Matilda
Empress, Queen, Warrior
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer M. Dixon
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By:
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Catherine Hanley
About this listen
A life of Matilda - empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages.
Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to the English crown - the first woman ever to hold the position - and an able military general.
This new biography explores Matilda's achievements as military and political leader and sets her life and career in full context. Catherine Hanley provides fresh insight into Matilda's campaign to claim the title of queen, her approach to allied kingdoms and rival rulers, and her role in the succession crisis. Hanley highlights how Matilda fought for the throne and argues that although she never sat on it herself, her reward was to see her son become king. Extraordinarily, her line has continued through every single monarch of England or Britain from that time to the present day.
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- The Hidden History
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G. J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu.
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Marvelous !
- By Cinders on 08-02-13
By: G. J. Meyer
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The Lady Queen
- The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages. On March 15, 1348, 22-year-old Joanna I, queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.
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Terrible mispronunciation of words
- By Amelie on 12-03-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Greatest Knight
- The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Greatest Knight, renowned historian Thomas Asbridge draws upon the thirteenth-century biography and an array of other contemporary evidence to present a compelling account of William Marshal's life and times. Asbridge charts the unparalleled rise to prominence of a man bound to a code of honor yet driven by unquenchable ambition.
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The Biography of a Legend
- By Troy on 04-02-15
By: Thomas Asbridge
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Four Princes
- Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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John Julius Norwich - whom the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian" - has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early 16th century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a 10-year period. Against the vibrant background of the Renaissance, these four men laid the foundations for modern Europe and the Middle East, as they collectively impacted the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains.
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For the most part, very informative.
- By Paula on 02-05-18
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Eleanor of Aquitaine
- A Life from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Mike Nelson
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Explore the life of one of the medieval world’s most memorable figures. Eleanor of Aquitaine became the queen of both France and England, the wife of two kings, and later the mother of two kings. Heiress to the rich French provinces of Aquitaine and Poitou, she was undoubtedly one of medieval Europe’s most powerful and wealthiest women.
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Riveting
- By Roberts on 09-18-23
By: Hourly History
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The Wars of the Roses: A Captivating Guide to the English Civil Wars That Brought down the Plantagenet Dynasty and Put the Tudors on the Throne
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Wars of the Roses were a complex set of battles, skirmishes, and kidnappings during the 15th century in England. They had their roots in the nearby Civil War of France, which greatly influenced English politics for years to come. Though there is no one universally-accepted start or end date for these wars, the major events throughout the wars occurred between 1455 and 1485.
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Atrocious narration, poor timing, not recommended
- By B. on 01-21-19
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Lancaster and York
- The Wars of the Roses
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Lancater and York is a riveting account of the Wars of the Roses, from beloved historian Alison Weir. The war between the houses of Lancaster and York was characterised by treachery, deceit, and bloody battles. Alison Weir's lucid and gripping account focuses on the human side of history. At the centre of the book stands Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, and his wife Margaret of Anjou, who took up her arms in her husband's cause and battled in a violent man's world.
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Dense, fascinating history...questionable delivery
- By kbreezy on 10-04-17
By: Alison Weir
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Crown & Sceptre
- A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Tracy Borman
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, 41 kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre.
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Great book for those new to the monarchy
- By Chris Corsini on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
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Isabella
- The Warrior Queen
- By: Kirstin Downey
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Isabella of Castile, the controversial Queen of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history.
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Poorly narrated
- By Amazon Customer on 02-23-15
By: Kirstin Downey
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The Tudors
- The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time in decades, here, in a single volume, is a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer reveals the flesh-and-bone reality in all its wild excess.
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OUTSTANDING!
- By The Louligan on 03-15-10
By: G. J. Meyer
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Tudor History
- A Captivating Guide to the Tudors, the Wars of the Roses, the Six Wives of Henry VIII and the Life of Elizabeth I
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Five Tudor monarchs sat on the throne of England and Ireland from 1485 to 1603. The family earned their royal rights through strategic planning and battlefield prowess, and kept them because of intellect, strength, and sheer determination. The Tudors, one of England’s most powerful and famous royal dynasties, knitted together a fragmented and small island nation that became one of the world’s financial, colonial, and technological superpowers.
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A facinating guide.
- By James Mark on 03-07-19
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the title is deceiving
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Daughters of Chivalry
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Virginal, chaste, humble, patiently waiting for rescue by brave knights and handsome princes: this idealized—and largely mythical—notion of the medieval noblewoman still lingers. Yet the reality was very different, as Kelcey Wilson-Lee shows in this vibrant account of the five daughters of Edward I, often known as Longshanks. The lives of these sisters—Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth—ran the gamut of experiences open to royal women in the Middle Ages.
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fascinating!
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Queens of the Crusades: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Her Successors
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The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill.
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A real Masterpiece!
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Lancaster and York
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Dense, fascinating history...questionable delivery
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Great Listen
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Some ladies who served at the Tudor court are only faceless silhouettes lost to the sands of time, but there are those who dedicated their lives to please their royal mistresses and left documentation, allowing us to piece their life stories together and link them to the stories of Tudor queens. These female attendants saw their queens and princesses up close and often used their intimate bonds to their own benefit. Some were beloved, others hated. This is the story of the ladies of the Tudor court like you've never heard it before.
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the title is deceiving
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fascinating!
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A real Masterpiece!
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Dense, fascinating history...questionable delivery
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Empires of the Normans
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Empire of the Normans tells the extraordinary story of how the descendants of Viking marauders in northern France came to dominate European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern politics. It is a tale of ambitious adventures and fierce pirates, of fortunes made and fortunes lost. Across the generations, the Normans made their influence felt across Western Europe and the Mediterranean, from the British Isles to North Africa, and even to the Holy Land, with a combination of military might, political savvy, deeply held religious beliefs, and a profound sense of their own destiny.
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disappointing
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Chaucer's People
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Chaucer wrote about everyday people outside the walls of the English court-men and women who spent days at the pedal of a loom, or maintaining the ledgers of an estate, or on the high seas. In Chaucer's People, Liza Picard transforms The Canterbury Tales into a masterful guide for a gloriously detailed tour of medieval England, from the mills and farms of a manor house to the lending houses and Inns of Court in London. In Chaucer's People, we meet, again, the motley crew of pilgrims on the road to Canterbury.
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A delight
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King John
- Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: The Road to Magna Carta
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King John is familiar to everyone as the villain from the tales of Robin Hood - greedy, cowardly, despicable, and cruel. But who was the man behind the legend? Was he a monster or a capable ruler cursed by bad luck? In this new book, best-selling historian Marc Morris draws on contemporary chronicles and the king's own letters to bring the real King John vividly to life. John was dynamic, inventive, and relentless but also a figure with terrible flaws.
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A Medieval Narcissist
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The Black Prince
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Story
As a child, he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of 16, he helped defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as "the Black Prince".
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Outstanding history
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She-Wolves
- The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth
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In the tradition of Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds - and one who never got the chance. Exploring the narratives of the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and other "she-wolves," as well as that of the Nine Days' Queen, Lady Jane Grey, Castor invokes a magisterial discussion of how much - and how little - has changed through the centuries.
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STORY TELLING IS ERRATIC
- By The Louligan on 07-22-20
By: Helen Castor
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The First Kingdom
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- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Story
Somewhere in the dim void between the departure from Britain of the Roman legions at the start of the fifth century and the days of the venerable Bede, the kingdoms of Early Medieval Britain were formed. But by whom? And out of what? Max Adams scrutinises the narrative handed down to us by later historians and chronicles, stripping away the most lurid nonsense about Arthur and synthesising the research of the last 40 years to tease out strands of reality from myth.
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Very interesting, but not in my truck
- By Liz on 03-03-21
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The Hundred Years War
- The English in France 1337-1453
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From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it was a small, poor country, England for most of those "100 years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated the war. Desmond Seward's critically acclaimed account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary century-long conflict.
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Superb narrator and fascintating history
- By Julie Seavello on 05-30-21
By: Desmond Seward
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A Hidden History of The Tower of London
- England’s Most Notorious Prisoners
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Story
Famed as the ultimate penalty for traitors, heretics, and royalty alike, being sent to the Tower is known to have been experienced by no less than 8,000 unfortunate souls. Many of those who were imprisoned in the Tower never returned to civilization and those who did, often did so without their head! It is hardly surprising that the Tower has earned itself a reputation among the most infamous buildings on the planet.
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History buffs, this is for you!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-11-22
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Edward II
- The Unconventional King
- By: Kathryn Warner
- Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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He is one of the most reviled English kings in history. He drove his kingdom to the brink of civil war a dozen times in less than twenty years. He allowed his male lovers to rule the kingdom. He led a great army to the most ignominious military defeat in English history. He was Edward II, and this book tells his story. Kathryn Warner strips away the myths which have been created about him over the centuries, and provides a far more accurate and vivid picture of him than has previously been seen.
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Not bad, but most definitely biased
- By Ashley Waldron on 01-20-24
By: Kathryn Warner
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1066 and Before All That
- The Battle of Hastings, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman England
- By: Ed West
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The most famous date in history is 1066, and with good reason, since no battle in medieval history had such a devastating effect on its losers as the Battle of Hastings, which altered the entire course of English history.
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Extremely condescending.
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-24
By: Ed West
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Never Greater Slaughter
- Brunanburh and the Birth of England
- By: Michael Livingston
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Late in AD 937, four armies met in a place called Brunanburh. On one side stood the shield-wall of the expanding kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. On the other side stood a remarkable alliance of rival kings - at least two from across the sea – who’d come together to destroy them once and for all. The stakes were no less than the survival of the dream that would become England. The armies were massive. The violence, when it began, was enough to shock a violent age.
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not what i thought it would be
- By Dudley on 02-26-23
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My Lady Viper
- Tales From the Tudor Court, Book 1
- By: E. Knight
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Lady Anne Seymour knows that her family hangs by a thread. If her sister-in-law Jane Seymour cannot give the King a son, she will be executed or set aside, and her family with her. Anne throws herself into the deadly and intoxicating intrigue of the Tudor court, determined to pay any price to see the new queen's marriage succeed and the Seymour family elevated to supreme power. But Anne's machinations will earn her a reputation as a viper, and she must decide if her family's rise is worth the loss of her own soul.
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So Disapointing
- By Dr. A. on 08-06-14
By: E. Knight
What listeners say about Matilda
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ladyethyme
- 10-03-24
Excellent
An extremely thorough and well researched survey of the life of Matilda. Insightful and complex, this book gives us wonderful details about the woman's life , about whom most know so very little.
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- Swilson
- 12-13-21
Confusing Matilda
The book was very informative and well written. The narrator was great. I found it tough at times to keep track of which Matilda was doing what during the battle.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-23-23
Wonderful
I really enjoyed this book, I accidentally stumbled on it looking for her grandmother, Matilda, Queen consort to William the conqueror. I would love to know more about her sources. I thought this book was wonderful, and how someone has the patience and diligence to compile all this information together is beyond me thank goodness there are authors who can do this. We plan to go to Rouen. I just loved this book.
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- Christopher Zachary
- 06-14-21
essential study for English royal succession
I am an amateur historian if not more a fan of history. I am also a huge fan of this work.
the author does an excellent job of filling the reader in on what is going on else where and providing context. of special interest the author invests their time in cutting through the bias laid on the topic by the many intervening years to provide as honest and accurate an image of the subject as this reader believes possible.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jordan H.
- 11-09-23
Hey this was great!
My favorite period of English history goes from Alfred to the Angevins and Empress Matilda is a key factor. Her life story is so fascinating!! I though the author did a great job telling the story in a balanced way: Matilda was unfairly lambasted by historians for too long, but she wasn't perfect. That's what makes her so interesting. The fact that Empress Matilda's daughter-in-law was Eleanor of Aquitaine adds an additional layer into the story of her life. The treatment Matilda received from her contemporaries is unfortunately too recognizable, and the suffering that her and Stephen's Anarchy inflicted on the people of the England and Normandy was hard to hear, but this woman has echoed through history and this is an excellent means by which to have her story told.
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- AndreaRomance
- 08-30-23
A new view of Empress Matilda
This well-written and well-narrated audiobook provides a fresh perspective on Matilda. Long derided for her failures as a prospective queen of England, this book shows how her greatest disadvantage was the inability of the men of her time to envision a queen regnant. The qualities she portrayed, which would have been praised in a king or a queen consort, were criticized in her as arrogance. Yet her efforts on behalf of her son, Henry II, changed English history forever.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-28-23
It’s perfect
The way in which the story flows, the narrator’voice and the careful investigation made for this book makes it a must listen!
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- Helen Burros
- 04-03-24
Good attention to fine details that illuminate Matilda’s actions.
Good reading pace and volume, attention to proper pronunciation to avoid confusion on place names, excellent book to listen to while doing needlework.
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- Laura
- 08-16-19
a wonderful way to learn about a great woman
Matilda wasn't mentioned in high school history class. I'm interested in the history of Great Britain. This is my first biography normally one to lesson to novels. I learned a lot about a great woman who I now feel more women and girls of today should know about. this book has now made want to find more biographies on female Noble women of that time. I highly recommend this book.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-07-22
Excellent history of one of the most pivotal women
Excellent history of one of the most pivotal women in history. While I think the book extremely well researched and carries its argument well, it obviously fills any and all holes and cracks in its narrative with assumptive statements of only the best of the titular figure and only the worse of all male contemporaries.
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1 person found this helpful