Alison Weir has always been one of m favourite writers and she continues to show why with this latest edition!. 5 stars from me!!!!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

Absolutely wonderful book, I loved every moment spent in the world of the characters. Dilemmas and joys all expertly crafted thank you!

Alison Weir never disappoints. Her research and attention to detail bring the lives of these Queens and their times to life

Queens of the Age of Chivalry is the 3rd title in Alison Weir’s Medieval Queens series: each of which consists of short biographies of all the women who ruled alongside the Kings of England from 1066 to (presumably) 1485.
This book covers the closing years of the 13th century and the entire 14th century. Some of the Queens have had full length biographies devoted to them: such as Isabella of France and Philippa of Hainault, but the short biographies of them in this book might be a good introduction before reading more in depth studies.
Others are barely a footnote in history: including Marguerite of France the little-known second wife of Edward I. Although there are only 40 pages or so devoted to her short tenure, they are more than she gets in most books and biographies and it can be said that Alison Weir has gone some way towards lifting her out of underserved obscurity.
Other Queens who don’t’ have biographies devoted exclusively to them include Anne of Bohemia and Isabella de Valois: both of whom were wed to Richard II of England. I find Anne a fascinating figure: the only ever Bohemian Queen in English history. (The Medieval territory of Bohemia encapsulated around half of what is now the Czech Republic, and its capital was, of course, Prague where Anne was likely born.) Her brother was the famous King Sigismund of Hungary, and later Holy Roman Emperor.
Alison Weir ensures each woman is treated as a person in her own right, and not simply the wife of a King, therefore their entire lives are usually covered. I felt so much sympathy for Isabella of Valois, the child Queen of Richard II who was barely 10 when Richard was deposed and largely at the mercy of others. She was not, perhaps, entirely helpless: there is some evidence to suggest she might have become a figurehead for loyalists after the King’s deposition.

Although she later found happiness in her second marriage to Charles, Duke of Orleans, it was short-lived when she died giving birth to their daughter. Charles achieved some noted fame as a poet, and wrote a beautiful verse tribute to his first wife.
The Medieval Queens series is a useful precursor to Weir’s books about Tudor Women and Elizabeth I. I’d recommend this book (and the others) to anyone interested in Medieval History or Medieval Women.
Grateful thanks to Vintage and Penguin Random house for inviting me to review this title via Negalley. All opinions given are freely provided and entirely my own.

Whilst I am only half way through this book I am totally hooked with Ms Weir looking in detail at female medieval queens, lifestyle, major historical events - in all I am such a fan I will go straight to the 5 stars!

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House UK Vintage for the chance to read and review.

The third book in this history of the post-Norman Medieval Queens of England begins to cover the period of history I love at its end. Of the three published books in the series so far, this was the one I was most eager to get to so it was very nice to end this little burst on non-fiction on that anticipated high.

The longest section in this book follows Isabella of France. She is another queen who I'd had a vague idea of (got irritated at her husband's affair and the grasping nature of the lover) and then overthrew him, but I hadn't appreciated the scope of what she'd done (or what happened after). What I found the most fascinating was that she'd supported her husband (Edward II) when the first set of troubles occurred thanks to his first lover.

The book also includes Edward II's second wife and the two wives of Richard II. Across the board, the marriages (at least at the start in Isabella's case, but pretty consistently in the others') are largely happy. It feels like we have this perception of Medieval arranged marriages as miserable (and some definitely were) but it was nice that this book proved that wrong with a series of successful marriages (and then Isabella's...)

One tiny little petty thing, but I wish this book had been called "Queens of Chivalry" to better fit with the other books! And this is an age when there is a lot of emphasis on "chivalrous" courts and taking after Arthur (plus lots of emphasis on queenly intercession, and it was very interesting to see the stats on who and what the queens interceded for. While some are clearly impulse intercessions, other are very choreographed.)

There is going to be one more book in this series, following the fifteenth century queens, which I am very excited about as that is my favourite period of English history (Richard II to Richard III, and Richard II was covered in this book). However, there is currently no release date on that.

Alison Weir is quite simply a born storyteller. Whether it's fiction or fact, she is able to bring to life worlds long gone. I had no clue who these queens were apart from Isabella of France, but just having the authors name attached was enough for me to know it would be interesting.

This Age of Chivalry included the Black Death, the Peasants' Revolt, and the Hundred Years War. Five queen's from that era, Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia, and Isabella of Valois had varying influences but all broke the mould in some way. The author takes these little known stories (Apart from Isabella of France. Quite rightly an infamous character) and tells a fascinating story. Brimming with detail it can be a little overwhelming sometimes but never once dry or boring. A great addition to an already stellar oeuvre.

A free ARC of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In this book Alison Weir sets out to tell the story of five Queens of England from the second wife of Edward I to the second wife of Richard II. It is conceit of many modern authors that women have been written out of history, when the reality is far more nuanced, although the author does little to present new evidence which would shine a greater light on these apparently overlooked women. The difficulty of course is one of survivability, it is clear that these five Queens were all highly educated and wrote many letters during their lifetimes, however the letters which have been preserved are inevitably ones of political importance to their husbands. The more personal and intimate letters are far less likely to survive, and it is those letters which would really help us to understand the characters of these women. This unfortunately means that the events covered in this book have already been covered in any half competent biography of the kings they married. This, of course, is no fault of the authors and is entirely a reflection of the limited documentation which has survived the intervening seven centuries.

Overall I think the author has achieved her aims of bringing together the biographies of five Queens who collectively both witnessed and directed events which still have ramifications today. The things I disliked most of all about this book was the writing style, the author cannot decide on a consistent tone; at one moment colourful and descriptive, the next reciting off a list of facts in a more academic style, the result is somewhat jarring for the ready.
If you are looking for a history of four interesting medieval queens, and one child bride then this is a good summary. It does help is you have some knowledge of the period in which they lived, however if that is the case then you may find this book is a repetition of information already covered elsewhere.
7/10

This is a well written and detailed (sometimes a bit too detailed) description of the lives of five queens from the fourteenth century. Naturally some of the queens were more interesting than others, I didn't really get much of a sense of who Marguerite of France was. Isabella was by far the most interesting, and had the largest part of the book dedicated to her. I was a child when I visited Berkeley Castle for the first time, and learnt of the gruesome fate that Edward 11 met there, it made a strong impression on me, so I found the details leading up to this, and the part she may have played in it fascinating.

The other Queens covered are Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia, and Isabella of Valois.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I love Alison Weir's writing, but I found this book a bit of a struggle, possibly because I knew so little about the queens mentioned in the book. I found it hard work to read, which is not my experience with other books by this author.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I love Alison Weir so was thrilled to read this
As with all her books this doesn't disappoint

I love the writing style and the level of research that is involved

Cant recommend this enough

Pretty much love everything Alison Weir produces, both fiction and non-fiction, but I did find this a bit heavy going in places. It is so fact-heavy and full of interesting information that I would have appreciated more time to fully enjoy. This book is definitely one to have on your bookshelf so you can refer to it whenever you want. i will definitely be reading the others in this series. Thanks to Netgalley and publishers.

A detailed look at the queens of England in the 14th century from Marguerite, Edward 1’s second wife; Isabella (easily the most interesting!), wife of Edward II; Philippa of Hainult, EdwardIII (the most productive with 12 children); and the two wives of Richard the second, Anne of Bohemia and poor child bride Isabella of Valois. It was an interesting and informative read about medieval life and the lives of the royal families.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the five queens of the Plantagenet kings from 1299 to 1399. The book is obviously very well researched, and it's a painless way of learning about the fascinating history of the era, not only of Britain but of Europe too. I find it amazing that there are letters and documents which have survived all the years and are available for research, if you're lucky enough to be allowed access to them as the author was.
I was sent a digital copy of this book for review by Netgalley via the publisher, for which many thanks.

From one of Britain's best selling historians, a sweeping and magisterial history of the extraordinary lives of five queens in England's turbulent Age of Chivalry. Enthralled by this book and read it over two days.

I love Alison Weir’s books, both the fictional and the factual, so I promptly put my hand up for this on NetGalley, and it did not disappoint.

She shows how these five mediaeval queens rose above being the ciphers, pawns and ‘grow-bags’ they were intended to be. They navigated their own paths and managed to influence, if not directly affect, the fate of nations at a time of high drama. In particular, she reverses the unkindness of history to Isabella of France, wife of failed monarch Edward II (along the way explaining how his death is usually portrayed is unlikely to have happened).

She has an ability to ‘nail’ a character in a few words: for example, Isabella of Valois, married at six years old to the widower Richard II is “this passionate girl”.

I enjoyed the skilful weaving in of commentary from contemporary sources, and how surprisingly modern it seems at times. Expenditure is also converted into modern values, which is very helpful.

Alison Weir writes across a very broad canvas – the whole of the 14th century – and at a cracking, page-turning pace. At times, I wished she had written about, say, three queens, not five, so I could hear more about those with walk-on parts, for example, Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent. But perhaps they are the subject of this prolific writer’s other works.

There was way too much to absorb first time around, and I shall look forward to a second reading.

Really fascinating account of the lives and loves of the queens of the medieval period. Huge amount of detail but written with flair and fluency. I loved this book. Thank you to the publishers, author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an arc..

A really interesting and well researched look in to the lives of four Queens, the often forgotten about people in our history. I found the equation between what they spent on travelling, gifts, clothes etc then and the value they would be today fascinating.

A great read for anyone looking to find out more about our history.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Queens of the Age of Chivalry.

‘Queens Of The Age Of Chivalry’ by Alison Weir is a masterpiece. I have read many of her fiction books on the lives of royal women, and those in the royal courts, but this is the first non-fiction account I have come across. Alison Weir, through meticulous research, brings us the lives of five Queens who lived through England’s Age of Chivalry. Covering the years 1299-1409, we meet five remarkable women, whose stories have never been told in such great detail and with such passion. She shows us that they were remarkable women in their own right, and not just mere appendages to the Kings, or pawns in political games. We meet Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Phillipa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois.

Alison weir is an excellent storyteller in her fiction books, and brings that flair to this non fiction account of the Queens. She gives us an insight into the daily lives of the queens. We learn how they spent their money, where that money came from and the strength they needed to live in turbulent times.

Her descriptions of the the palaces made me feel as if I was there. I was astounded at that vast sums the women spent on clothes, food, trips and impressing foreign dignitaries.

Most of all, I found it fascinating reading about queens I had previously heard little about. There is so much detail about each one, and I take my hat off to Alison Weir at the work that goes into every book she writes. My interest was especially piqued at a theory she posits regarding Edward II. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what that was!

I was given this book to review.

Like all of Weir’s book this is brilliant. A detailed and informative account written in an eminently readable style. Excellent all round.