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| Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England | 
 enlarge | Author: Alison Weir
Publisher: Pimlico
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £4.36
You Save: £4.63 (52%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 12537
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0712641947
EAN: 9780712641944
ASIN: 0712641947
Publication Date: July 6, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Little River Books dispatch daily from South Wales. Customer satisfaction is our guarantee.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
 A book not to be missed January 8, 2008
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
"She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France, whose tongue more poisons than the adder' s tooth! How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex to triumph, like an Amazoninan trull.." not my words but those of William Shakespeare in his "King Henry the Sixth".
Well, that sums up the reputation of Queen Isabella. And at first glance the reputation seems to be justified: a Queen who takes a lover, overthrows with the lovers help her husband and king, assumes the power in the land and under her controll the husband and former king dies. Her exercise of power with her lover is quite a bad, so she gets overthrown herself and ends her days in a golden cage captivity.
Yes, all this is true but there is much more to Queen Isabella. She wasn' t always the "she-wolf" that later came to be called by a gisgruntled British populace. By all accounts she was said to be a beautifull woman, a beloved mother, a competent mediator and an accomplished diplomat.
So who was this very interesting woman?
Isabella was the daughter of Philip IV., King of France, and of his wife Joanna, Queen of Navarre in her own rights, and sister of three French kings: Louis X., Philip V. and Charles IV.. At the tender age of 12 she was married to Edward II., King of England, twice her age, very handsome and very gay. This might have been quite bad on a personal leveland might have led to just another unhappy queen of a marriage of state. However, Edward was quite an uncapable ruler, letting his favorite Piers Gaveston, raised to be Eral of Cornwall, rule the country.
Isabella - humilated as this proud royal princesss felt - remained through the various ups and downs of Edward' reign a loyal consort. England was most of the time near or in a kind of civil war due to the king's misrule. When the Despensers - now the favorites - got hold of Edward and he started to move even against his queen, deriving her of her dower lands and income, she became tired of it all. While in France she become the lover of Mortimer, one of the English exilies, and organized the overthrow of Edward and the Despensers. This was much helped by the fact that the future Edward III. was with his mother. Most English were quite happy to get rid of Edward II.. In 1327 Edward II. was either murdered or escaped from capitivity. With Edward III as nominal king, Mortimer's power through Isabella was unquestioned. However, the new regime started to abuse power and behaved as badly as the previous one of favorites. In a brazen move, the 18 year old Edward III. had Mortimer arrested and executed and started to rule himself. Isabella spend the reminder of her life in quite seclusion, but neither ignored and badly treated by her son, the King, but no politcial force any longer.
Alsion Weir manage to cut through historical myth and propaganda, paints a different picture of a woman, a princess and queen than historical reputation grants Isabella. But it is not a white wash! By far, Isabella emerges from this book not as an innocent saint who does not deserve criticism. But she is neither the "living devil".
The Times critized the book a lot, especially with regards to the fate of Edward II. and Weir's believe that he was not murdered. I
do not share this criticism. As in all of her books Weir presents all arguments, but without refraining from having an opinion herself. But by being open about other views she invites the reader to form his/her very own opinion. Yes, as a reader I want to know what the author thinks, but I do not want to manipulated. In this specific case, I appreciated Weir's opinion but I am not convinced and do not share it. But The Times is quite wrong to critize Alison Weir for it.
My expectations of this book were fully met, I enjoyed very much reading this balanced account of Isabella of France who does indeed not deserve to be called "she-wolf". Well, but I am afraid that it will stick as even Mrs. Weir's felt fit to give Isabella that "title" on the book's cover.
 Very detailed and very, very exciting March 24, 2007
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
I really looked forward to reading this book every day and was sorry to have finished it. It is not in fact quite such a chunky story as it appears as the book has a bibliography, extensive notes and an index as well as some photographs which add hugely to the interest of the period. (If only they were real photographs of the protagonists instead of statues and paintings - it would be wonderful to see what they really looked like). And what a period! I defy anyone to call history boring ever again after reading this. I forgot quite how gory and merciless the middle ages could be. Isabella of France, born in 1292, was married to Edward II at the age of 12. Unfortunately for her the king was not only homosexual but was already entrenched in a relationship with Piers Gaveston. (What a perfect name for the gay king's favourite!)
At a time of constant strife and savage reprisals, it is unlikely that the intelligent and beautiful Isabella would have lived out her natural life span had she been less well endowed with a strong and cunning instinct for self preservation. During her life time, two of her sisters were caught in adultery, both they and their lovers suffering the sternest penalty.
Isabella herself survived the era of Gaveston, (who was pierced through the heart and beheaded), and appears to have been a true wife, bearing her husband four children - but before long her husband had found another male lover, Hugh Despenser, who became a threat to her very existence. Taking a lover herself, Isabella was runing the highest risk of all in medieval times when women were seen as very much subservient to men, and the authority of the king was seen as absolute.
Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer eventually invaded England from France to shake England free from the tyranny of the errant king and Despenser. Hers was the first succesful invasion of England since the Norman Conquest of 1066, and it was also one of the most succesful coups in English history.
The most hideous revenge was exacted on Despenser, who was half hanged, his privates cut off and thrown into a fire, and finally eviscerated and beheaded. Edward II met a similarly horrible end, with a "hot brush put through the secret place posterial". Edward III, as soon as he was old enough, avenged his father by putting Mortimer to death in his turn. Isabella was fortunate to be allowed to live out the rest of her life in quietness but she seems never to have fully recovered from the horror of her lover's death.
This book brings the whole period alive with so much detail of how the court, and ordinary people, lived, ate, dressed, travelled and entertained themselves. We read about a feast where 2,300 herrings, 1,100 eggs, fifteen piglets and a porpoise were consumed. We read about Isabella's daughter Eleanor, falsely accused by her errant husband of having leprosy, who removed her cloak to stand naked before the entire court to prove it was a lie.
Edward II lodged at more than 4,000 places in England during his lifetime - in fact the royal court will soon be appearing at a castle near you! This book epitomises the expression "bringing history to life" and only drops a star because of some unecessary repitition. But what an amazing achievement, to write a book which is both a meticulous record of virtually the day-to-day events of Isabella's life and present it as a compelling, action-packed tale.
As absorbing as her other works December 16, 2006
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
A typically well written and absorbing biography by this author. Sympathetic to a much maligned historical figure, while retaining a critical perspective. I read this immediately before Ian Mortimer's book on Roger Mortimer, which made for an interesting juxtaposition of perspectives on these two linked personalities.
 A Tedious Journey October 25, 2006
16 out of 21 found this review helpful
The subject of Isabella is compelling, considering how little appears to have been written about her. However, I was disappointed in Alison Weir's treatment of her subject. There is no doubt the author has done thorough research, which is evident throughout. The level of detail especially in the first half of the story, is tedious and frankly, quite boring. Devoting so many pages, for example, to the number of servants she had and what they got paid, is more bureaucratic than enthralling. Disclosing what dates Isabella travelled and where she went, without many journeys having any historic significance or interest, makes for dull reading. However, I persisted and the pace does pick up and eventually, an absorbing story unfolds. It is a pity I had to wade through a long-winded account of her early life, to get to the interesting bits.
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