What do you think?
Rate this book
Tuscan Countess: The Life and Extraordinary Times of Matilda of Canossa
“[This] marvelous biography peels back layer upon layer of previous myth to render a startling new portrait of the countess. . . . Absorbing.” —Publishers Weekly Tuscan Countess is a fast-paced and colorful exploration of the life of Matilda of Canossa (c. 1046–1115), a woman who loved a pope and was loved by him, successfully defied the Holy Roman Emperor, and changed the map of Europe. Matilda of Canossa, the “Great Countess,” was a remarkable woman. Her personal power was so extraordinary that even centuries after her death she became the first woman to be interred in St. Peter's Basilica. She is best remembered for her role in the conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman emperor, the climax of which took place at her castle of Canossa. This unique biography is also a journal of the author's travels through contemporary Tuscany as she explores the palaces where Matilda held court, the blood-stained plains on which her soldiers battled, the churches and cathedrals she endowed, and the fortified aeries where she sought refuge. Readers will be swept along on this engrossing journey retracing the steps of a courageous and brilliant woman.
457 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2004
12 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 31, 2010
The book charts author Michele Spike's journey to discover the real Matilda of Canossa. It merges her modern journey through Tuscany with historical notes on the cities she visits, all the while taking the reader back to Matilda and the events that shaped not only her life, but the course of history.
Written in a similar style to Joann Fletcher's "The Search for Nefertiti" and Mary Taylor Simeti's "Travels with a Medieval Queen".
Written in a similar style to Joann Fletcher's "The Search for Nefertiti" and Mary Taylor Simeti's "Travels with a Medieval Queen".
September 5, 2022
I could not finish it. I rarely allow myself to simply stop reading a book, and 3 times I forced myself to keep going, with another book in between as a "break", but at page 183, I quit.
Is this a biography? Is it a travelogue? Is it a history of medieval Italy? Is it a fictional romance novel? Is it all of these and none of these?
Who is the audience? Someone who knows a lot about medieval Italian history (like me), or someone who knows little to nothing? Is it for academics or for the layman?
The book is simply so confused, right from the beginning. Description is often overdone. Conjecture pervades the story. There is little, it seems, in historic record of the life and times of Matilda of Canossa. There is a lot of "legacy" and legend in Italy, but historic record is thin. One thing that is NOT in historic record in any definitive form is a romantic relationship between Matilda and the Pope Gregory VII. There were accusations of it at the time, but, isn't inappropriate sexual behavior the first thing thrown at any woman when she is dares to be independent and strong? And the same in terms of accusations against the Pope in those turbulent political times; he was also accused of necromancy. So to completely base the first half of this book upon this supposed romantic relationship when other sources do not support it undermines whatever claim to historical scholarship there may have been in this book. And base the book on it she does! How many times do the words "the man she loved" and "the woman he loved" appear? So many! And in random places for no reason whatsoever except to remind us of...what is supposed to be the central point of interest in this history/story? I am really not sure.
Speaking of history, there are pages and pages of Italian background history. The author will go pages and pages without mentioning Matilda at all, and then suddenly, as if remembering the title of the book, her name will be thrown in in a haphazard fashion with little relation to what had been said. The historical background is certainly important in understanding this very crazy and possibly confusing period in Italian history, however, it is related to the reader in a very dry uninteresting fashion. Much of it seems to be more about Pope Gregory VII than about Matilda.
Travelogue: the book is set up as chapters by city where the author goes to search for traces of the main characters. Nice idea. I actually like this idea. Not so much the execution, however. Each chapter begins with pages filled with long florid descriptions of what she sees when she arrives at her destinations. It felt like she was just trying to fill the pages. Then something along the lines of "nothing is left of when she was here, but I imagine that..." or "there is one column left and I touched it, imagining that maybe she touched it, too" or "I look out into the countryside that doesn't look anything like it did in Matilda's day and I see the sun sparkling on the blades of grass that...." These are not exact examples because I do not feel like flipping back through the book for the exact wording, but you can get the gist.
Finally, the thing that bothered me most. All of the conjecture, the suppositions, the "imagining" how Matilda or Gregory must have felt. Again, is this history or isn't it? SO many times things like: "she must have felt...." or "I like to think that she...." or " she must have been thinking...." or "I can't say for certain, but..." or "I will never know what she...." So many times. I am not interested in what the author's feelings would be were she in that situation. It was jarring each time I was reading the actual history part and then suddenly the AUTHOR shows up in the first person in the sentence! So very odd.
I was hoping to learn more about the Countess when I picked up this book. What info I DID learn about her (and I did learn some things, which is why I give it 2 stars rather than one), was so lost in all the vagaries of the content and writing style, that it felt like looking for a needle in haystack, skimming through the extraneous to get something out of the process.
But as I said, I gave up. I went to the Internet, and read two short biografies of Mathilda to find out about the rest of her life (the 2 other sources I read do NOT mention romance). And now I am done . I am very sorry to give such a poor review of a book that I really believed was right up my alley (biography of strong woman in history, anything Italian), but it is what it is, and that is...bad.
Is this a biography? Is it a travelogue? Is it a history of medieval Italy? Is it a fictional romance novel? Is it all of these and none of these?
Who is the audience? Someone who knows a lot about medieval Italian history (like me), or someone who knows little to nothing? Is it for academics or for the layman?
The book is simply so confused, right from the beginning. Description is often overdone. Conjecture pervades the story. There is little, it seems, in historic record of the life and times of Matilda of Canossa. There is a lot of "legacy" and legend in Italy, but historic record is thin. One thing that is NOT in historic record in any definitive form is a romantic relationship between Matilda and the Pope Gregory VII. There were accusations of it at the time, but, isn't inappropriate sexual behavior the first thing thrown at any woman when she is dares to be independent and strong? And the same in terms of accusations against the Pope in those turbulent political times; he was also accused of necromancy. So to completely base the first half of this book upon this supposed romantic relationship when other sources do not support it undermines whatever claim to historical scholarship there may have been in this book. And base the book on it she does! How many times do the words "the man she loved" and "the woman he loved" appear? So many! And in random places for no reason whatsoever except to remind us of...what is supposed to be the central point of interest in this history/story? I am really not sure.
Speaking of history, there are pages and pages of Italian background history. The author will go pages and pages without mentioning Matilda at all, and then suddenly, as if remembering the title of the book, her name will be thrown in in a haphazard fashion with little relation to what had been said. The historical background is certainly important in understanding this very crazy and possibly confusing period in Italian history, however, it is related to the reader in a very dry uninteresting fashion. Much of it seems to be more about Pope Gregory VII than about Matilda.
Travelogue: the book is set up as chapters by city where the author goes to search for traces of the main characters. Nice idea. I actually like this idea. Not so much the execution, however. Each chapter begins with pages filled with long florid descriptions of what she sees when she arrives at her destinations. It felt like she was just trying to fill the pages. Then something along the lines of "nothing is left of when she was here, but I imagine that..." or "there is one column left and I touched it, imagining that maybe she touched it, too" or "I look out into the countryside that doesn't look anything like it did in Matilda's day and I see the sun sparkling on the blades of grass that...." These are not exact examples because I do not feel like flipping back through the book for the exact wording, but you can get the gist.
Finally, the thing that bothered me most. All of the conjecture, the suppositions, the "imagining" how Matilda or Gregory must have felt. Again, is this history or isn't it? SO many times things like: "she must have felt...." or "I like to think that she...." or " she must have been thinking...." or "I can't say for certain, but..." or "I will never know what she...." So many times. I am not interested in what the author's feelings would be were she in that situation. It was jarring each time I was reading the actual history part and then suddenly the AUTHOR shows up in the first person in the sentence! So very odd.
I was hoping to learn more about the Countess when I picked up this book. What info I DID learn about her (and I did learn some things, which is why I give it 2 stars rather than one), was so lost in all the vagaries of the content and writing style, that it felt like looking for a needle in haystack, skimming through the extraneous to get something out of the process.
But as I said, I gave up. I went to the Internet, and read two short biografies of Mathilda to find out about the rest of her life (the 2 other sources I read do NOT mention romance). And now I am done . I am very sorry to give such a poor review of a book that I really believed was right up my alley (biography of strong woman in history, anything Italian), but it is what it is, and that is...bad.
June 23, 2025
It was a bizarre combination of biography, history, geography, religion, and political science, but it did keep my attention the whole time.
April 19, 2018
Very captivating story which left me wanting more. Definitely to know more about Matilda herself, because her story, despite enormous amount of research done by author, still seems to have so many unanswered and probably unanswerable questions which linger and itch somewhere on edge of my mind.
About the book itself I am not so sure as author's notes about her own travel through the places significant in life of her heroine scattered throughout Matilda's story I found far too distracting. I would not call them unworthy or pointless, but they definitely didn’t work for me most of time.
Having said that, I nevertheless think this book is more than worth reading as well as Matilda's story being known.
About the book itself I am not so sure as author's notes about her own travel through the places significant in life of her heroine scattered throughout Matilda's story I found far too distracting. I would not call them unworthy or pointless, but they definitely didn’t work for me most of time.
Having said that, I nevertheless think this book is more than worth reading as well as Matilda's story being known.
July 24, 2013
An amazing story of a strong woman from middle ages. Matilda broke the rules, influenced men and loved a pope. Her castle at Canossa (Italy) was never defeated and so was she.
The book is a factual book, so prepare for a bit drier reading, but definitely worth it.
The book is a factual book, so prepare for a bit drier reading, but definitely worth it.
Read
September 9, 2019Other reviews are correct in that this isn't a traditional biography: it is in places meandering, and as ever with people of this period, it's hard to come away feeling like you know Matilda as a person at the end. But despite the somewhat confusing array of names, dates, and events, I feel like I know a little bit more about Italian history (and certainly geography) having read this...I also want to know why Matilda & Gregory VII haven't been given the Hollywood treatment, because their story is ripe for it!
January 15, 2023
An excellent portrait of a woman not widely known. The author describes her physical journey through Italy and Germany as she conducts her research and personal anecdotes brighten the story she is telling. Overall a compelling argument is made for Matilda of Canossa's influence on the reforms of the church, but perhaps the author focusses too much on Matilda's possible romantic entanglement with Gregory VII as a primary motivation for all her actions.
Currently reading
May 10, 2020A rather academic book but rather than fiction on the story of this barely written about jewel. Enjoyed it but felt that Kathleen McGowan's Book of Love provided a richer view of Matilda.
Want to read
December 31, 2012I became interested in learning more about Matilda when reading Kathleen McGowan's books. I have begun reading Tuscan Countess several times but I'm finding it a bit dry and hard to get into. Still, Matilda's story fascinates me and I hope to eventually finish the book.
August 2, 2015
The excellent exhibit on Matilda at William & Mary's Muscarelle Museum inspired me to read more about this fascinating woman & era in history. Fact as presented here is often stranger than Game of Thrones (well, except no White Walkers). Now I want to visit all these places in Italy.
June 16, 2015
Part biography, part history, part travel memoir -- this is a fascinating look into a really important female leader from the Medieval time. Matilda is fascinating! Well researched and well written.
May 28, 2010
Interesting story badly told.
July 14, 2010
An interesting portrait of an amazing but little known woman, as well as a portrait of Italy during the middle ages.
August 16, 2025
Captivating, extremely well researched and inspiring - just as The Great Matilda herself.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews