For good reason, the queen in chess inherits its fearsome power on the game board from the reputedly murderous maneuvers of the fourteenth-century Queen Isabella of England, as historian and biographer Paul Doherty shows in his engaging account of a savage chapter in medieval English history. What begins with a peace matchthe marriage of the twelve-year-old daughter of France's Philip IV to the dissolute Edward II in 1308ends in bloody conflict, a possible regicide, the usurpation of royal power, execution, and exile. In a lively narrative that brings a fresh perspective to the history of Isabella's catastrophic marriage, Doherty illuminates the people, passions, and politics that prompted the young queen, after thirteen years, to flee the feckless, ineffectual king who had sacrificed the English army to ignominious and unnecessary defeat at Bannockburn and to escape court intrigues and her personal persecution by men like the sinister Hugh Despenser. At Isabella's command, though, Despenser eventually met a gruesome death, when she returned to England with the exiled Roger Mortimer and a mercenary army that deposed Edward and enthroned the conquering queen in the name of her young son, Edward III.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
Riveting . . .compelling . . . Nobody could be left in any doubt that the hitherto accepted tale of Edwards murder at Berkeley is open to question. Alison Weir, Sunday Times A history book & with all the excitement of a detective novel. Contemporary Review Superb . . . Dohertys hypothesis has much to commend it. Peter Clifford, History Today Highly recommended. Good Book Guide 'Compassionate and personal account of Isabella' Alex Burghart, TLS
Book Description:
The queen they called 'the she-wolf' and the true fate of Edward II
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBasic Books
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 0786711930
- ISBN 13 9780786711932
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages262
-
Rating