England’s Medieval Queens Series

Packed with dramatic true stories from one of European history’s most romantic and turbulent eras, this epic narrative chronicles the five Plantagenet queens of England between 1299 and 1409, from the New York Times bestselling author hailed as “the finest historian of English monarchical succession writing” (The Boston Globe).

“A thorough and illuminating survey of the Plantagenet dynasty.”—Publishers Weekly

The Age of Chivalry was an era of the Middle Ages dominated by the social and moral code of knighthood that prized noble deeds and the game of courtly love between aristocratic men and women. A period of high drama in English history, the fourteenth century witnessed the toppling of two kings, the Hundred Years War, the Black Death, and the Peasants’ Revolt. Feudalism was breaking down, resulting in social and political turmoil.

Against this dramatic milieu, Alison Weir recounts the lives and reigns of five queen consorts: Marguerite of France was twenty when she married sixty-year-old King Edward I. Isabella of France, later known as “the She Wolf,” dethroned her husband, Edward II, and ruled England with her lover. In contrast, Philippa of Hainault was a popular queen to the deposed king’s son Edward III. Anne of Bohemia was queen to Richard II, but she died young and childless. Isabella of Valois became Richard’s second wife when she was six years old, only to see him violently overthrown.

This was a chaotic and brutal age, despite its chivalric color and ethos, and it stands as an arresting setting for the extraordinary stories of these queens’ lives.

Don’t miss any of Alison Weir’s fascinating England’s Medieval Queens series:
QUEENS OF THE CONQUEST • QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES • QUEENS OF THE AGE OF CHIVALRY • QUEENS AT WAR

A fresh, enthralling narrative history chronicling the dynamic reigns of the first five queens in the Plantagenet family, who ruled England and France for over three centuries, from the New York Times bestselling author hailed as “the finest historian of English monarchical succession writing” (The Boston Globe)

“A magnificent tapestry, skillfully woven . . . This rich and robust account will appeal to readers interested in medieval England and some of its most fascinating royal women, whose stories are often left out of the history books.”—Booklist

The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion, seductive queens, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with romantic culture—these determined women broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence.

This second volume of Alison Weir’s acclaimed history of the queens of medieval England moves into a period of even higher drama, from 1154 to 1291: years of chivalry and courtly love, dynastic ambition, conflict between church and throne, and the ruthless interplay between the rival monarchs of Britain and France. We see, from a new perspective, events such as the murder of Becket, the Magna Carta, and the birth of parliaments.

Queens of the Crusades begins with the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Henry II established a dynasty that ruled over three centuries and created the most powerful empire in western Christendom—but also sowed the seeds for destructive family conflicts and the collapse of England’s power in Europe. The lives of Eleanor’s four successors were just as remarkable: Berengaria of Navarre; Isabella of Angoulême; Alienor of Provence; and finally Eleanor of Castile.

Alison Weir provides a fresh, enthralling narrative focusing on fascinating female monarchs during a dramatic period of high romance and low politics, with unwavering women at its heart.

Don’t miss any of Alison Weir’s fascinating England’s Medieval Queens series:
QUEENS OF THE CONQUEST • QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES • QUEENS OF THE AGE OF CHIVALRY • QUEENS AT WAR

A captivating, sweeping saga of England’s medieval queens, from the New York Times bestselling author hailed as “the finest historian of English monarchical succession writing” (The Boston Globe)

“Polished [and] fascinating . . . It was a man’s world but, as Weir convincingly shows, the five queens wielded real power in front of as well as behind the throne.”—Sunday Express

The lives of England’s medieval queens were packed with incident—love, intrigue, betrayal, adultery, and warfare—but their stories have been largely obscured by centuries of myth and omission. Now, in the first volume of an exciting series, esteemed biographer Alison Weir provides a fresh perspective and restores these women to their rightful place in history.

Spanning the years from the Norman conquest in 1066 to the dawn of a new era in 1154, this epic book brings to life five women: Matilda of Flanders, wife of the first Norman king, William the Conqueror; Matilda of Scotland, revered as “the common mother of all England”; Adeliza of Louvain, the young beauty whom the aging Henry I married to get an heir; Matilda of Boulogne, who fought a war on behalf of her husband, King Stephen, against this book’s fifth queen, Empress Maud, England’s first female ruler, whose son King Henry II would found the Plantagenet dynasty. More than those who came before or after them, these Norman consorts were recognized as equal sharers in sovereignty. Without the support of their wives, the Norman kings could not have ruled their disparate dominions as effectively.

Drawing from the most reliable contemporary sources, Weir skillfully crafts an all-encompassing portrait of English medieval queenship and a captivating chapter of English history.

Don’t miss any of Alison Weir’s fascinating England’s Medieval Queens series:
QUEENS OF THE CONQUEST • QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES • QUEENS OF THE AGE OF CHIVALRY • QUEENS AT WAR