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The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign Of Joanna I, Queen Of Naples, Jerusalem, And Sicily (2009)

by Nancy Goldstone(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0802716709 (ISBN13: 9780802716705)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Walker & Company

review 1: I found this to be well-researched yet very accessible history of one of the lesser known, yet most interesting, lights of the Middle Ages. Most of what the public knows of Joanna I of Naples, one of only a couple of Medieval European queens to rule in their own right, is through the scandal mongers of history. Goldstone gives a much clearer picture of a woman struggling against the social mores and complex political intrigues of her time. The deck was always stacked against her, which makes it exciting to read of her life; her intelligence and mistakes, her strengths and flaws, her triumphs and tragedies. Yet Goldstone does not romanticize, sticking to the facts of the matter. (Her guesses at motivations are stated as such.) This is non-fiction, but the subject is so exc... moreiting, the truth more complex and engaging than art could imagine, that one feels like they are reading a novel.
review 2: A fascinating subject with enough drama for a soap opera, but it just didn't come alive for me. Perhaps because of the lack of primary sources, the book gets bogged down by too many mundane details. Who cares that they left one city on a specific date and arrive somewhere else four days later on a specific date. Still, this Lady is begging to be better known. Her life and times were harrowing and tragic, with violent husbands, feuding families, a papal schism, the plague decimating all of Europe, and the "free companies" marauding and pillaging the countryside. And yet she maintained her sanity, held her own against all the plotting and conniving, built churches and hospitals, sponsored the writer Petrarch at her court, reduced crime, and was an ardent promoter of peace.Description: In 1348, at the age of twenty-two, Joanna I, the queen of Naples, stood trial before the pope, accused of murdering her cousin and husband, Hungarian prince Andrew. Arguing her own case in Latin, she won her acquittal, and went on to become the only female monarch in her time to rule in her own name; she presided over one of Europe's most prestigious and influential courts for more than thirty years—until she herself was murdered. For the first time, Nancy Goldstone tells the full story of one of the most courageous and accomplished women in history, painting a captivating portrait of medieval royalty in all its splendid complexity. less

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