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Mar. 2nd, 2007
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books, books, books
Mar. 2nd, 2007 09:02 amA few weeks ago I mentioned that I'd bought a few new books. So, I thought I'd give a couple of them a bit of a write-up.
First, Alison Weir's Isabella of France, since that's the one I've finished first. It's an excellent read - I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the subject. From a historian's point of view, the biography is solidly put together from the widest possible range of sources, and explores the existing historiography thoroughly. Weir states her own bias in favour of Isabella up front - the main aim of the book is to present the story of Isabella, who has been so resoundingly villified over the centuries, in a more positive light - but goes out of her way to examine the evidence in an objective fashion, telling all sides of the story in a sympathetic manner.
And it's a rip-roaringly good yarn, as you'd expect from the Middle Ages, where the politics were all about sex, power and war. Isabella's story is absolutely all about sex, power and war, the three often inextricably linked.
Maybe that's why modern politics tend to be so dry and boring to study - they took all the sex out of it and replaced it with policies and votes!
From child-bride to neglected wife, to renegade, to passionate lover, to spearhead of the first successful invasion of Britain since William the Conqueror, to ruler, to prisoner, and finally to graceful retirement - Isabella led an action-packed life, vividly re-created in this book. Was she a political powerhouse, or merely a pawn in the battles of powerful men? Did she murder her husband, or did he fake his own death? Want to find out? Go read it!
After finishing Isabella I rattled through Terry Pratchett's latest, Winterfest, in short order, and then turned my attention to Bettany Hughes' Helen of Troy. I haven't finished it yet, but I've read enough to know that, like Isabella, it's a rollicking good read, using both the archaeological record and literary sources to deconstruct the myths that have grown up around Helen over the last few thousand years, and to explore both the religious and sociological aspect of female demi-god worship in the Bronze Age and beyond, and also the kind of life that may have been led by an actual Spartan Princess in the 13th century BC, whether that princess might have been the legendary 'Helen of Troy' or not. As with Isabella, it's all about sex, power and war! Art, religion, politics and culture all intertwine to make it a fascinating book to read. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, and looking forward to the rest of it!
First, Alison Weir's Isabella of France, since that's the one I've finished first. It's an excellent read - I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the subject. From a historian's point of view, the biography is solidly put together from the widest possible range of sources, and explores the existing historiography thoroughly. Weir states her own bias in favour of Isabella up front - the main aim of the book is to present the story of Isabella, who has been so resoundingly villified over the centuries, in a more positive light - but goes out of her way to examine the evidence in an objective fashion, telling all sides of the story in a sympathetic manner.
And it's a rip-roaringly good yarn, as you'd expect from the Middle Ages, where the politics were all about sex, power and war. Isabella's story is absolutely all about sex, power and war, the three often inextricably linked.
Maybe that's why modern politics tend to be so dry and boring to study - they took all the sex out of it and replaced it with policies and votes!
From child-bride to neglected wife, to renegade, to passionate lover, to spearhead of the first successful invasion of Britain since William the Conqueror, to ruler, to prisoner, and finally to graceful retirement - Isabella led an action-packed life, vividly re-created in this book. Was she a political powerhouse, or merely a pawn in the battles of powerful men? Did she murder her husband, or did he fake his own death? Want to find out? Go read it!
After finishing Isabella I rattled through Terry Pratchett's latest, Winterfest, in short order, and then turned my attention to Bettany Hughes' Helen of Troy. I haven't finished it yet, but I've read enough to know that, like Isabella, it's a rollicking good read, using both the archaeological record and literary sources to deconstruct the myths that have grown up around Helen over the last few thousand years, and to explore both the religious and sociological aspect of female demi-god worship in the Bronze Age and beyond, and also the kind of life that may have been led by an actual Spartan Princess in the 13th century BC, whether that princess might have been the legendary 'Helen of Troy' or not. As with Isabella, it's all about sex, power and war! Art, religion, politics and culture all intertwine to make it a fascinating book to read. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, and looking forward to the rest of it!
books, books, books
Mar. 2nd, 2007 09:02 amA few weeks ago I mentioned that I'd bought a few new books. So, I thought I'd give a couple of them a bit of a write-up.
First, Alison Weir's Isabella of France, since that's the one I've finished first. It's an excellent read - I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the subject. From a historian's point of view, the biography is solidly put together from the widest possible range of sources, and explores the existing historiography thoroughly. Weir states her own bias in favour of Isabella up front - the main aim of the book is to present the story of Isabella, who has been so resoundingly villified over the centuries, in a more positive light - but goes out of her way to examine the evidence in an objective fashion, telling all sides of the story in a sympathetic manner.
And it's a rip-roaringly good yarn, as you'd expect from the Middle Ages, where the politics were all about sex, power and war. Isabella's story is absolutely all about sex, power and war, the three often inextricably linked.
Maybe that's why modern politics tend to be so dry and boring to study - they took all the sex out of it and replaced it with policies and votes!
From child-bride to neglected wife, to renegade, to passionate lover, to spearhead of the first successful invasion of Britain since William the Conqueror, to ruler, to prisoner, and finally to graceful retirement - Isabella led an action-packed life, vividly re-created in this book. Was she a political powerhouse, or merely a pawn in the battles of powerful men? Did she murder her husband, or did he fake his own death? Want to find out? Go read it!
After finishing Isabella I rattled through Terry Pratchett's latest, Winterfest, in short order, and then turned my attention to Bettany Hughes' Helen of Troy. I haven't finished it yet, but I've read enough to know that, like Isabella, it's a rollicking good read, using both the archaeological record and literary sources to deconstruct the myths that have grown up around Helen over the last few thousand years, and to explore both the religious and sociological aspect of female demi-god worship in the Bronze Age and beyond, and also the kind of life that may have been led by an actual Spartan Princess in the 13th century BC, whether that princess might have been the legendary 'Helen of Troy' or not. As with Isabella, it's all about sex, power and war! Art, religion, politics and culture all intertwine to make it a fascinating book to read. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, and looking forward to the rest of it!
First, Alison Weir's Isabella of France, since that's the one I've finished first. It's an excellent read - I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the subject. From a historian's point of view, the biography is solidly put together from the widest possible range of sources, and explores the existing historiography thoroughly. Weir states her own bias in favour of Isabella up front - the main aim of the book is to present the story of Isabella, who has been so resoundingly villified over the centuries, in a more positive light - but goes out of her way to examine the evidence in an objective fashion, telling all sides of the story in a sympathetic manner.
And it's a rip-roaringly good yarn, as you'd expect from the Middle Ages, where the politics were all about sex, power and war. Isabella's story is absolutely all about sex, power and war, the three often inextricably linked.
Maybe that's why modern politics tend to be so dry and boring to study - they took all the sex out of it and replaced it with policies and votes!
From child-bride to neglected wife, to renegade, to passionate lover, to spearhead of the first successful invasion of Britain since William the Conqueror, to ruler, to prisoner, and finally to graceful retirement - Isabella led an action-packed life, vividly re-created in this book. Was she a political powerhouse, or merely a pawn in the battles of powerful men? Did she murder her husband, or did he fake his own death? Want to find out? Go read it!
After finishing Isabella I rattled through Terry Pratchett's latest, Winterfest, in short order, and then turned my attention to Bettany Hughes' Helen of Troy. I haven't finished it yet, but I've read enough to know that, like Isabella, it's a rollicking good read, using both the archaeological record and literary sources to deconstruct the myths that have grown up around Helen over the last few thousand years, and to explore both the religious and sociological aspect of female demi-god worship in the Bronze Age and beyond, and also the kind of life that may have been led by an actual Spartan Princess in the 13th century BC, whether that princess might have been the legendary 'Helen of Troy' or not. As with Isabella, it's all about sex, power and war! Art, religion, politics and culture all intertwine to make it a fascinating book to read. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, and looking forward to the rest of it!