Wow lots of interesting facts which blew me away…. how serial royal womanisers married off their discarded mistresses to bind their allies close. Explore the semi-official roles of some mistresses; the illegitimate children who became kings; secret marriage ceremonies; Edith Forne Sigulfson and Lady Eleanor Talbot who sought atonement through religion as well as the aristocratic women who became the victims of royal lust.

I have read a few negative reviews of this book which I do feel were unfair. Here the author tries to cover 500 years of history in one manageable volume and with limited sources in some cases. It may be a little thin on detail in some areas but there literally are no sources - women were not important and were not written about. Some of the phrasing is repetitive and the book would have been helped by tidier editing but it was an interesting introduction to some characters who sit on teh periphery of medieval history yet had lots of influence

This is a refreshing analysis of a sector of royal life rarely studied in detail, in my opinion. I love that this looks at the lives, impact, and role of royal mistress during a time period often overlooked. Everyone knows Diane de Poitiers and Madame du Barry, but what about those who came before? This book delivers those women and delivers them with witty and thoughtful analysis. If you enjoy Royal histories, this will be a great addition to your library.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of Medieval Royal Mistresses in exchange for an honest review. This book is very interesting and highly recommended for all royal history lovers. It covers numerous royal mistresses in both Britain and France, from early life to death. However, given the little documentation left behind by these women, the majority of information comes from male figures, which is sadly not surprising. If only these women's voices were recorded in history, it's a wonder what additional information could be learned. In addition, I appreciate that the author focused on how these women empowered themselves in these relationships by obtaining financial security and self-autonomy, rather than just being used as a piece of meat.

From the known to the unknown this book is full of the royal mistresses that ruledd monarchs in the middle ages. Some were even mothers to future royalty what I love about this book is it not only tells you about the mistresses put the gossip and opinions that surrounded them in their modern day. I think Julie Hickey did a wonderful job with this book I found it hard to put down easy to read and if you love gossip mixed in with interesting historical facts you’ll love Mid Evil Royal Mistresses it’s just more proof that people have always been naughty. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I have been on a nonfiction kick recently and this one stood out for many reasons. I loved the honesty and emotion. I felt like I was in the moment with the author and I felt like the articulation of the circumstances were easy to understand which I appreciated with such a complex issue.

This is a compendium of salacious scandals highlighting a handful of women who possessed power and agency in a world where their gender and sex were deemed inferior to men. For readers who enjoy the political maneuverings rife in European medieval history, this is a fantastic work to add to your collection.

Each chapter focuses on a specific woman, her immediate world, and a narrative charting of her political and public life as it was recorded in the historical archive. There are the usual mentions of the usual heavyweights of Medieval women’s history: Elizabeth Woodville (who became Edward IV of England’s queen), Katherine Swynford (who became the Duchess of Lancaster and the wife of John of Gaunt), Rosamund Clifford (the mistress of Henry II and the object of many romantic poems), and Saxon queens, like Emma or Ælfgifu of Northampton. But the book also brings to the forefront other, lesser known women who came to wield sexual and political power: Maud Peverel (the mistress of William the Conqueror), Herleva of Falaise (the mistress of a Duke of Normandy), Edith Forne Sigulfson, and numerous other unnamed women who bore royal children.

Many of the women in these pages were powerful in their own right as heiresses or bearers of royal blood, but invariably most were eventually cast aside or somehow lost their influence over the men who ruled this world and time. For all their power, Medieval Europe was a patriarchal world.

Medieval history is — to me at least — infinitely intriguing, but the archival evidence on women in this age and the internal lives of individuals is so sparse that monographs are often dry and lack the kind of micro- and prosopographical history I personally enjoy. There is a great deal of historical tennis volley of “Duke So-and-So met Earl Such-and-Such in battle” or “Lady Blah Blah was then wed to the second son, Henry (always a Henry somewhere), but died alone the way” and so on and so on, so on, so on, etcetera, etcetera. But to Hickey’s credit, the prose and style of this book make what might be a dry topic of political intrigue interesting.

An awful lot of information to absorb in this book which reveals many women lost to the usual history books. Thanks to Netgalley.

I love history books and this was a very interesting take on a different aspect of history. Exciting to read, well written. Recommend

I found this book to be well researched but did not find any information different to that which I have already read in other books. This is a good book for someone that is just starting to read and get involved in Medieval Royal history. The writing was brisk and to the point. A solid read.

When we think about royal relationships from the past, we do not associate them with love; it is more about cementing power. Princes and kings knew how much was at stake, so they tended to have wives for politics and produce legitimate heirs that would inherit their kingdoms. For matters of love and lust, kings and princes would have mistresses, either of noble birth or lower, on the side. These women have been deemed whores and homewreckers but is that a fair assessment of their legacies? Julia A. Hickey takes a closer look at these misunderstood mistresses in her latest book, “Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes.”

Thank you, Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. When I saw this title, it intrigued me, and I was hoping to learn something new.

Hickey covers several hundred years in this book, starting around the year 1000 and ending in 1485. We begin with Queen Emma, Aelfgifu, and the confusion of whether Aelfgifu should be considered a mistress. With these Anglo-Saxon and Norman kings of England, we see many relatively hidden mistresses of William I and Henry I (who had quite a few). We then move to the Plantagenets with Henry II, King John, Edward II, Edward III, and Edward IV. Hickey also pays attention to other affairs in different countries, such as King David of Scotland and the Tour de Neste Affair.

Some of these mistresses would be familiar to readers, such as Isabella of Angouleme, Fair Rosamund, Piers Gaveston, Alice Perrers, Katherine Swynford, Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, Jane Shore, Eleanor Talbot, and Elizabeth Woodville. Many were new to me, including Princess Nest of Wales, whose abduction started a war, Edith Forne Sigulfson, and Elizabeth Wayte. She even included Eleanor of Aquitaine as one of the mistresses mentioned in this book, which I disagree with as most of this stems from the black legend that has tainted her legacy.

I found the information provided in this book rather intriguing, but my one concern about this book was how it was structured. I wish Hickey had sections marked for each king she mentioned in this book so we could distinguish which mistress was associated with which king or prince.

Overall, I found this book enjoyable and informative. It was a bit repetitive, and there were some arguments that I disagreed with. Still, the fact that Hickey could combine nearly 500 years' worth of history about relatively hidden royal mistresses is quite admirable. Suppose you want a solid introduction to medieval England's world of royal mistresses. In that case, I recommend you read “Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes” by Julia A. Hickey.

This was so disappointing. I saw the title and thought “Great! A book about the women behind the crown.” That was not this book. The focus was on the men who forced relationships onto the women they happen to meet or be related to. So many of the women mentioned were actually married to the king and they still not the focus. The “mischievous” part of the title never existed. It was sad to read about these poor women who were in bad relationships as young as 15. Not one section did a deep dive on a woman and how she ended up in the position of mistress. Another struggle of mine was the amount of people mentioned. There were not enough pages for me to care about anyone in anyway. I unfortunately have to say that I have read better books about this time period and women from then.

I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I wish I could've liked this book, the premise was so promising! But unfortunately this book did nothing but confuse me, annoy me and put me in a slump while reading. There was nothing mischievous about these women, in fact most of them didn't sound all that willing. The book was centred around these adulterous men, unable to accept 'no' for an answer. Deeply disappointing, I'm afraid.

Throughout European history, Kings arranged marriages largely for political gain. However, this never stopped them from having a lady or three on the side. This book discusses some of these women who, while not necessarily married to kings, did share a bed with them.

This work was sadly underwhelming. There was no mischief or misbehaving, at least relating to the women of these stories. Instead, the work focused on the brutality and disrespect of the men who were in powerful roles at the time. The histories of this work were still very male-centric, which was massively disappointing considering the title of this book. There were also long discussions about the children of these women – again, not particularly relevant to this book.

The book was set up with each chapter discussing a different “medieval mistress” and her role in history. These bite-sized histories were a fine compilation and overview, but there wasn’t any real depth to the chapters. I know this was in part due to the lack of historical documentation surrounding some of these women, but I would have liked to have anything new added that I wouldn’t have been able to find from a quick online search of these figures. This work added no new perspectives, critiques, or thoughts to the historical figures discussed within but was simply just a gathering of some sources that may have mentioned these women in passing.

Unfortunately, other than being a compilation of information adjacent to these women, I don’t think this work adds anything to the stories and histories of these women. My thanks to NetGalley and Pen and Sword Publishing for allowing me to read and review this work, which will be published on 30 November 2022.

This is a fascinating read! Medieval Royal Mistresses is well-researched, interesting and covers many women who this history-lover did not know existed. I really enjoy historical biographies about women, and their influence on the times and their world, and am glad they are getting their recognition, albeit centuries too late.
This is an interesting study of how women's power is degenerated and vilified, and how they navigated their worlds and how they influenced the future. I have never heard of Nest of Wales or Jane Shore, and I was really interested in their stories! Katherine Swynford's life is a fountain of fascination and really well told in this book.
This was a wishlist read that was granted by the publisher and Netgalley, my opinion is my own. I really recommend this for readers interested in medieval history, women's history or European history.

This entertaining book dishes the goods on medieval English royal mistresses and endeavors to center the story on the ladies and not their royal paramours. It even includes a couple of male favorites of King Edward II. The book begins, just prior to the Norman Conquest, with Queen Emma and Ælgifu. It concludes just prior to the Tudor Dynasty with Lady Eleanor Talbot Butler, Queen Elizabeth (Woodville), and Jane Shore.

Author Julia A. Hickey highlights the lives of these women in the context of their times and provides commentary on the contemporary attitudes toward women and how it affected each woman’s life. While the book is well researched, it is not overly in depth or complicated. It is perfect for someone with little prior knowledge of these ladies and who wants to know more.

Admittedly, the information known about many of the women is often sparse and there is some supposition involved. For me, that did not detract from the book. It just further highlights the plight of women during this period in that they were often without advocates and seen as disposable. Some might find the writing occasionally dry, as there is some reciting of facts. However, the curious will likely be delighted with the information, and I definitely fall into the second group. I recommend this for history buffs, especially those that want to learn more about the lives of the women who shaped the history of England.

Really interesting look at something that is by nature hard to pin down and discuss. I thought the research was quite good and the author does a good job discussing the royal mistresses without descending into caricature. The author particularly does a good job discussing how royal mistresses were seen in their own day, and the misogynist tropes they have been subjected to since. The book was readable and manageable given the length of time involved,

For a book supposedly about medieval royal mistresses, the women (and handful of men) themselves were given very little attention. There is no doubt that Hickey has done a lot of research about this era and the complexity of the of the society and the people in it. But her main subjects - the royal mistresses - were more like footnotes than actual subjects. This was more about the kings and their children, not the mistresses. Furthermore, the writing was very dry and read more like a wikipedia entry than anything else. Also, I was happy to already know this time period pretty well (I did my master's thesis on medieval queenship) because if hadn't had that background knowledge, I don't think I would have been able to follow this book. Too much was included - especially too many names just thrown about - that didn't actually revolve around the subject matter. Even to me, it was confusing at times.

This book contained so much extraneous material. I can understand wanting historical context for each subject but so much of this book was just filler. If there is not enough source material to write a full-length book, then perhaps a full-length book is not the correct format.

Medieval Royal Mistresses by Julia A. Hickey is a look at the mistresses of kings spanning several hundred years, and an insight as to the different motivations that guided each woman, be it power, security, wealth, or perhaps even love in a time when marriage was meant to increase one's social standing as well as elevate one's family. Since it is such a sweeping book, it might perhaps be a bit confusing for readers who are not well acquainted with the medieval time period, and the fact that many mistresses shared the same names, and many kings shared the same names, will only serve to befuddle such a reader even more. The author's inclusion of a list of the monarchs in question as well as their mistresses, wives, and children (both legitimate and illegitimate) is a great boon. At any rate, it is fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives of some women who have fallen into the cracks of history

I think I anticipated this book to be bawdy, which is on me. It's clearly well researched, and there's a trove of resources in the bibliography to sift through if a reader wishes to focus their study or expand upon it.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.