Description
Book SynopsisThe four beautiful, cultured and clever daughters of the Count and Countess of Provence made illustrious marriages and lived at the epicentre of political power and intrigue in 13th-century Europe.
Marguerite accompanied her husband, King Louis IX of France, on his disastrous first crusade to the Holy Land, where straight from childbirth she ransomed him from the Mamluks. And with her sister Eleanor, queen of England, Marguerite engineered a sturdy peace between France and England. Ambitious Eleanor walked a narrow line while she struggled to build her own power base without alienating her cowardly husband, Henry III. Beatrice''s coronation as queen of Sicily was the culmination of her long, hard-fought campaign to earn respect from her world-famous, mightily accomplished older siblings. Sanchia wed one of the richest men in Europe, but her reign as queen of Germany, brought her only misery.
From Goldstone''s rich, beautifully woven tapestry, medieval Europe s
Trade Review
This highly readable book is set against the bloody and turbulent backdrop of medieval Europe...a fascinating account * CATHOLIC HERALD *
A gripping narrative -- the author is particularly good on the theatricality of the age * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *
