Queens of Conquests

The lives of medieval queens of England were filled with events — love, intrigues, betrayals, marital infidelities, and wars. However, the details of their biographies have faded from historical memory after many centuries of silence, and what actually happened, as interpreted by biographers of subsequent centuries, has become embellished with legendary details. Recognized as a master of the biographical genre, Alison Weir invites readers to touch the most reliable sources to separate the authentic lives of several of these outstanding women from centuries of romantic legends and restore their rightful place in history. This monumental royal saga covers the years from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to 1154, when Henry II ascended to the throne and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine became the first queen of the Plantagenet dynasty. Other heroines of this documentary epic include the wife of William the Conqueror, Matilda of Flanders, Matilda of Scotland, revered as “the mother of all Englishmen,” and Empress Matilda, the first female ruler of England, whose son — King Henry II — later founded the Plantagenet dynasty.