2.0 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. – Customer review on 16/08/2009

Alison Weir is a terrific writer, and her biographies are usually accessible and entertaining. I was however extremely disappointed in the overwhelming bias and lack of objectivity in this book. It is incredibly hagiographic - basically Isabella = good, everyone who opposed her = bad. No one disputes that Edward II was a hopeless king, but he does not deserve to be as maligned as he has been. There are also unpleasant undercurrents of homophobia - Weir comments for example that the fact that both Edward and Gaveston fathered children proved they were capable of "normal sexual relations" and describes Mortimer as essentially the epitome of the Manly Hetero Hero - "the opposite" of Edward II.
Weir also has a habit of stating things as fact without referencing evidence, which is not good scholarship, and leaves her prone to errors.

This bio downplays much of Isabella's and Mortimer's rapacity while in power - they were actually worse than Ed II and the Despensers - and portrays Isabella as being a passive victim of nasty men. However, whenever Isabella's good deeds and fine qualities are discussed, those achievements are hers alone. Weir can't have it both ways - Isabella is as responsible for her more unpalatable acts as for her good deeds, and to argue otherwise denies her agency.

I rarely do this, but I must respond to the previous reviewer's comment, which is a prime example of how misleading this book is, and why historians must be more responsible when judging historical figures: "[Edward II] ... betrayed her repeatedly with both Gaveston and De Spenser" - there's actually no real evidence that he had sexual relationships with Gaveston and le Despenser, and I find it interesting that in this supposedly enlightened day and age, the fact that Edward may have had male lovers is outrageous, while kings who routinely had mistresses are not condemned so viciously. In fact, royal mistresses such as Katherine Swynford and, more recently, Mary Boleyn (who was of no importance whatsoever in real life but thanks to a couple of popular novels, is now somehow some sort of protofeminist heroine) are mythologised as romantic heroines. Noblewomen and queens were expected to marry for dynastic reasons, not love, and if their husband was incompatible, not interested in them or abusive, they were expected to learn to live with it. "Took away her income" - absolutely false. "Seperated her from her children" - unfortunately, this is an example of judging historical figures by our standards. In medieval times, it was normal, in fact expected, that royal children would have their own independent households, especially the Prince of Wales, who was required to learn the skills of kingship from an early age, and it was considered undesirable for him to spend much time with his mother after the first few years of age; nothing malicious about it. Noble and royal parents rarely had close relationships with their children, in fact, noble mothers were considered odd if they nursed their own children. What was malicious - and which the previous reviewer and Weir herself gloss over- was the forced veiling of Hugh le Despenser's young daughters, all of whom were under ten, and who were forcibly taken from their mother after their father's execution, for no reason other than pure vindictiveness. Who did this? Not Edward - it was Isabella and Mortimer, who did it just because they could.

Edward and Isabella are fascinating figures, who both had excellent qualities, and very real flaws. They deserve to be the subject of a study that is clear-eyed and neither eulogises nor demonises them, but portrays them in all their complexity. Unfortunately, this book isn't it. I'd recommend Ian Mortimer instead.

3.0 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. – Customer review on 07/08/2009

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Weir's biography of Queen Isabella and the demise of Edward II of England. Very well written, and much easier to read than Weir's earlier biography of Eleanor of Aquataine. Having said that, I found myself a bit dismayed by two things: 1. Very difficult to figure out what year events occurred; this author, like many others, wrote entire chapters which gave months & days, but I found myself going back in the narrative repetitively to try and determine the year...and 2. Clearly Ms. Weir's purpose was to do her best to absolve Isabella of Edward II's death! She tries very hard to make a case that Edward was in fact not killed at Berkeley Castle, but rather escaped and lived the rest of his life in exile, primarily in Italy. I found this hard to believe, and the evidence to that effect a bit lacking. One situation which really caught my eye was Weir's statement that Edward's body (or that of a substitute if he in fact was not killed but escaped?) was IMMEDIATELY embalmed and completely wrapped in waxed "cerecloth" after his death in October, 1327. The body was then kept at Berkeley until December when it was released to the Abbot of Gloucester to be buried in St. Peter's Abbey, Gloucester...at which time "the corpse had been dressed in the late King's coronation robes, including his shirt, coif, and gloves...". I found myself wondering how they "dressed" a body that was COMPLETELY wrapped in waxed cloth? Interesting! From my perspective, I don't see that Isabella needed then or now "absolution" for the death of Edward II. He was a very bad king, betrayed her repeatedly with both Gaveston and De Spenser, took away her income, seperated her from her children, etc. The way I see it, Isabella likely harbored a deadly and undying hatred for her husband, and would've wanted to ensure that, after his overthrow, he would NEVER be able to return. Nevertheless, an outstanding book and well worth the time of any reader wanting to better understand the life and times of Isabella of France and her husband, Edward II.