A myth-busting biography of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, which retells the dramatic story of the civil war from her perspective
A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE
Henrietta Maria, Charles I's queen, is the most reviled consort in British history. Condemned as the 'Popish brat of France' and a 'notorious whore', she remains in popular memory the woman who turned the king Catholic - so causing a civil war - and a cruel and bigoted mother.
Leanda de Lisle unpicks these myths to reveal a very different queen. We meet a new bride who enjoyed annoying her uptight husband, who was a passionate advocate for the female voice in public affairs and who, when civil war came, proved crucial to Charles's campaign. The image of the Restoration queen as an irrelevant crone is replaced with Henrietta Maria as an influential 'phoenix queen'. It is time to look again at this despised queen and judge if she is not in fact one of our most remarkable.
'Brilliantly written, mesmerising, superb scholarship and totally immersive... A total game changer' KATE WILLIAMS, author of Rival Queens
'This is revisionist history at its absolute best' ANDREW ROBERTS author of Churchill
'Beautifully written and endlessly fascinating' ALEXANDER LARMAN author of The Crown in Crisis
'Popular history of the finest kind' RONALD HUTTON author of The Witch
Rezensionen / Stimmen
A thrilling biography -- DANIEL BROOKS * The Daily Telegraph * Competent, intelligent, fun... de Lisle...has a visceral understanding of the complex emotions that swirled inside Henrietta Maria * The Times, *Books of the Year* * A shrewd and elegant reassessment of Charles's I consort and widow... She was certainly a fighter -- Clare Mulley * Spectator, *Books of the Year* * Brilliantly written, mesmerising, superb scholarship and totally immersive . . . a total game changer -- KATE WILLIAMS, author of Rival Queens: the Betrayal of Mary Queen of Scotts With grace and sensitivity, de Lisle cuts through the misogyny to reveal a different Henrietta Maria . . . De Lisle understands that history is a story of people; she possesses a visceral understanding of the emotions that swirled inside Henrietta Maria . . . she was not England's greatest queen, but she was probably the most remarkable -- GERARD DEGROOT * The Times * Book of the Week * * De Lisle has made a speciality of bringing Tudors and Stuarts back to blazing life... The result is deeply satisfying and makes an excellent companion to her earlier much-admired biography of Charles I, White King -- Kathryn Hughes * Sunday Times * A captivating, richly detailed historical tale that shines a light on the hidden genius of an extraordinary woman * Literary Review * de Lisle turns her attention to [Charles I's] wife, Henrietta Maria, similarly shading with nuance a character who can sometimes be reduced to primary-colour simplicity * History Today * A glorious resurrection of one of the most misrepresented queens of England . . . finally, thanks to Leanda de Lisle's meticulous research, she has a biography worthy of her fascinating life -- AMANDA FOREMAN, author of A World on Fire Henrietta Maria's remarkable life is recounted with gusto in this sharp, sparky book... it makes vivid use of recent work on her court and queenship, brings people and personalities to the fore and will be a particular delight to those new to the period -- ANNA KEAY * Spectator *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Zielgruppe
Für Beruf und Forschung
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Dateigröße
ISBN-13
978-1-4735-6673-6 (9781473566736)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Leanda de Lisle is the highly acclaimed author of several bestselling and prize-winning books on the Tudors and Stuarts including Tudor: The Family Story, White King: The Tragedy of Charles I and Henrietta Maria: Conspirator, Warrior, Phoenix Queen. She writes and speaks on historical matters for TV, radio and publications including The Times, the Spectator and History Today.
