5 comments about The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

1. I recieved this book in perfect condition and it came a day before the estimated time of arrival. Thank you.



2. The book is great so far. I ordered it because its my ex girlfriends favorite book and i trust her taste in books.



3. What I liked most about this book is also what since distresses me most about films circulating on this topic. Weir so thoroughly researches the profusion of biographic material available (besides Britain, courts throughout Europe had documention on the wives of Henry and him) that it is clear there is no need to fictionalise this fascinating story (you wouldn't even try to imagine it). And although it lends itself so well to a series (or a film) once you have read this book the inaccuracies in (Gregory's, for example) fictionalisions on the screen tend to get annoying. Wonderful book -the story is historic and timeless at the same time. (If you can recommend a good, unembellished biographic DVD, please do.)



4. The Six Wives of Henry VIII
   Wonderful book. Very well written. It has increased my desire to know more about Henry the VIII and his times.



5. Very informative book! Weir manages to give us a detailed description of the personalities of each of these six queens. What makes this book such a success is that its very easy to read making it impossible to get bored!

5 comments about The Children of Henry VIII.

1. Once again (I bought three books related with Henry VIII) the contents were the expected, the conditions in wich I received the book were perfect, and in a very reasonable lapse of time



2. From the moment I picked up this book, I got glued. I have never read anything about Henry or his children in the past. I had been wanting to read about Elizabeth but it took awhile for me to find the right book. I read many reviews on the books written about her and based on those reviews, Alison Weir was the biographer I chose. Many have commented how she has put this book and the book on Elizabeths adult life together very well. And she has by my opinion. I'm still reading the book and look forward to reading about Elizabeth's adulthood.



3. As usual Alison Weir has written a great non-fiction. The research that she does makes her my number one author.



4. This was my first voluntary non fiction historical read. I am impressed! This story was very easy reading. I don't think I really had any idea what was going on back then, the English "subjects" must have been completely at a loss as to what religion to practice. I was disappointed that the book didn't go more into Elizabeth's reign but I now understand that there is another book out there ready to explain it. The only advice I could offer someone who is about to read it is: keep up with people's names/titles. As they are given (and taken away) titles they are from then on referred to as their new title. If you miss the transition or don't make a metal note, you get lost as to who the author is talking about.
   
   I think my biggest shock was when Mary took over, after complaining and moaning about being able to practice her own religion (Catholic), and how she shouldn't have to give up her beliefs...moan...moan...moan (she did a lot of that). She takes over and forces her own religion onto everyone else, I had no idea "Bloody Mary" was a real name, I just thought it was something you scared the crap out of your friend with in the girls bathroom back in middle school. I just dated myself didn't I?
   
   Final thought: I enjoy fiction for the most part, I actually recommended this book to friends.



5. Alison Weir has done it again. I love historical fiction, including such as The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and wanted to expand my reading to nonfiction. I started with Weir's Six Wives of King Henry VIII and was not at all disappointed! I just finished Children of Henry VIII and could not be happier with it. (though it is misleading to think that she discusses Elizabeth's actual reign because she does not) By this did not prevent me from giving it a well deserved 5 stars. She made historical nonfiction exciting! I am now looking for more of her books. She is fair, unbaised, and I truly appreciated how she would present ideas and clearly state what evidence did or did not support certain perspectives. I learned much and am thrilled to add it to my library.

5 comments about The Life of Elizabeth I.

1. I love reading books on the royal family,and this is a great book. Lots of history, very interesting, best book I've read in a long time. She was a great lady. Get ready for a LONG read!



2. Weir does a great job of giving the flavor of the times and the Virgin Queen. However, she gets bogged down in too much detail sometimes. There are hidden bits of humor that are fun to find, as well.
   
   Overall I believe this is a good biography of the Queen, however, it isn't for those looking for a quick or simple read.



3. This magnificent book has me convinced that a woman can rule a complex country. My mind is changed and I think it's time for this country to elect a female president.



4. This book reads like a history book and not a story book so might get a bit boring for some. But I liked it. It gave insight on even the smallest things in QE1 life (clothes,her teeth,household, etc) I think this book covers alot of things in her life and I am glade I bought this book!



5. While I recognize that her neverending courtships, both for politics and her own vanity are important, I do feel that this subject dominated the book. Of course Dudley and especially Essex reflect her faults. The book does not focus on many other very important aspects of her reign. It seems to want to be a "love story" as opposed to a complete biography. I did find it to be "easy reading" for a book of this kind but I must recommend Anne Somerset's biography for a more well rounded and informed view.

2 comments about Murder of a Medici Princess.

1. This is the fascinating true story of Isabella de Medici, the spunky socialite of Renaissance Florence. She seems like the type of girl you'd want as a friend--independent, interested in the arts, and quite a flirt. The writing is very fluid--you cheer as Isabella runs the show and gasp at her husband's bold violence.



2. Isabella de' Medici (1542-1576) sparkled among the glittering ruling family of Florence, but she was tragically snuffed out in the prime of her life. In a further injustice, her brother Francesco, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, tried to erase her from memory, an injustice that Caroline Murphy has done an admirable job of rectifying in this fascinating biography of Isabella.
   
   Isabella was the third child of Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of Florence (second cousin of Catherine de' Medici, the Queen of France) and Eleonora di Toledo (of Spanish nobility). The Duke and Duchess enjoyed a very happy marriage, and Isabella had a happy childhood and particularly an excellent education. In 1558 it was arranged for her to marry Paolo Giordano Orsini, a degenerate profligate from a prominent Roman family. He was created Duke of Bracciano on account of his Medici connections, but Isabella visited his castle only briefly. She opted instead to stay in her beloved Florence, where she lived a luxurious, celebrated life independent of her husband in Rome. (She had an affair, and he had many.) Her independence was possible because of her husband's indebtedness to her father and her father's influence--he was soon elevated to Grand Duke of Tuscany.
   
   After Cosimo's death, his eldest son Francesco became the new Grand Duke and was much less sympathetic to Isabella. He reneged on Cosimo's promise to provide for Isabella's two children (Paolo was busy spending his children's inheritance in Rome), so Isabella stayed in Florence to negotiate the children's affairs. Paolo started asking her to join him in Rome, but she used the negotiations as well as her health as an excuse to refuse. Eventually matters came to a head when Francesco banished Isabella's lover and Paolo went to Florence ostensibly to take Isabella on a hunting trip. Instead, Isabella was cruelly murdered by her husband and a henchman, apparently with Francesco's approval. Her cousin/sister-in-law was similarly killed at this time for the same reason: the Medici family honor. Murphy points out that Francesco sanctioned these honor killings to punish female adultery even though he let much graver crimes go unpunished in Florence--and even though he humiliated his Habsburg wife by keeping his mistress as practically a rival duchess. This is all in sharp contrast to his father Cosimo's having upheld law and order in the city and allowed loose (but not humiliating) morals at court.
   
   Like other powerful and independent Renaissance women--Veronica Franco and Mary Queen of Scots spring to mind--Isabella was both a product and a victim of her time. She enjoyed a degree of autonomy that was rare until the 20th century, and she perished under a medieval system that subjugated women. ("Honor" was an admitted legal defense in Italy until 1981!)
   
   Murphy tells this compelling story well--her writing is fluid if occasionally choppy, and the main characters come to life in the context of local and European politics. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Medici family or the lives of Renaissance women.

5 comments about Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford.

1. I enjoyed Ms. Fox's writing style. She does a good job of converting non-fictional material into a fictional-style telling of a story. However, the editing is HORRIBLE! By the time you get through wordy lines of text, poorly placed commas and interjected "by the way" thoughts, you've forgotten the intent of the sentence. Had the editor used more periods, the flow would have been easier to establish.



2. For readers familiar with the Tudor saga, this book is little more than a retelling. Author Fox tries oh-so-hard to convince us that she has new information and a fresh point of view, but she doesn't. I grew tired of reading passage after passage like this: "We don't know if Jane was a guest at the [INSERT EVENT]. But if she had been, she would have feasted on [INSERT FOOD] and rubbed elbows with [INSERT NAMES]." A big disappointment!



3. Jane Boleyn:
   The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford
   by Julia Fox
   
   Published by Ballantine Books
   
   A Review
   
   
   There may come a time - not in my life certainly, when those clever people at Microsoft or Google, will build a time machine. Then, with a few deft keystrokes, anyone with sufficient funds to stump up the registration, will be able to travel back in time and confirm or otherwise the popular conceptions of history.
   Until then, we must rely on Julia Fox and her ilk to wade through the sources and present us with their opinion of what happened where and when. She does so with admirable perspicacity
   
   Julia Fox has been very courageous in choosing a subject that has been written to death (3 million internet hits), in both fact and fiction. However, as everyone has access to the same primary sources, it is not everyone that can tease out the plausibility from the preconceived notions as well as Ms Fox does.
   
   This is Fox's first book and it is beautifully written. From the first chapter it is apparent that she is an experienced researcher and teacher. She also has an eye for beauty. Her descriptions of the Tudor ladies wardrobes, betray an author with an eye for style.
   
   This is the story of the trials and tribulations and ultimate undoing of Jane Boleyn (née Parker), Lady Rochford, wife of George Boleyn who was Anne Boleyn's brother. Fox attempts to buck the trend and redeem the oft disparaged viscountess. She elevates her from the `Great Whore' and `Wicked Wife' of other publications, to innocent victim in her own.
   
   Opinions vary whether the lady brought wretchedness upon herself through treachery, or was just a victim of circumstance. Fox suggests the latter, and I am persuaded.
   
   In the life and death lottery that was King Henry VIII's court, you win some and you lose some. Losing was rather final as in Jane's, her husband and sister-in-law's case, not to mention a few hundred more, but Fox punctuates these personal dilemmas with beautifully drawn descriptions of the pomp and ceremony that occupied the space between the misery.
   
   It would be easy to conclude that when questioned about her Queen's and husband's alleged offenses, she betrayed them. That would have been dumb; then and now. And Lady Rochford was anything but dumb. She was a lady-in-waiting to five of Henry's wives before she lost her head. That would have required some nifty footwork.
   
   There can be little doubt that she was implicated in the machinations of Catherin Howard, but is anyone seriously suggesting that she should have popped along to Henry, and whispered in his ear (perhaps shouting would have been more effective), that his Queen was dallying with half his court?
   
   It must be said however that a majority of the evidence for or against comes from loquacious foreign diplomats. They may or may not have been sympathetic to the English court, and perhaps sprayed their odium where it was most likely to stick.
   
   Julia Fox's book is a riveting read. Her points are well made and convincing. Her tone is `matter-of-fact `and never drifts from know intelligence.
   
   I strongly recommend this book for a first and second reading, and wait with enthusiasm for her next work.



4. The 26.95 plus tax I spent would have made a nice cocktail hour. I am an avid Tudor reader. And not once in all my years of reading have I had to stop 165 pages in. It is my opinion that, if so little is known about Lady Rochford, then this book should not have been written. I have plenty of books about Henry and his wives. If I had known I was purchasing " Tudor History for Dummies". I would have gone out drinking and done my part to save a tree. If you love and RESPECT Tudor history, don't read this book. I feel it insults our intelligence.



5. How could Julia Fox be given a book contract for "Jane Boleyn The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford"? Did an editor even read the claptrap the writer presents as "history"? Ms. Fox is probably the only student of Tudoriana to see Jane Boleyn as a "courageous spirit" and a "much-maligned figure whose life and reputation were taken from her".
   
   In a cowardly effort to save her own skin, Jane Boleyn gave Henry VIII the lies he needed to divest himself of wife number 2, Anne Boleyn. It meant death for her husband, George Boleyn, and sister-in-law, the Queen , but it didn't seem to bother Jane much. Blood relatives, like the Duke of Norfolk, the Boleyn sibling's uncle, also betrayed Anne and George, as did Anne's first love, Henry Percy. Betrayal was apparently the only way you could survive the snake pit that was Henry's court.
   
   I had expected an interesting juxtaposition between the saintly Thomas Moore, a man of principle, and his direct opposite, Jane Boleyn. The grooming of a traitor - now that would have been an interesting subject!
   
   But when I finished Julia Fox's book I knew as little about Jane Boleyn as I did when I started reading it. Ms. Fox doesn't know a whole heck of a lot more about her subject either - her book is filled with suppositions like "Jane was almost certainly an honored guest", " a few moments' reflection would have revealed to Jane", "Jane may even have helped Anne fasten (glittering stones) around her neck", "Perhaps Jane had witnessed", "Almost certainly, Jane was at her sister-in-law's side", "Jane was probably lodged", "It is most likely that Jane", "Perhaps Jane was wearing her favorite stocking", "That Jane was (a witness to Henry and Anne's wedding) is remotely possible but speculative", "for Jane, it was a chance to see", "it is unlikely that Jane actually saw", "Jane would have been gawped at too", "Anne, perhaps with Jane at her side", "Jane may well have", "We cannot be certain that Jane was with her sister-in-law, but it is likely that she was there", "this was likely to have been", "Jane probably did not travel", "We cannot be sure that Jane was present", "She may have remained", "She may have had a chance to have a word with"... and so on, and so on, ad nauseam.
   
   Julia Fox tells us four sure things about Jane Parker Boleyn: the woman was born, she married George Boleyn, served as lady-in-waiting to five of Henry's queens, and then she was beheaded.
   
   "Immaculate detective work"? I think not.

5 comments about A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors.

1. As an avid reader of historical novels I bought this book out of curiosity and I found it to be really funny and wonderfully written. Michael Farquhar has written in a such a humorous way, each tale about a historical figure is combined with shocking scandals and funny gossip.
   
   A great read. Highly recommended.



2. As I walked past this book at the local mega-bookstore my interest was fancied and I bought it on impulse, and because it was an impulsive buy I most certainly not take the time to look at the author's credentials, or look at the research done. As such I cannot blame anyone but myself for reading a book based almost entirely on gossip and propaganda.
   
   Granted, there were some stuff that could be "proved", but much of what this book talks about cannot be proved one way or the other and is nothing more than a collection of he said she said gossip around the various towns or from the various nobles. And oftentimes the sources are the subjects sworn enemy! Of course the enemy is going to claim so and so is a pedophile, or was a murderous, tortuous monarch. Of course this isn't a means to ignore what they say or to discount it as a falsehood. Europe's past ruling families are known far and wide for their hobbies and past times, for their sexual desires and cruel interest in sport and torture, but Farquhar's book implies that this was how the monarchs and queens always acted and, as another reviewer states, ignores the good that many monarchs have produced (yes, even some of the murderous monarchs as well). Of course this would diminish the appeal that this book would draw upon.
   
   After all, who doesn't like to read a good gossip? This is exactly what Farguhar has compiled, and is most definitely the feel of the book as a whole.
   
   I give it three stars because it was a very light and fun read, something you can pick up while sitting on the toilet or as a light vacation read. I would not recommend to those looking for more a more serious look at history, even for those who are not familiar with the times at all. So, 3 stars for sheer mindless entertainment for a few hours.
   
   3 stars.



3. A Treasury of Royal Scandals is a compendium of all the deliciously, scandalously bad things kings, queens, emperors, and popes have done over the past thousand years or so. Covering adultery to homosexuality to alcoholism, torture, murder, and beyond, it turns out that the ruling classes of Europe, especially in France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and Russia, were quite badly behaved at times. We're given, in short form, everything from Henry VIII and his six wives to the Babylonian Captivity.
   
   Farquhar provides the reader with several family trees and appendices, which include timelines and the various royal houses. The writing style is witty and lively, and I was very much caught up in the various stories, which tend to be told in short chapters.
   
   I didn't like the way the book was laid out--there didn't seem to be any kind of coherent organization (ie, chronological or geographical) to it. As someone who gets a bit of a voyeuristic thrill out of this kind of thing, I was delighted with this compendium. Because the book was written by a journalist, A Treasury of Royal Scandals isn't, perhaps, the most scholarly work of nonfiction (and some of the incidents and tidbits seem as though they're merely gossip). But it sure is fun.



4. Sort of a gossip book of little known facts about well known people.
   I enjoyed it and am giving it as a birthday present to a history buff friend.



5. This is a very entertaining book. It is a quick read. The stories are short but you can always get another book that expands on that person in history if you want to know more.

5 comments about Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (Ballantine Reader's Circle).

1. Alison Weir is my favorite author and I decided to read this book after seeing the movie "The Lion in Winter". As always, Alison Weir does a great job! Eleanor was definitely an interesting person, as was Henry. Great book!



2. Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life, by Alison Weir, is a absorbing look into the life of one of Europe's most intriguing queens. Born in Aquitaine, she was married off to King Louis of France. Her marriage to him was annulled, and Eleanor married King Henry II of England. She then became mother to two kings of England. What emerges from this book is an in-depth look at not only the life of this queen, but insight into the world of the laste-12th century. Eleanor of Aquitaine was a truly remarkable and unusual woman, having had more power than other women of the period and having had a dynamic personality.
   
   It turns out that, despite her notoriety, not much is truly known about Eleanor (in fact, there exists not even an accurate painting or sculpture of her, and some periods of her life are unaccounted for), but Weir does an amazing job in this biography of putting the pieces together. I hadn't known much about the life of this fascinating queen before reading this book, but I learned a lot and was thoroughly entertained by the way in which the author portrayed the period. Weir is first-rate in the historical accuracy department, so that's why I keep returning again and again to her nonfiction. There's also a certain sense of storytelling she has that makes her books be more than simply a recitation of facts, which makes Eleanor of Aquitaine highly readable.



3. While I learned quite a bit from this book, I didn't find it very well written. It was too "text-booky" and way too long to be an enjoyable read. While I haven't gone looking for another book about Eleanor, I hope there is one better written than this.



4. Overall this is an interesting book about not only Eleanor, but that whole first generation of Plantagenets, including Henry II and his sons. As some other reviewers have noted, Eleanor herself seems missing from large parts of the book, due no doubt to lack of enough information, and it seems the book's title should reflect its actual subject matter. Saying it is a biography of Eleanor is somewhat misleading. The last chapters, after Henry II dies, return more to the story of Eleanor, but some of her facts are clearly off.
   
   As one example, I was put off by Weir's account regarding the Hugh de Lusignans and Isabella of Angouleme. According to Weir, after John abducted Isabella from Lusignan (in 1200), John then gave his ward Matilda, daughter of Count Vulgrin of Angouleme, to Lusignan, and she bore him a son who became Hugh X. Only problem is, Matilda and Hugh IX de Lusignan had married over ten years earlier, about 1189; and Hugh X was either born in 1183 or 1195, but was clearly born before John became King and took Isabella. Historians are uncertain whether Isabella had been betrothed to Hugh IX or Hugh X, yet all agree that after John died in 1216 she married Hugh X -- yet Weir would have it that Hugh X wasn't even born until closer to the time of Isabella's own son Henry III. Weir brushes quickly over her incorrect version of this, and has her facts completely wrong -- so readers should be aware that Weir doesn't always check her facts.



5. I have been fascinated with Eleanor of Aquitaine and was looking for a good, well-researched biography of her. Having read and enjoyed other books by Alison Weir, I thought this would be the one to read. However, as another reviewer mentioned, Weir took one of history's most fascinating women and made her "dull as dishwater" in this book. I don't know exactly what Weir could have done differently, but if Eleanor of Aquitaine's life was as interesting and exciting as it seems to have been, I don't know how this biography could have been so dull! The only reason I didn't give it fewer than three stars was because of the incredibly thorough research Weir appears to have done.

5 comments about The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn.

1. From all the books I've ready about Anne Boleyn, this is by the far the best in all aspects. Ives really gives the reader an inside glimpse as to who Anne Boleyn was and not just known as the second Queen of England that brought down Katherine of Aragon and was beheaded. I would recommend this book highly to any avid readers of Tudor history. Excellent, factual and well-researched!



2. Eric Ives's book about Anne Boleyn is absolutely the best study of her life and death I have ever read -- and I've read quite a few. Finally, Henry VIII's rejection of his "entirely beloved wife" makes sense, given the whole story of Anne's involvement with the religious reformers; the factions at court; and the loss of power that Thomas Cromwell faced because of her. Ives's depiction of Cromwell's engineering of Anne's arrest reads like a thriller. It was not as simple as Henry's wandering eye and Anne's "miscarriage of her savior". A very complex and moving book.
   
   Caitlin Scott-Turner
   (author, The Queen's Fencer)The Queen's Fencer



3. I think that this book was very infomative. I didn't need to do anymore research to find the answers I was looking for. This book had it all.



4. It has been very tempting for many Boleyn biographers to paint Anne as a feminist icon and victim of male power. It has been equally tempting in other generations to paint her as a conniving, power hungry witch who brought about her own donwfall and whose only value was sex-object and mother of one of England's greatest rulers. The truth one might rightly suspect lies somewhere in the middle. Ives gives us enough information-- at times, too much-- to find that middle ground, exploring not just Anne's family and social roots but the development of her tastes, values and beliefs. There can be no doubt Anne did plenty of scheming and had a thirst for prestige and power, and did not hesitate to wield it once she had it. But she was also a highly educated, engaging and interesting Renaissance woman, bringing the sophistications of the Continental Renaissance to the English court, a court which was in many ways, still Medieval in a world that had long passed into the era of "New Learning" and scientific exploration. There are rather extensive lists of her belongings, friends, writings, but that is what one would expect in a thorough study such as this (the most thorough yet done in all likelihood). Some of these listings might be better suited to an appendix rather than contained in the text but that was for editors to decide and one assumes they made their choices for informed reasons. And throught this dense documentation Anne emerges not as a stock Renaissance Comedia character, colored of one mood or dimension, but as a complex human being with the same appetites as any of us. And like any of us she is by turns infuriating, admirable, pitiable, likeable and annoying. In the end she proves tragic, but brave: after being offered a way out of her death sentence by the king himself, she goes to the scaffold and the swordsman rather than disinherit her blood and admit to any wrongdoing. If you've an interest in this period, and in this Court in particular, this is a biography worth owning.



5. It is impossible for me to ignore the impressive amount of scholarship, reasearch, time, thought, and effort that went into this book. Mr. Ives has no doubt done a service to Anne Boleyn Scholars. HOwever, the book is nearly impossible to read. Mr Ive's introduces many ancedotes into his narratives, which he then proceeds to argue are apocryphal, and then sometimes states they could be true after all. This makes it hard to understand his point, especially when he repeateadly uses words like might, perhaps, and maybe. But the worse thing about this book is that ignores, or dismisses other respectable scholarship on his subject matter as, "nonsene." He sometimes presents things as history, which are as a point of fact a matter of scholarly debate, and the footnotes demonstrate that his arguments are not always as sound as he would make them appear.
   Most specifically he dismisses the work of Harvard scholar Reetha M. Warnicke, who wrote a fascinating biography of the same subject called, "The Life and Death of ANne Boleyn." He needs to tell us when historical ideas are in dispute. His language can also be pretentious at times. (E.g. the repeated use of the word of rusticated.)

5 comments about Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.

1. Alison Weir as always shows her thorough research in this fine biography. Isabella, the daughter of the French King, married Edward II at the age of 12. Brought up to respect the awe and majesty of the throne, she was sorely disappointed in her father's choice of a husband. Edward was a week king and leader, apparently, easily led by others. Weir chronicles Isabella's change from girlhood to womanhood as she asserts herself as Queen. She is fair in her treatment of Isabella, acknowledging her weaknesses as well as her strengths, documenting her relationship with her husband Edward II, Roger Moritmer, and her son Edward III. The one fault I have are the leaps of logic she makes in her assertions she makes regarding Edward's murder and her relationship with Mortimer.



2. Alison Weir gives a detailed account of the life of Queen Isabella and illustrates that even though Isabella had a priveleged life it did not save her from her husband's jealous favourite who tried to crush her. Weir outlines the woman's point of view and the female role in Medieval society where 'rights' we given by the husband. When Queen Isabella witnesses everything she is entitled to as Queen removed she tactfully polts to regain her freedom and ultimate revenge. Alison Wier shows that Queen Isabella was the more powerful character and ruler compared to her husband and how this role was viewed in Medieval society.



3. medieval europe was a very rough place to be a woman of royal blood,you have less right than a slave.



4. This is the fifth Allison Weir book I've listened to on audio (after her books Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Children of Henry VIII and The Life of Elizabeth I) plus I've read another (The War of the Roses), and this one is definitely the weakest of the bunch for reasons I'll set forth below. But even weak Allison Weir is enjoyable and full of detail you won't get elsewhere, so as long as you go into it knowing her bias, it's still a worthwhile read, and the audio version of this one is particularly good and unabridged to boot.
   
   As other reviewers have noted, the book is a bit revisionist in its view of Edward II's wife, Isabella, who was nicknamed (well after her death) the She-Wolf of France. While we can certainly be sympthetic to Isabella's plight in life, being married to a man who was a terrible and unpopular king and was most likely involved in a homosexual relationship right under her nose, Weir ends up identifying far too much with Isabella and making her sound like an all-around great gal, which she most certainly wasn't. It's also a bit misleading to call this a biography of Isabella. More like a history of Edward II with a little Isabella thrown in for good measure. That's not entirely Weir's fault, as there isn't that much extant on Isabella's life and, in any event, you can't understand Isabella without knowing what was happening in the lives of the men around her. Still -- the audio version takes up 18 discs, and a great deal of it is lists: where Isabella spent the night on various dates, what she wore, who was in attendence, all interspersed with the larger, historical happenings in the kingdom. It doesn't always mesh together, particularly since on audio you can't skim over the parts that are thrown in just so we don't forget that this is supposed to be a book on Isabella and not one about Edward II. Also, as other reviewers have noted, Weir spends an awful lot of time surmising that Edward II wasn't really murdered but escaped from England and spent the rest of his life following his deposition as a hermit in Italy. And that's not the only surmising Weir does. The book is best when it sticks to the facts and summarizes the various theories surrounding Edward and Isabella, rather than offering poorly supported conclusions. Weir's views about conspiracies having to do with Edward's alleged escape, about Isabella's supposed pregnancies during the time of her affair with Roger Mortimer, and similar matters, simply aren't convincing. But oh those details -- they're just wonderful and not ones you tend to find in other 14th century history books.
   
   Of the five Weir books I've listened to on audio, all but one (the one on Elizabeth) have been superbly narrated. Lisette Lecat reads Isabella in a languid, upper-crust voice that took some getting used to at first, but which I grew quickly to appreciate as it never overshadows the material. My only criticism, and it's a slight one, is that she deepens her voice somewhat unaturally when reading passages of letters written by men, and I would have preferred that she just read them in her own voice. Other than that though, the narration is close to perfect, with the added plus that Lecat can correctly pronounce the numerous French place names. In the Life of Elizabeth I, the narrator not only sounded like the witch in a children's book, she mispronounced Catherine de Medici's last name every time, which took me right out of the narrative. Lecat, on the other hand, is impeccable with both her timing and pronunciation and so this was a pleasure to listen to from a purely audio perspective.
   
   If you've never read much on this time period I wouldn't recommend this as a starting place (Thomas Costain's four book on the Plantagenets are a great place to begin), nor would I recommend it as the first Allison Weir book to read (start with the Six Wives of Henry VIII). But if you are a Weir fan or looking for an alternative and sympathetic point of view about Isabella, by all means jump right in, especially if you need something good and lengthy to listen to on a long drive or commute.



5. It's been almost ten years since I left university, and after years of a staple diet of chick-lit, one of my new year's resolutions has been to read more - um - informational books written on a grade level that is at least on par with junior high! When I first moved to the UK I spent a lot of time refreshing myself on the monarchy, especially during the middle ages and renaissance, and while I remember hearing of Isabella as the "she-wolf" who was also the line to so many other historical happenings (Richard II and the Princes in the Tower, etc), I didn't know anything about her. Neither, obviously, did many other people, and thus, this book was a great way to swim in medieval England for a while and really learn the personalities of people involved.
   
   I grew to like Isabella very much, and was impressed with her as a woman of her time. But my thoughts of Isabella aside, i have to say that this book was definitely on par with all of Alison Weir's previous works. It wasn't always as riveting, and sometimes I felt overwhelmed with information, and there were times when I just couldn't handle more than 15 pages at once, but overall it was an informative read and parts of it were very fast-paced.
   
   I do wish there had been more family trees and maps - I found myself going to wikipedia all the time, and was grateful that I have actually been to Leeds Castle, so I know it's not actually in Leeds, but on nearly the opposite end of England! I think Weir might forget sometimes that a huge percentage of her readers probably don't know how long it would take to go from Islip to Gloucester to Canterbury. So if you don't know a lot about the monarchy and relations, or the geography of the UK, it would probably be a good idea to have wikipedia very nearby!
   
   Definitely a recommended read for history buffs and students alike. Very glad I read it.

5 comments about The Diana Chronicles.

1. This is a well written and compulsively readable book, which captures the essence of Diana better than any other biography I've read - and I've read many. Most books about Diana seem fall into one of two camps: either they are overly gushing and sympathetic (eg Andrew Morton, Paul Burrell) or they are critical in the extreme (eg Lady Colin Campbell, Patrick Jephson). Tina Brown is neither. She calls Diana out on her untruths (it's highly unlikely that Diana deliberately threw herself down the stairs) but also points out where her paranoia was justified (yes, the Squidgeygate tapes were deliberately released).
   
   There's not a lot of new material here (what was there left to find out?), but it's a very comprehensive look at Diana's life that pulls together all the various things that are known about her in such a way that you feel that you are viewing the truest and most complete picture yet. It also gave me a strong sense of what life behind the Palace walls is actually like and why Diana felt so isolated and uncomfortable there.
   
   Tina Brown is particularly good at getting inside Charles and Diana's heads: explaining Charles's misgivings at the time of the engagement or Diana's thoughts when she agreed to the divorce. At one point she refers to Diana being a tactician rather than a strategist (always going for the short term win rather than thinking of the long game), which I thought was a very astute observation. She discusses the Charles/Diana/Camilla triangle at great length, and ultimately concludes that quite possibly the marriage could have worked had Camilla not been ever-present (Camilla doesn't come across very well at all).
   
   This is a long book which starts a little slowly, but from the time that Diana meets Charles it races along. It's entertaining, it's insightful and it leaves you wistful for what could have been.



2. I loved this book because there was a lot to read, and it was all well-researched. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Diana got married when I was 5 years old, so I grew up reading about her. As a teenager, I devoured a lot of what was written about her. With these references floating around in my head, I was pleasantly surprised when I found the events I had read about in the papers described in greater detail, or when I read about events I didn't actually know about. Ms. Brown's accounts of a typical summer holiday at Balmoral were insightful and helped me to appreciate the lifestyle of the British Royal Family much better. When I watched The Queen, I noticed that much of the information in Ms. Brown's book was corroborated. I finished reading the book without taking sides. If anything came away with the impression that if Diana and her relatives were less arrogant, they would have been more compassionate or intervened more forcefully. Diana might have received counseling that would have saved her life. I can't quite understand why I was so taken with Diana as the mythological princess come to life. This incisive biography definitely broke the spell.



3. I bought the book as a gift.
   The person got really happy with the book.



4. The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown do not add much to our knowledge of the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Nonetheless, Tina Brown's access to people and the 2007 publication date which allowed her to review all that was known before the inquest of that year and the next, does provide us with the most extensive compilation of quotations yet assembled in one place.
   
   While venturing to comment frequently on Diana's psychological state, Brown refers to but does not take into account her mother's alcoholism, the double-dealing of her sisters especially Jane Fellowes or similar bonding difficulties in Diana's life. Brown does, however, clearly emphasize the princess's astounding isolation in her early palace years.
   
   Brown also seems a bit bemused by the continual reports, from those who were present, of the healing touch the Princess seemed to have had, and of the gift of light Diana so willingly brought to so many. Brown does agree that Princess Diana always `rose to the occasion' and never disappointed those waiting for her, regardless of her personal state, even from the earliest days of her marriage.
   
   One of Brown's main contributions is the clear statement that El Fayed's ten-year shouting campaign about a murder conspiracy has almost obscured the fact that it was his son, his hotel and his staff that in the end were responsible for the death of the Princess of Wales.
   
   The other point Brown makes is that, on the evidence, Diana and Charles liked each other, cared for one another and that without Camilla might have made a go of their reationship. Thus Brown hints at but again does not develop the story of Camilla's tenacity. Perhaps especially because of Charles' inability to resist Camilla, it seems impossible for Brown to paint a picture of Charles as someone fit to be king and defender of (the) faith, at least according to the standards set by his mother and grandfather. Brown reluctantly, and almost in spite of herself, reveals Charles' failure to be courteous to the young woman he was escorting as she struggled to cope with their early engagements.
   
   Roy Strong, the fastidious director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, met the couple at the unveiling of an exhibition at his museum and told Brown « I don't think he - Charles - looked after her enough. » Patsy and David Puttnam, a film producer, were present at a dinner in 1984 at the London home of Lord Waldegrave and his wife Caroline. While Diana was being `watched' and reported on to the palace, Brown tells us that « In fact, it was Charles' bad behaviour, not Diana's, that made an impression on the Puttnams that night. While Diana was solicitous and affectionate towards the Prince, he was openly dismissive towards her. `He behaved as if she were an irritant,' said Patsy. `He would have liked her to be invisible and she knew it.' »
   
   Brown is, overall, another Charles apologist, but then Diana is dead, Charles is alive and likely will be king and Brown is still a working girl in need of the next good job. Still, on two key issues of interest - was it Diana or Camilla who rendez-vous'd with Charles in the train before the marriage, and is it Charles or Hewitt who fathered Prince Harry - Brown only repeats already aired information and gossip, without even trying to put the pieces together in ways that might suggest new readings.
   
   In places the book seems poorly edited or awkwardly written, trying to `bridge the pond' in a way that sometimes leaves it stranded in the mid-Atlantic. Nevertheless, if you are a gossip hound who loves to know what key players in any drama `really said' this book will probably be of interest. If you have not read the « Diana literature » as it has emerged, this book offers a very good summary overview.



5. This book was a little too long, and could have dispensed with some of the endless trivia about England's nobility. But the saga of Princess Di is otherwise written in an entertaining style, and I believe the subject herself would have approved. The book shows just how stultifying royal life really is, and how difficult it was for a young woman to adjust to what she thought she wanted. It also gives me some qualms at the thought that Charles might someday become king. From what Tina Brown writes, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who should be given any real power...luckily, the monarchy doesn't have much!