REVIEW: Queens of the Conquest (Alison Weir)

Book: Queens of the Conquest

Author: Alison Weir

Premise: Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in his invasion of England, and culminating in the turbulent life of the Empress Maud, who claimed to be queen of England in her own right, the five Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters. Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England’s queens in the century after the Norman Conquest.

This book is the first of Alison Weir's biographies of the medieval queens of England (although I read the second book before this one oops!). At school, I learnt about the Battle of Hastings and then nothing until the Tudors. Even then, we didn't go into the battle in much detail. So for me, it was interesting reading about the events leading to the Norman invasion, William, his wife Matilda and the aftermath. 

From this book I learnt a lot about the civil war between Empress Maud and King Stephen. Alison Weir is unbiased on this, explaining the failings of both sides as well as the positives. She gave a more rounded picture of the situation and politics rather than just siting sexism as the cause.

I loved finding out how the queens in this book were heavily involved in the running of the country, often acting as regents when their husbands were away. It was nice reading about women who had power and were loved by their people rather than viewed with distrust (as is often the way for women in history). Each of them were pretty cool women and its a crime that we don't learn about them at school!