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Title: Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England
ISBN: 0345453204
Author:
Alison Weir
Publicate Date: 2006-12-26
Publish: 2006-12-26
List Price: $16.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.50
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.45
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.53
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Unfairly biased
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 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. Most of Weir's "evidence" regarding the queen's relationship with Mortimer is based on court gossip, yet Weir chooses to treat the stories as though they're true. And the author furthermore chooses to ignore the fact that Isabella was guilty of regicide, instead placing all of the blame on Roger Mortimer's shoulders. 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. This book is way too speculative for me.
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, she definitely does her research, 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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2: Read it with an open mind!
Alison Weir provides a fascinating interpretation of the facts surrounding King Edward II, Queen Isabella, Piers Gaveston, and Hugh le Despenser. If you have already made up your mind about these medieval figures and are closed off to any evidence that proves you wrong, then maybe this book isn't for you. This book doesn't claim that Isabella is innocent of everything history accuses her of, but it does provide undeniable proof that everything is not as it seems. It certainly made me question most of the "facts" that I have read by other authors. I'm giving this book five stars for its provocative view of a woman that history has perhaps unjustly vilified for centuries.
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3: I'm not an expert, but I enjoyed this read
I will admit to not being an expert on Queen Isabella. I have never read a biography on her before, so when I picked up Alison Weir's book in the store I had nothing to compare it to and enjoyed it immensely. There is wonderful period detail here, especially in the beginning, and I think the reader feels a measure of sympathy for Isabella, whose husband wasn't interested in her sexually (or emotionally it seems). My favorite part of the book was when Isabella (finally) took a lover and decided to make a stand against her husband with him. Part slighted young woman, part Lady Macbeth, Queen Isabella is a very interesting read with a few theories about Edward II's "death" I hadn't heard before (whether or not they could be accurate I can't say).
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4: Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery and Murder in Medivel England
This is a History book. So it has just the facts, M'am. A very good History book and therefore lots of niggling details...and every detail has multiple perspectives gathered from letters and writings of the time and are based on the authors religious or nationalistic views. It is a slow read that you can put down and easily pick up again, as you will want to work your way through this beautifully written and richly informative history as seen through the mind of a very interesting queen. It covers the period of English History from the late times of Edward I (late 13th century) to Edward II and the the beginning of the reign of Edward III (mid 14th century. There is no plot so the fun is in the interesting details and analysis of those Medievil times.
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5: Somewhat Dry Recital of Revisionist History
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 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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