Product Description

England's medieval queens were elemental in shaping the history of the nation. In an age where all politics were family politics, dynastic marriages placed English queens at the very centre of power - the king's bed. From Matilda of Flanders, the Conqueror's queen, to Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor consort, England's queens fashioned the nature of monarchy and influenced the direction of the state. Occupying a unique position in the mercurial, often violent world of medieval state-craft, English queens had to negotiate a role that combined tremendous influence with terrifying vulnerability. Lisa Hilton's meticulously researched new book explores the lives of the twenty women who were crowned queen between 1066 and 1503, reconsidering the fictions surrounding well-known figures like Eleanor of Aquitaine and illuminating the lives of forgotten figures such as Adeliza of Louvain. War, adultery, witchcraft, child abuse, murder - and occassionally even love - formed English queenship, but so too did patronage, learning and fashion. Lisa Hilton considers the evolution of the queenly office alongside intimate portraits of the individual women, dispelling the myth that medieval brides were no more than diplomatic pawns.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35403 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

Review
'A fascinating study' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

About the Author
Lisa Hilton's first book THE REAL QUEEN OF FRANCE was published in 2002. She was educated at Oxford University and lives with her husband in Milan.

Customer Reviews

A perfect read - England's medieval Queen Consorts - a classic in the making
First I was quite a bit sceptical about this book project by Lisa Hilton. I am not too found of books covering several personalities and that over nearly 500 years. Very often, one gets never a real feeling for the personalities covered.

Well, I have to admit Lisa Hilton managed that brilliantly.

20 Queen Consorts are covered, each with rougly 20 pages and all are very different - from the legendary Elenor of Aquitaine, the She-Wolf of France, a Queen accused of witchcraft, well-remember Queens, forgotten Queens or a child Queen. Lisa Hilton describes their individual lives as consort to the King, as the King's wife, mother of Kings and her role she had to fullfill. She shows how the role of Queen Consort develops over the centuries and how each Queen left her mark and developed the role, how Queens contributed to the reign of their husbands, but as well how they were liabilities. Lisa Hilton judges the Queens in a great manner, she is quite clear how she sees them. I loved her style which has a great flow.

I believe Lisa Hilton has done a great job and has written a book which will be a great classic on the medieval Queens Consorts.

I hope she is going to continue with the later Queen Consorts.

At last an indepth look at some of the queens of england
I have to say that this was a fascinating book to read.I am glad that someone has finally compiled a book on the queens of england as they are often the ones who are forgotten and we only really get a good view of life for their husbands.This is the kind of book that i have been waiting to read for ages. Well done Lisa.

I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in the lives of the medieval queens of england.

An interesting look at medieval queenship
There is such a paucity of information on queen's from this period that I thought this book would like other books on medieval queen's, focus largely on the more dominant figure of the king. I was however pleasantly surprised.

Lisa Hilton has definitely gone through the sources with a fine-tooth comb and has written a book that does give a great deal of information on each queen from 1066 - 1485, even touching on pre-Conquest queen's.
Whilst I disagree with some of the author's views expressed in the book, there is no doubt that Ms Hilton wishes to challenge our preconceptions of medieval queens as being more than a feminine counterpoint to the king.

There is, as said a paucity of substantial information on queen's from this period particularly the lesser known ones like Anne of Bohemia and Isabelle of Valois, but Ms Hilton makes the best of a 'bad' situation nonetheless.

The major drawback to the book is that it can feel a little long-winded by the time one gets towards the 15th century queen's. So much information is presented that one may wish to put the book down and come back to it later.

All in all though, a very interesting and redefining(?) book on medieval queen's.