I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Very very fashinating read! I have read a lot of books by this author and this is probably my favorite read from this author. Highly recommend for history buffs out there!

There's no doubt about it, Alison Weir is a PRO. She was doing this style of history before most people - the kind that's both directed at a popular audience, and focused on original records. This book is well written and professionally done.

I also read the first book in this series, Queens of the Conquest, but did not read the second one. Basically, what she's about is writing the history of England through the lives of the queens, so there is a lot of context provided about what was going on in the country and in Europe while the queens were alive.

The first section, about Edward I's second wife, was somewhat thin, because we know so little about Marguerite, so it was the most padded out with pages of descriptions of things like what they took on progress with them (tons of people and stuff), or who worked in a queen's household (not always this queen). But she really hit her stride with Isabella, Edward II's wife. I found her portrayal of Isabella sympathetic and psychologically astute - up until almost the last minute, Isabella was loyal to Edward and tried to support him, even as he gradually took away all her income and her role in his life and even kept her away from his side (under the influence of the Despensers). Once she was able to sort of fool them into letting her go to France and sending her eldest son along, she had the upper hand in every way, and knew how to use it. Her takeover of the government was at first popular and successful. Things gradually went wrong as she and Roger Mortimer basically looted the royal treasury, and they ended up unpopular in their turn.

I felt a little let down by the wrap-up of this section, because she could have better drawn together the threads of Isabella's life in England to deliver an ending as considered as the details. Instead of just trying to figure out whether she was 'more sinned against than sinning,' maybe talk about how she tried hard to do the right thing at first, was sort of starved out of her role as Edward's wife, and then spent the rest of her life compensating for it. Instead, Weir says Isabella was under the thrall of Mortimer, which was a little unexpected given how perspicacious she was about Isabella's years with Edward. Basically, an innocent woman under the influence of a traitor is the picture Edward III put about, so he could avoid maligning and placing blame upon his mother. For the rest of her life she was well taken care of by him, and was able to remain closely involved in the lives of her children. Because the details were so insightful, I expected a little more from this conclusion.

The reign of Edward III was long and eventful and it's narrated well. It's also often told, so there was not much that was surprising here. Sometimes more smoothly, and sometimes less, items from the royal records are worked in - in between paragraphs narrating historical or family events, there will be a paragraph saying that on such and such a date Edward bought Philippa a certain bunch of things that cost X number of pounds, or a dinner was conducted with these courses for this many people costing X number of pounds. There were times when it really didn't add anything to the narrative at all, but because the information existed it had to be worked in. That's part of the style of history that Weir has pioneered and that has become so popular.

The final sections, about the two queens of Richard II, again narrates an eventful period in English history, although some of it takes place offstage because Richard was not married at a given moment. Contra Shakespeare, Isabella of Valois was ten years old when Richard was deposed, so the most gripping part of her story was the machinations over her return to France between Henry IV and her father.

I probably won't read the next book, which will probably go from Henry IV through Richard III, only because I know her opinion of Richard III and don't really share it. But this series is a really good overview of the history of England through the queens, and I recommend it to anybody who wants to read such an overview that isn't just the same old thing.

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

Queens of the Age of Chivalry: England's Medieval Queens, Volume Three by Alison Weir is an excellent nonfiction that is a stunning collection of well-known, and often not as well-known formidable women that lived and ruled in England during 1299-1399.

I have read all three books in this series thus far, and this is by far my favorite. I am a huge fan of Ms. Weir and have read almost all of her nonfiction and fiction, but I still keep an open mind when reading new books despite my allegiance to my favorite authors…and this book definitely is a winner.

Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia, and Isabella of Valois are the five fabulous women that Weir has heavily researched and presented within this volume. This presentation should appeal to newbies and veterans to the Plantagenets, and easily held my interest.

Weir clearly has done her research and has a true passion for the English monarchy and English history. I am so glad that she has written this series to bring to light so many fantastic women that were all before their time, and have made a lasting change within history. It is just unfortunate that we don’t have even more material to draw from…too many women have been vital, but yet overlooked and sometimes even forgotten. I am glad that Ms. Weir has decided to do something about it.

5/5 stars enthusiastically

Thank you NG and Random House/ Ballantine for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 12/6/22.

Absolutely enthralling and detailed! I loved reading about the Queens of England most historians don’t write about. I want more!

When you read one of Alison Weir's books you know you are about to be transported to another time. I learned so much from reading this book.

576 pages

5 stars

Ms. Weir does it again! She writes an exceptionally well researched book about the Queens of England in the age of chivalry. This was a time of upheaval in England with wars, rebellion and disease. This in contrast to the games of courtly love between the upper echelon of British aristocrats.

I have read all of Alison Weir’s books and she hasn’t disappointed yet. Her writing style is almost conversational and not at all dry. She makes history especially interesting and is careful to attend to whomever is speaking at any given time. The reader has a clear idea about whom she is speaking. (Unlike some other authors I have read.)

I anxiously await her next offering.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Ballantine
for forwarding to me a copy of this book so that I may read, enjoy and review it. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.