Last one (today!), I promise...
I heard about this one a few weeks ago. The Lady Queen by Nancy Goldstone is a non-fiction book about Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem and Sicily. I know nothing about her, but her life sounds fascinating! US release is 10/27/09 and UK release is 8/1/10. Blurb from Amazon:
On March 15, 1348, Joanna I , Queen of Naples, stood trial for her life before the Pope and his court in Avignon. She was twenty-two years old. Her cousin and husband, Prince Andrew of Hungary, had recently been murdered, and Joanna was the chief suspect. Determined to defend herself—Joanna won her acquittal against enormous odds. Returning to Naples, she ruled over one of Europe’s most prestigious courts for more than thirty years—until she was herself murdered.
As courageous as Eleanor of Aquitaine, as astute and determined as Elizabeth I of England, Joanna was the only female monarch in her time to rule in her own name. She was notorious: The taint of her husband’s death never quite left her. But she was also widely admired: Dedicated to the welfare of her subjects and realm, she reduced crime, built hospitals and churches, and encouraged the licensing of women physicians. While a procession of the most important artists and writers of her day found patronage at her glittering court, the turmoil of her times swirled around her: war, plague, intrigue, and the treachery that would, ultimately, bring her down.
As she did in her acclaimed Four Queens, Nancy Goldstone takes us back to the turbulent and colorful Middle Ages, and with skill and passion brings fully to life one of history’s most remarkable women. Her research is impeccable, her eye for detail unerring, and in The Lady Queen she paints a captivating portrait of medieval royalty in all its incandescent complexity.
2 comments:
INTERESTING...
I read The Four Queens awhile back.. and it was pretty good, not EXCELLENT, but maybe this one is a step up and if so, it should be great!
Four Queens was great. Thanks for pointing this one out!
Re covers: you probably know this but from my years in publishing I learned that US covers have to be more garish to coax the ID distributors (airports, newstands, etc.) to carry books they consider eyecatching whereas in the UK there is a more dignified approach and more of an understanding that books need to be in those outlets. I usually but not always prefer the UK covers.
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