of her relationship with her husband, his favorites, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. My major problem with this book is Weir's extreme bias in favor of Isabella. Weir even goes so far as to blame Edward entirely for the breakdown of the royal marriage and for Isabella's changed demeanor during it. It's almost as though the author went into the research and writing of this book thinking, "I'm going to vindicate Isabella." This is a work of popular history, and as such, I feel that Weir could have been more impartial in her assessment of Isabella's story. All that's really known about Isabella's day-to-day life comes from her book of household accounts, and Weir continually tries to make presumptions about how the queen "might" have felt or "perhaps" have thought.
All that said, however, I enjoyed the detail that Weir goes into in telling what little is known about Isabella's life. Weir certainly has a way with words, and she's very good about bringing historical figures to life on the page. If you're a newcomer to the history and politics of early-14th century England, I wouldn't recommend this, however.
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LibraryThing member santhony
I really tried to like this book. Inasmuch as I am an avid student of history and enjoy the tangled web of early to mid twentieth century English history, this book seemed right up my alley.
I can't say that it is a bad book, but upon reflection, perhaps the most telling fact is that it took me so
From the standpoint of substance, I can't say that I agree with her efforts to rehabiltate the universally condemned Queen Isabella, the wife of Edward II of England. Isabella conspired against, overthrew, cheated on and likely participated in the murder of her husband and sovereign. According to Weir, she was simply misunderstood and unfairly judged. To my knowledge, she is the only one that believes so.
In order to back up her position, Weir not only spins facts to the benefit of the Queen, but she weaves many out of whole cloth and disregards the numerous facts which clearly implicate her in the crimes for which history has condemned her. In an attempt to absolve the Queen of the crime of murder, she even trots out the old, roundly rejected canard that Edward II escaped from his captors and lived the remainder of his life as a hermit in France. This despite the public, state funeral in which the body and face of the King were clearly displayed and visible to thousands. As if an escape somehow lessens the crime of ordering the murder in the first place.
Even in the cases where she concedes guilt on the part of the Queen, such as her adulterous relationship with Mortimer, she pardons the Queen, holding her to current standards as opposed to those in which she lived. In this regard, she clearly states that were Queen Isabella alive today, she would be viewed as a strong, independent woman, deserving of praise and not scorn (You go, girl). Nice theory, except for the fact that she didn't live in current times. In her day, regicide was perhaps the greatest crime and sin of the day, and adultery by a royal woman was universally punishable by death.
I've read several of Weir's works and to date am not impressed. She seems to be on a personal crusade to rehabiltate the reputations of various women of the Middle Ages that for some reason or another have been judged harshly by history. I've never been a fan of revisionist history and particularly when the revisions are politically or socially motivated. This book is not only not particularly entertaining, but it's not even good history.
I can't say that it is a bad book, but upon reflection, perhaps the most telling fact is that it took me so
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long to finish it. A book of this size generally takes me about a week to finish, reading for an hour or so each night before bed. Most nights, however, found me nodding off in less than half the time. Weir's style can best be described as a dry recitation of historical facts with frequent asides in which she injects her own analysis. Hardly scintillating entertainment and simply not lively enough to keep me awake. From the standpoint of substance, I can't say that I agree with her efforts to rehabiltate the universally condemned Queen Isabella, the wife of Edward II of England. Isabella conspired against, overthrew, cheated on and likely participated in the murder of her husband and sovereign. According to Weir, she was simply misunderstood and unfairly judged. To my knowledge, she is the only one that believes so.
In order to back up her position, Weir not only spins facts to the benefit of the Queen, but she weaves many out of whole cloth and disregards the numerous facts which clearly implicate her in the crimes for which history has condemned her. In an attempt to absolve the Queen of the crime of murder, she even trots out the old, roundly rejected canard that Edward II escaped from his captors and lived the remainder of his life as a hermit in France. This despite the public, state funeral in which the body and face of the King were clearly displayed and visible to thousands. As if an escape somehow lessens the crime of ordering the murder in the first place.
Even in the cases where she concedes guilt on the part of the Queen, such as her adulterous relationship with Mortimer, she pardons the Queen, holding her to current standards as opposed to those in which she lived. In this regard, she clearly states that were Queen Isabella alive today, she would be viewed as a strong, independent woman, deserving of praise and not scorn (You go, girl). Nice theory, except for the fact that she didn't live in current times. In her day, regicide was perhaps the greatest crime and sin of the day, and adultery by a royal woman was universally punishable by death.
I've read several of Weir's works and to date am not impressed. She seems to be on a personal crusade to rehabiltate the reputations of various women of the Middle Ages that for some reason or another have been judged harshly by history. I've never been a fan of revisionist history and particularly when the revisions are politically or socially motivated. This book is not only not particularly entertaining, but it's not even good history.
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LibraryThing member japaul22
I've been WORKING on reading this book for a month. It's only 388 pages. I just do not enjoy Weir's writing style. She took a fascinating life and an interesting interpretation of that life and made it horribly boring. Weir sounds so defensive the entire time. Apparently her views of Isabella's
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life are outside the norm for Medieval researchers. The problem is that she assumes that the reader knows the accepted ideas well. Also, she spends a lot of a time talking about these other possible ways of analyzing Isabella's life and actions. By the time you get to her opinions, you have no idea what to believe. I also felt that because she was putting new ideas out there, she tried to be as dry as possible. Maybe she thinks it's more scholarly? Anyway - I wouldn't waste your time. I found it pretty frustrating to get through, though the topic of Isabella's life has potential to be interesting. Show Less
LibraryThing member mzonderm
It's not uncommon for a biographer to develop some sympathy for their subject. In this case, though, one gets the feeling that Weir developed her sympathy before writing the book, and, in fact, set out to do her research to redeem Isabella's reputation, rather than simply to write an account of her
Having said that, Weir is to be commended for the thoroughness of her research. It must be incredibly difficult to come up with so much material about a woman of that time, even one as notorious as Queen Isabella. And Weir does an admirable job of taking the dry account books and other records and turning them into an actual narrative, to say nothing of making that narrative compelling at times.
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life. Which is not intrinsically a bad thing. My problem is that Weir spends too much time disproving one historical theory of Isabella after another when, no matter your bias, the evidence is just not there for a conclusive determination either way. And yet, Weir routinely calls any conclusion but the one she has drawn "speculative." As far as I can tell, her conclusions are just as speculative!Having said that, Weir is to be commended for the thoroughness of her research. It must be incredibly difficult to come up with so much material about a woman of that time, even one as notorious as Queen Isabella. And Weir does an admirable job of taking the dry account books and other records and turning them into an actual narrative, to say nothing of making that narrative compelling at times.
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LibraryThing member lindymc
A struggle to get through this biography. Heavily footnoted, it reads like dry history, excruciatingly detailed. Weir is certainly slanted sympathetically toward Isabella. I don't find much to like about Isabella. Her main contribution to worthiness is having given birth to Edward III.
LibraryThing member soliloquies
Very detailed account of Isabella's life, reliant on her household accounts, as so few primary sources exist for this period. The author seems determined to rehabilitate the maligned Queen and manages to do so. Interesting hypothesis on the fate of Edward II added to the book. However it did read
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slightly dryly, and it struggled in a few places to keep my interest. Not my favourite Weir book, but definitely one for the pro-Isabella faction. Show Less
LibraryThing member Desilu42
Alison Weir's "Queen Isabella" was written to make the record straight when it came to Isabella. She was a woman who did what she had to do to get by but people saw that as a bad thing. Isabella, Edward II, and Mortimer all led interesting intertwined lives. I would recommend this book but I gave
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it 3 stars because it is a little hard to get through, the years and people are constantly changing and there isn't a real order to things. Show Less
LibraryThing member askmehow
A well written book by a respected historian. The book, though well argued, does make several assumptions that it does not fully explain; at times it reads more like an apologia, intent on rehabilitating Isabella for modern sensibilities than examining her story. Still, the book's clear narrative
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prose saves it from being dull, and it provides an excellent snapshot of the time. Show Less
LibraryThing member littlebookworm
To be honest, this wasn't as good as Alison Weir's book about Eleanor of Aquitaine. It dragged in parts when nothing that exciting was happening to Isabella. Not necessarily the fault of the author, since Isabella's active role in politics didn't actually last very long. The book was still
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interesting, though, and informative. I like the way the author presents her information and her arguments; even if I don't agree with her, I can see her point in many ways. As one reviewer said, she does take special efforts to vindicate Isabella, perhaps more than Isabella deserved, but I never felt that her suggestions could not have been true. This was a worthy read overall, but not recommended for those lacking patience. Show Less
LibraryThing member mansfieldhistory
A fascinating look into this much disparaged Queen. Weir does much to rehabilitate Isabella, even going so far as to gain sympathy towards her subject. This work does much to dispel some of the myths about this infamous queen.
LibraryThing member lecari
I found this absolutely fascinating. I had never heard of Isabella until I picked up this book, she was never mentioned on my degree course, but her story intrigued me. It had me hooked; she was a very fascinating woman. I like Weir's writing style, personally, though I wouldn't use it as a
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definitive guide, or for my degree course. But good for an overview of a subject. Show Less
LibraryThing member SHAUNAMURPHY
I like weir's writing style. Made the subject boring? I've read far, far, far worse!! Agree that she was a little too defensive and having edward II escape was just silly. I thought the 'trivia' throughout was interesting, to me it showed that she'd thoroughly researched the subject.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
A typically well written and absorbing biography by this author. Sympathetic to a much maligned historical figure, while retaining a critical perspective. I read this immediately before Ian Mortimer's book on Roger Mortimer, which made for an interesting juxtaposition of perspectives on these two
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linked personalities. Show Less
LibraryThing member comixminx
Normally I steam through books in one sitting, but this one is a harder nut to crack. It's very dense (well, it is a proper historical work and has a lot of stuff in the late 13th and early 14th century to lay out or recover from fragmentary sources). It's quite slow. But mostly, the point of it is
I'd recommend her book about the Princes in the Tower, or the other one about Eleanor of Acquitaine, more than this one - but I am getting plenty out of it, to be fair.
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to redeem or explain Isabella, who was married to Edward II (you'll know him as the one who died from a red-hot poker up the bum). The thing is that I hadn't heard of her before opening up this book, so had no particular need to have her redeemed to me - though finding out that it's quite likely that Edward didn't die of a red-hot poker after all is interesting, and the strong possibility that he escaped to the continent instead is even better. Quite exciting, that!I'd recommend her book about the Princes in the Tower, or the other one about Eleanor of Acquitaine, more than this one - but I am getting plenty out of it, to be fair.
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LibraryThing member pennsylady
An engaging examination of the life of Isabella of England.
Propaganda and myths are dispelled and Queen Isabella comes alive in vivid detail.
A good read
Propaganda and myths are dispelled and Queen Isabella comes alive in vivid detail.
A good read
LibraryThing member Meggo
A detailed look at one of the more controversial queens of England, but perhaps a little too detailed. The day-by-day recounting of Isabella's movements gets tiring after a while, and the treatment of Edward II's death or alleged survival was unnecessarily distracting. A generally OK read, but not
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highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member PhilSyphe
Being a big fan of Alison Weir I had expected much from this biography. As it transpired, I found it disappointing.
Sections here and there were engaging but on the most part I found this tedious. Normally Ms Weir's non-fiction works feel almost like an entertaining novel, whereas this title felt
The style, which is usually good in Weir's books, was let down here with long-winded sentences kept going with semi-colons and commas. The majority of the semis could've been replaced with full stops followed by a new sentence, thus giving a smoother read. There were also a few too many sentences beginning with "Then", which always strikes me as poor style whilst sounding childish.
This work is similar to the bio on Katherine Swynford, which is the only other weak title that I've read to date by this otherwise great author, in that the text focuses more on those in the main subject's life rather than on the actual subject.
Thus, it seems misleading to name this as a bio on Queen Isabella when little info is available on her. Something like "Isabella and Her Times" may have been a more appropriate title.
In short, I found this good in a few parts, but disappointing on the whole.
Sections here and there were engaging but on the most part I found this tedious. Normally Ms Weir's non-fiction works feel almost like an entertaining novel, whereas this title felt
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more like a mundane academic thesis.The style, which is usually good in Weir's books, was let down here with long-winded sentences kept going with semi-colons and commas. The majority of the semis could've been replaced with full stops followed by a new sentence, thus giving a smoother read. There were also a few too many sentences beginning with "Then", which always strikes me as poor style whilst sounding childish.
This work is similar to the bio on Katherine Swynford, which is the only other weak title that I've read to date by this otherwise great author, in that the text focuses more on those in the main subject's life rather than on the actual subject.
Thus, it seems misleading to name this as a bio on Queen Isabella when little info is available on her. Something like "Isabella and Her Times" may have been a more appropriate title.
In short, I found this good in a few parts, but disappointing on the whole.
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LibraryThing member rosalita
I knew nothing about Queen Isabella of England or this era of English history (early 14th century) so I really feel like I learned something, in addition to being an interesting tale of an English queen (daughter of a French king) who wound up leading an invading force to depose her husband King
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Edward II and put her son on the throne, only to suffer her own deposition of sorts when her son (Edward III) returned the favor a few years later. Weir's stated aim was to rehabilitate Isabella's reputation as a bloodthirsty "She-Wolf of France", and as far as I could tell she succeeded. As always with books set in this era and earlier, there is too much mundane listing of household goods and purchases, land grants, day-to-day movements that are not momentous etc., presumably because these are the only things that are solidly documented in what remains of the written record, but it's still fairly absorbing for all that. I thought Weir provided adequate backup for her claims, which apparently run counter to the conventional historical view of Isabella (generally written by men, of course). Show Less
LibraryThing member gayla.bassham
I have yet to read an Alison Weir book that I didn't like. She chose a fascinating subject in Queen Isabella, whose life was full of political and romantic intrigue. As a consequence, this book is every bit as gripping and page-turn-y (yes, I'm convinced that's a word) as Game of Thrones (I do
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wonder whether George R. R. Martin based Cersei in part on Isabella). My only quibble is that Weir sometimes takes Isabella's part a bit too earnestly; after a while you begin to feel that you're reading a zealous defense of the Lannisters. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pmaurer
Informative narrative of the life of Isabella of France, Queen to Edward 2nd. Extensive research from historical records are used to describe the life and times of this much maligned Queen.
LibraryThing member setnahkt
In a comment on the accuracy of the movie Braveheart, Isabella of France married Edward II of England in 1308 when she was 12 and he was 26. (William Wallace had been dead for three years and Edward I for one before Isabella even saw England) It was a fairy-tale wedding, in more than one sense;
The author, Alison Weir, proposes an interesting theory: that Edward II was not killed but escaped from prison, went to Italy, and became a monk. Her evidence is meager. Isabella’s ghost inhabits the former Greyfriars churchyard in London, where she is reported to wander around carrying her husband’s heart. I suppose she could be carrying worse things, under the circumstances. Interestingly, the same churchyard also hosts the spirit of Alice (or Agnes) Hungerford, who was boiled alive in Tudor times for poisoning her husband. The two ghosts are reported to engage in violent turf battles when they encounter each other. (There’s also the ghost of Elizabeth Barton, the “Holy Maid of Kent”; an unidentified ghostly monk; and a spectral dog. Since it’s a relatively small cemetery, it must get pretty crowded if everybody shows up at once). Certainly the church has been unlucky; it burned down in the Great Fire and was rebuilt only to be bombed out during the Blitz.
Weir is successful in her attempt to rehabilitate Isabella, who acquired the nickname “She Wolf of France” somewhere along the line. She was clearly provoked; Edward should have known hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.
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Edward was bisexual and gave some of his new bride’s wedding presents away to his boyfriends, notably Piers Gaveston, an otherwise unaccomplished Gascon knight. She put up with this for years; although the English nobility were less tolerant and Gaveston was eventually trapped away from the king and beheaded; Hugh Despenser then took his place in Edward’s affections and was even ruder to Isabella than Gaveston had been.. However, when Isabella received permission to visit her homeland in 1323, she didn’t come back on schedule, instead hooking up with Roger Mortimer, the Earl of March and an escapee from The Tower. Roger and Isabella then invaded England; deposed Edward; had Hugh Despenser tied to a tall ladder in Hereford, castrated, disemboweled, and burned; and reportedly had Edward killed by inserting a red-hot poker where it would really get his attention (this last isn’t attested until much later, and Edward may have been just smothered; however, there are lots of contemporary illustrations of Despenser as the guest of honor in Hereford). Isabella and Mortimer turned out to be just as incompetent and tyrannous as Edward and were promptly overthrown themselves by a coup lead by the 18-year-old Edward III. Mortimer was hanged at Tyburn and Isabella ended up in a nunnery; either Edward III was more merciful or less imaginative than his mother.The author, Alison Weir, proposes an interesting theory: that Edward II was not killed but escaped from prison, went to Italy, and became a monk. Her evidence is meager. Isabella’s ghost inhabits the former Greyfriars churchyard in London, where she is reported to wander around carrying her husband’s heart. I suppose she could be carrying worse things, under the circumstances. Interestingly, the same churchyard also hosts the spirit of Alice (or Agnes) Hungerford, who was boiled alive in Tudor times for poisoning her husband. The two ghosts are reported to engage in violent turf battles when they encounter each other. (There’s also the ghost of Elizabeth Barton, the “Holy Maid of Kent”; an unidentified ghostly monk; and a spectral dog. Since it’s a relatively small cemetery, it must get pretty crowded if everybody shows up at once). Certainly the church has been unlucky; it burned down in the Great Fire and was rebuilt only to be bombed out during the Blitz.
Weir is successful in her attempt to rehabilitate Isabella, who acquired the nickname “She Wolf of France” somewhere along the line. She was clearly provoked; Edward should have known hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.
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LibraryThing member KarenDuff
I found this an interesting read rather than a gripping one, although it was educational before listening to this all I knew about Isabella was that she had had her husband murdered by means of a red hot poker up his bum.
She appears to have been a very good diplomat and in reality probably played
A time machine would be handy, then I could go back and tell Edward III to give it up you are never going to be king of scotland, you may occupy various parts of the country but the first king to be crowned as both king of england and scotland will actually be a scot and he is 250 years in the future so stop wasting lives and money.
She appears to have been a very good diplomat and in reality probably played
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no part in her husbands death.I find it strange that one of the acts that made her really unpopular with the English was negotiating peace with Scotland. Isabella believed that the war with Scotland could never be won, given that it had been on and off since the time of the norman conquest and so far no englishman had been crowned king of scotland she may have had a point. She also believed that it was expensive in terms of lives and money, money that the country didn't have. The fact that she was greedy and abused her position also didn't make her popular.A time machine would be handy, then I could go back and tell Edward III to give it up you are never going to be king of scotland, you may occupy various parts of the country but the first king to be crowned as both king of england and scotland will actually be a scot and he is 250 years in the future so stop wasting lives and money.
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LibraryThing member singtoangels
Like most of Mrs Weir's work, I found Queen Isabella to be a very entertaining and forceful read. Weir has a way of putting us right there with these historical figures in such a way that we start feeling like we know them intimately. Isabella was just a child of 12 or 13 when she came to the court
Forgetting all of that, Weir adds great little details to give us a fuller, more 3D picture instead of just some biased, flat image like many historians will do. For instance, I found the bit about how Isabella became friends with her husband despite everything particularly moving. Another winner for Weir.
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of her, likely gay, new husband. Quickly shunted aside, she soon figured things out for herself and started taking charge. Forgetting all of that, Weir adds great little details to give us a fuller, more 3D picture instead of just some biased, flat image like many historians will do. For instance, I found the bit about how Isabella became friends with her husband despite everything particularly moving. Another winner for Weir.
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LibraryThing member queencersei
Most people are probably familiar with Queen Isabella through her depiction in the movie Braveheart. However that film is total fiction. This interesting and highly readable novel depicts a much more historically accurate biography of the queen. A child when William Wallace was executed, Isabella
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is a French princess who is sent to England to marry the heir to the throne, Edward II. Theirs is not a romantic marriage and rumors that she had a hand in directing her husband’s death persist. The novel is highly readable and sympathetic to Queen Isabella. It offers an interesting historical glimpse into the life of a forgotten queen. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2005 (copyright)
2006-12-26
Physical description
xii, 494 p.; 25 cm
ISBN
9780224063203
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