Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe

by Nancy Goldstone

For fans of Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, acclaimed author Nancy Goldstone’s thrilling history of the royal daughters who succeeded in ruling—and shaping—thirteenth-century Europe

Set against the backdrop of the thirteenth century, a time of chivalry and crusades, troubadors, knights and monarchs, Four Queens is the story of four provocative sisters—Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice of Provence—who rose from near obscurity to become the most coveted and powerful women in Europe.  Each sister in this extraordinary family was beautiful, cultured, and accomplished but what made these women so remarkable was that each became queen of a principal European power—France, England, Germany and Sicily. During their reigns, they exercised considerable political authority, raised armies, intervened diplomatically and helped redraw the map of Europe.  Theirs is a drama of courage, sagacity and ambition that re-examines the concept of leadership in the Middle Ages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Medieval, France, Historical, Royalty

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 19, 2007

Reviews

[Janet Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I read this somewhere before. At least the story seems familiar. You know the one I mean. The one about four beautiful princesses living in a medieval castle under the bluest sky deep in the South of France. Where four handsome noblemen arrive to marry them and sooner or later turn all the princesses into queens. Then as the riches and power of the four queens grow, their fame spreads throughout the land.

Or is it perhaps a Provençal troubadour ballad I’m remembering?

Well no. And it isn’t even fiction. Still, there’s no denying all the right ingredients are there for a magical fairytale - including the family’s thousand-year old chateau at Ansouis, so high on one of the foothills of the Luberon that from where I once lived you could count the bedroom windows.

Nancy Goldstone has a talent for keeping that magic and at the same time deftly delivering a superbly researched factual account of what has to be one of the most incredible set of circumstances in European history. It’s a remarkable piece of work. Something to marvel at and enjoy.

[A.E. Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The flow of the narrative made this book very readable, and feel almost like reading a novel in places. While sometimes the book revolved more around the sisters' husbands than themselves, this can be attributed to the nature of the available historical sources. By taking the sisters as her subject, Goldstone is able to show the depth and intricacy of thirteenth century international relations. While many books fixate on one ruler or one country, this book highlights the often ignored connections that so strongly influenced decisions and policies affecting people's lives. Goldstone reconstructs a vivid picture of the power and influence thirteenth century women held in the governing of their and other nations.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A particularly weak pair of kings (of England and France) and their particularly strong younger brothers marry all four daughters of one very ambitious Provencal family, leaving room for their queens to have far more influence than stereotypes suggest for women of the middle ages. (Of course, there have been queens throughout history who have wielded far more power than one would think from sweeping generalizations of the time.)

This book follows one queen at a time, bouncing to one of her sisters' stories after a few chapters each. It makes it possible to follow the events of each woman's life, although there are some repetitive moments as you change chapters and abruptly bounce back a few years to follow a new thread. Overall, though, it's a good organizational tactic.

I ended up liking Marguerite (who married Louis of France) best, although she was rather awful to her baby sister Beatrice over their inheritances. Poor Marguerite got dragged on a hideous disaster of a crusade by her pious but not particularly strategic spouse and ended up having to ransom the broken man back from the Mamluks and then hold his kingdom together for the next several decades, since he was more interested in going back on a suicidal mission to free Jerusalem than in actually looking after his people. (Eventually, he did make it back and managed to kill off nearly their entire family. Marguerite wisely opted to stay home from that one.)

Eleanor's Henry of England was no better with warfare than her brother-in-law. Most of their story involves Eleanor's increasingly elaborate attempts to raise enough money to support her husband's hairbrained military operations, including fighting off a civil war at home. Henry's younger brother Richard married Sanchia (who has the best name of the bunch and was prettiest, but didn't have much else going for her, poor thing) and acquired himself the crown of Germany, mostly because he was jealous of his older brother. Louis' brother Charles and his wife Beatrice nabbed Sicily, much for the same reasons. The more I learn about European royalty and how little they necessarily had to do with the land they reigned over, the more astonished I am at the whole system.

This is a brisk, well-paced history that covers quite a lot of ground and filled in a bunch of gaps in my own knowledge (such as why the French kings stopped going on crusades--after that last one, you really can't blame them.) It's nice to see as much of the behind-the-scenes dynastic maneuverings on the parts of the women as the named-historical-battle struggles of the men, and see how they feed into each other. People haven't changed much in a few hundred years--this book gives these historical figures enough depth to see them as real people.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mother told me this joke, one of those internet jokes that might be true. It goes like this: Diane Sawyer was ing Afghanstien reporting on the changes in the treatment of women. SHe oticed that some women still walked five feet behind thier husbands. She asked one woman why this was so. The woman replied, "Landmines". Punchline: Behind every man, there is a smart woman.

This book is somewhat like the joke, but without the landmines.

Man, these women wore the pants that their husband's couldn't.

Goldstone tells the story of four women who married kings or men who became kings. It's kinda like how the news wants to play the whole Kate Middleton story. Middle-class girl weds the prince, neglecting to tell you that her parents might have started out as middle class but they're millionaires now.

The family of the four Queens might have been noblity, but they were poor noblity, so I guess that makes them more middle class than Kate (may she be happy).

Goldstone presents sections on each sister, the eldest two being the more interesting ones because of thier marriages to the King of France and King of England. While Goldstone presents facts, her writing style and her brillant structure of the book keep the story fresh. You don't like one sister; no worries, soon another sister will take center stage. There is love, jealousy, war and lots of politics.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The beginning of this book is engagingly written, but, as it goes on, it becomes a grind to read. By the middle of the book, the engaging, personal style is left behind; it's replaced by a dull recitation of events with scattered speculation thrown in. Yawn.

The factual errors are too numerous to list, so I'll just mention that the author's comments on her research methodology explain how she made such errors. She says, for example, that she relies on Giovanni Villani's chronicle--despite its late date--because Dante had used it and "what was good enough for Dante was good enough for me." Oh, okay. Apparently, Ms. Goldstone doesn't understand the nature of Dante's work. I also found myself wondering what in the world were her sources for events in Germany because she didn't seem to have any grasp at all on medieval German culture. She doesn't mention what her sources for Germany were.

Generally, popular history is fun to read. Not this one. It's dull, inaccurate, and written like a book report. That's too bad, because the subjects are fascinating.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Goldstone does this so well. Better than anyone I've read out there presently. I'll read all of hers. So far, I think I have read 3, and not in order of when they were published. But- this is excellent context to a era/century/placements that is nearly perfect.

This will not be a read about feminist warrior women or some quota of current politico or theory glances of whole piece theory applied to the women of this crafty (in all senses of that descriptive word) noble world. You are NOT going to get a fiction marriage tale times 4. And the individuals themselves will be placed among a cast of 100's in leaderships, and of many dozens in huge role-playing for the power / influence levels of their daily worlds.

This is also far more about economics than any theory or individual dynasty history that I've ever read. And also exposes the Crusades of Louis IX (St. Louis) beyond any reality or even synopsis of "truth" that I had ever been taught.

This is a period in which the nation states of just 200 years later are not at all jelled. Not in any sense. Some of them are mere city state or county large territories. And yet and still- almost all the monarchies named are related and inter-married within each other. That little changed. Although at the very end of this period there was a group from the city of Hapsburg which made it in big time soon after and were the "new".

But your 4 sisters. Settling the entire onus of eyes and experiences around them, their husbands, their courts, and their travels and interface was pure 5 stars. At times, even more. And the 4 girls' mother and father! What a strongly allied /settled/ savvy two in that marriage. Provence was not only the core of that world's troubadours and erudite but also core to the knights' intersects. What those females learned before they were 12 or 13!! No comparable person of that age would context as they were developed. In our present world, it would not be much civilly allowed, IMHO. Hours in deportment, church, study, skills, logic of authority concepts- body placements etc. It wasn't all embroidery, let me tell you.

But in the long or the short lives of these! And the study observations of much unsaid on all these husbands and marriages, especially upon the character and onus of Henry II (really a hot and cold effusive under IQ'd dud)?? Goldstone does superb show. It isn't all her "tell, tell, tell". Not at all.

Just guessing, but I would think only about 1/2 of this period's history readers of high interest would enjoy this long read. It's very difficult in names and geographic at its base, as well. It took me about 4 times longer than any other book of this period that I've read. The nuance to money and influence and bloodlines is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Personality and health matters. More so for these than the average or common placed humans of that time. Of that I am totally sure. Being reserved or in anyway a peaceful complacent or quiet person was for these an absolute negative. Association and notice equated to raising the monetary and the knight/military support. It absolutely did.

So many births, so many deaths. Never forget you will read of most, if not all of these primes burying numerous offspring. And that all travel and necessities of ruling were coupled with disease contact and climate fallouts never known by any, let alone themselves. Louis and Charles and Edward. All the big time crusades cross takers! So many deaths in hot lands and very few Christians saved by the "rescue". We were taught these were much more aggressive wars than what they were. They were defensive and also political. The only surprise to me was that the Reformation took 300 more years to fully bloom.

Strongly recommend this book if you want to understand the EXTREMELY different mores, culture and cognition of the noble women and men of this period. (Beyond different in how most humans have cognition of "real" today and the relative moralism coupled with subjective morality in law and in custom presently.) And how English barons and no-bodies under two (John and this very Henry II) developed this new way to think about workers or regular peoples' "rights" or permissions. Magna Charta to Dec. of Independence and all the declarations and proclamations made in between those two. An entire new way to conceive of social /governmental organization started because of the voids left in practical applications by all of these brilliant nobles scheming and playing chess with the continents among themselves instead of dealing with the structured applications of law and justice within their own taxed groups of language or tribal identity.

But these women were very evident. Not at all in the background for pivotal and determinate outcomes. Neither was their mother or Louis's mother. This century was top women heavy.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll start this by saying that it's a history, and I like history, so it's fine. My quibble with this book is that the author worked backward from a saleable concept--- that these women wielded real power and influence in the 13th century, ushering in a golden era of peace and prosperity--- and told the story to make it so. Sometimes, she flat made things up ("Santia must have prayed for x, because x happened the very next year.") But the truth is that one of the sisters had little or no influence and definitely none over her husband, was only a queen for about a year, and spent most of that time as an invalid. Another woman wasn't queen for very long, but was slightly more influential over her husband.

I won't say these women weren't important or didn't contribute in meaningful ways, they were and they did, but I felt that this was a story about men disguised as a story about women. Since it was sold as celebrating women, it just annoyed me is all.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25 stars- English Ebook

Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice of Provence were the daughters of Count Raymond Berenger of Provence and his wife Beatrice of Savoy.

Their homeland occupied a strategic corner of southern Europe and was known for its wealth and high culture, making them highly desireable wares on the international marriage markets.

The daughters made brilliant marriages to the Kings of France, England, the future Holy Roman Emperor, and the powerful Count of Anjou, brother of the King of France.

This book writes the illuminate roles the four women and others connected to them in the power politics of Europe in the thirteenth century.

In emphasizing the power these women held behind the scenes is well documented in this book. The misconception that women's voices were stilled, by choice or by necessity, during the European Middle Ages is not the scene pictured here.

This book provides colorful and accurate pictures of the lives the four sisters led: their castles and palaces, ceremonies, luxuries, and sometimes privations.

Although much of the detail on the womens' lives must be inferred because sources at the time rarely paid much attention to the ladies. The picture it paints is a little truth and some intrepatation my the author.

Loved to have read this book.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done and a good use of primary sources, but I think it suffers from the same problem a lot of books about female rulers do, namely that the author refuses to admit that the subject (in this case, Eleanor/wife of Henry III of England) was a bad ruler. Eleanor was smart, powerful, and commanding, but she also made a lot of really bad decisions, bankrupted her country, and corrupted its government. Goldstone's inability to acknowledge Eleanor's faults (along with her sister Marguerite's, although to a much lesser extent) was aggravating, especially because books about male rulers are written all the time in which the authors don't act like being a bad king but a strong person are mutually exclusive.

However, that's a problem with almost the entire genre of female-centric history and not Goldstone's fault, and she proves herself to be a talented historian and a great writer. The tone was a little too casual at times, but overall I thought that it was an engaging book and did a good job of juggling the four different narratives while still showing how each sister's decision impacted the others' lives.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the four daughters of the Count of Provence (Raymond Berenger V, 1195-1245), all of whom became queens of various kingdoms throughout Europe. It's my first foray into the thirteenth century, making this book a good follow-up to Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life, which ends a few years before this book begins, and also centers on the kingdoms of England and France and the conflicts between them.

Despite the fact that the book is historical non-fiction, there is some element of surprise especially if you aren't familiar with the history (which I wasn't). The back of the book proclaims that the sisters become the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily. While Marguerite and Eleanor marry the kings of France and England (respectively) very close to the beginning of the book, Sanchia and Beatrice marry these kings' brothers, and it's not clear right away how Germany and Sicily come into the picture. It allows for a little mystery to follow you through the book (if you don't cheat and read the Wikipedia articles).

Some prevailing themes:

Ineffectual monarchs: Much time is spent discussing the ways in which Henry III and Louis IX are unfit to be kings. Henry is a poor leader and often resorts to paying people off to stave off armed conflict. Louis is too pious for his own good and often hides behind the church. He does eventually come into his own as a monarch, but not before making numerous bad decisions in the name of the lord.

Strong women: The book is about the four sisters of Provence, and depicts three of them as ambitious, clever, and strong leaders, sometimes in the absence of these traits in their husbands. The wise and effective Blanche of Castile (Louis's mother) rules France for much of Louis's reign (whether he's absent or not), and Beatrice of Savoy (mother of the Provencal sisters) also demonstrates leadership after the death of her husband.

Jealous younger siblings: In the cases of both Henry of England and Louis of France, there was a more effective younger brother. Richard of Cornwall was widely regarded as a better leader than his brother Henry, and Charles of Anjou was more confident and ambitious than his pious brother Louis. The union of Charles and Beatrice of Provence (the youngest Provencal sister) was a marriage of two jealous, younger siblings.

Time limits for peace: Treaties, truces, and loyalty were not only bought, but timestamped. A treaty was like a contract that gets renegotiated after a prescribed period of time. France and England would agree to be allies for ten years or so, and then resist the very tempting urge to go to war for that time period, very rarely succeeding in their restraint. Loyalties of knights and mercenaries were also purchased for weeks at a time.

One complaint I have is Goldstone's overuse of the phrase "...can be measured by..." which is how she legitimizes some of her conclusions to the reader. For example, "The extent of the threat by the count of Toulouse against Provence can be measured by Raymond Berenger V's panicked reaction to it." Basically, she's saying [conclusion I have drawn] can be measured by [evidence in chronicler's account or primary source]. This formula was used often enough that I noted it and wished for more variety. At least she's clear about her research, though.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

when i first picked up this book, i didn't realize that it was non fiction. when i realized, i was slightly nervous that it would become tedious and textbook like. i was relieved to find out that it is ANYTHING but tedious. the story of the four provencal sisters and the author's style of writing is so riveting that i could not put this book down.

[Fuschia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the general idea of this book but found it really hard to follow due to SO MANY characters. It also lacked any sort of suspense or climax; momentum stayed an even keel throughout. The last half felt like I was reading the same story over and over again (raise funds, fight war, watch men make bad decisions, bury people, marry off the next generation, repeat). This description of Simon de Montfort on p. 236 really cracked me up for some reason, "...the earl of Leicester had spent a lifetime more or less specializing in audacity."

[David H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was recommended this book during, of all things, a forum discussion regarding the historical simulation game Crusader Kings II, and having finished it, it's quite inspirational for any future games of CK2.

I'm usually reading history books or listening to history podcasts that tend to take a big picture approach to historical trends and subjects, so it was a nice change of pace to read something that ended up so much more personal and intimate (Marguerite's troubled relationship with her mother-in-law Blanche could easily take place in a modern family, aside from the, y'know, ruling-France aspect). And it's absolutely fascinating how Count Ramon Berengeur of Provence was able to marry his daughters Marguerite and Eleanor to both the kings of France and England, and how that eventually led to a peace between the two dynasties. (The two younger daughters, Santia & Beatrice, gained their royal titles through their respective husbands' later ambitions.)

The title and subtitle kind of oversell this book (Are you a queen if your husband buys the title and doesn't actually rule over a kingdom? Did any of these sisters do much ruling beyond Marguerite?). However, this book was a healthy reminder that even if noblewomen don't have outright authority (and they often did), they still can and did wield influence and pursue their own ambitions during this time period. And the four daughters of the House of Barcelona certainly proved that they didn't all like each other (Marguerite's treatment of Beatrice was quite humiliating).

I definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest in the time period, or even interest in family's intersection with power. I thought Goldstone did a good job of interweaving all the sisters' story together in something approaching coherency.

A side note regarding the King of France in this book, Louis IX. Later sainted, he's the origin of most if not all those St. Louises you see around the world, including my own hometown of St. Louis, Missouri: He may have been a pious Christian, but he was terrible at most anything else. What a disappointment to my namesake city. I don't feel as bad that the sword in the statue, Apotheosis of St. Louis, kept getting stolen anymore.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, informative and extremely well-written. Anyone looking for a biography on women in history cannot do better than this book. Nancy Goldstone does a good job of portraying each of the four sisters' personalities, even Sanchia, who has very little historical evidence to rely upon. Sanchia's timid and shy nature comes through because of the small bits of information Goldstone is forced to rely upon and she uses what little information she has well. Ms. Goldstone also writes in an engaging manner and the book is not a dry tome citing long passages of boring facts like some history books.

Good insight is also given into the characters of the four men whom wed the sisters. And we also get an intriguing glimpse into the personalities of Beatrice of Savoy (the four queens' mother) and Blanche of Castile (mother to Louis IX of France and Marguerite's mother-in-law). On a personal note, I'd have to say my favorite was Marguerite. I admired her strength, wisdom and determination. Aside from the personal historical data for each sister, the book also offers an interesting portrayal of a woman's life in the 13th Century. It certainly makes one grateful for being alive today.

I would highly recommend this book.

One tip I'd like to add. I always like having an idea of what a person looked like. Going on each sisters' Wikipedia page only offered cartoonish type drawings, but if you search each sisters' name on the internet you can find beautiful portrait drawings/painting of each (their husband's, too). I printed out copies so I would have a sense of what each looked like as I read. Just an idea if you really like to visualize when reading.

[Colleen Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anytime a book adds to my knowledge on a subject, I consider it a success. This book provided me with information on the middle ages that I didn't possess previously. For example, I have always known that the pope was an extremely powerful figure during that time but I guess I assumed that most of it was because of the exalted position he held in society and the religiosity of the people who lived at the time. Gladstone returns again and again to the power of the purse the head of the church held in addition to the threat of excommunication of those who dared to get on his bad side. To raise armies either for his personal goals like securing the Italian areas or to convince military leaders to undertake crusades, he would offer them a percentage of the rents from bishoprics throughout Europe. This was a substantial amount and knights already longing for adventure and the prestige that crusades provided them was an important allure.
As the title makes clear, this book is about 4 sisters, not of royal blood themselves who became very influential queens. With the exception of Sanchia, they were unafraid to raise armies, participate in crusades, endure great hardship and risk alienating their kingdoms to accomplish their goals. It is an interesting, well-written book.
I am left wondering who would want to be a king or queen at that time. They must have gotten very tired, what with all the arduous travel and danger. When I travel, I travel in as much comfort as I can afford. I guess people were just tougher in those days.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

AN EYE OPENING BOOK! I had always thought that the middle ages were full of despicable kings and lords. Sons rebelling against fathers. Brothers fighting against brothers, church prelates (including popes) fighting against each other and playing off one king/lord against another.

Well, HATS OFF TO THE AUTHOR. Because it turns out, it wasn’t just the royal men who were despicable yeet-holes. The women were just as egotistical, self-centered, manipulative and greedy as the men. They egged on their husbands to go to war on an insult, they screamed at their husbands about who got which castle or estate, they fumed about the promises of a parent or whose child got what and why it was UNFAIR.

And thousands of peasants and townspeople died as a result.

Thus, I really cannot agree with all of the reviewers who are so thankful for the author’s telling the story of these powerful women, as if it is wonderful and refreshing (affirming, even) to see these women acting as terrible and as small as the men.

Rather, it is my firm wish, nay, prayer, that the souls of ALL portrayed in these pages—kings, queens, lords, bishops and popes alike—burn (or freeze, if you prefer Dante) good and long … IN HELL.

Except for Sanchia. She was the sole good person in this entire book.

And, oh, it was a good read! Kudos to Goldstone for making history interesting!

[Andrea M · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exciting life these women lived! These women never had a dull moment and they didn't get everything they wanted in life either despite being a queen. I was fascinated by their financial troubles, their interactions with each other, their difficulties in marriage (which did not result in divorce) and the fall of the dice as it were where sometimes they won and sometimes they lost. This book is long but not because the author is verbose, the plot has a lot of twists and turns. I really liked how the author points out in single sublime sentences the turning points or grand result of all that went on in the chapter. It gives one a sense that she not only is writing what happened but has thought it out and come to a conclusion which is satisfying to read.

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced, illuminating, intelligently written and constructed, this historical non-fiction book is many, many stories in one - with, at its center and matrix, four fascinating sisters who, born in a world of privilege during the Middle Ages, all became queens. Wars, rivalries, betrayals, love, tragic deaths, royal splendor, it's all there, and it's all true. This is a wonderful painting of Europe at a turning point of its history - which not only makes the world of the Middle Ages accessible to anyone, but also helps us understand the soul and mind of old Europe - and therefore of contemporary Europe, too. The individual portraits at the heart of the story are vivid, and they intertwine adroitly with the portraits of the countries where the action takes place (mostly France and England), of the dynasties that fought and ruled , of the events that happened (some of them quite shocking - as the disastrous crusades led by the French king Louis, revered in France as St Louis). Somehow, Goldstone manages to make a very complex story understandable without simplifying it, and she obviously understands the world she describes, and how Europe society functioned.

[Magill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure whether there was simply insufficient material to really reveal something about these women besides a recitation of historical events or whether the author didn't maximize the use of her source material. It is hard to tell with a book with no footnotes or references whatsoever.

The author uses few direct quotes (although her usage increases towards the end) by chroniclers, and that is about the total of references. She refers to letters between the sisters and then does not use any of the material. She tells but does not show.

I suppose it is fortunate that, while some projections and suppositions are made, the author refrains from getting too deep. But the bulk of the book is concerning the queen's husbands and sons and is more like a condensed version of that period of history.

I have read better and I have read far worse, when it comes to history. She is an able writer but for all her research this is a bit superficial and light on revealing anything of note.

A time killer but not a must read.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a DNF at about the halfway point (170 pages in). There is little here about the actual women, and a lot about their husbands/potential suitors/crusaders/dudes. While I understand that men both made and wrote history in the Middle Ages, and that women didn't really matter in general, I feel like this could have been structured differently so it focused on these sisters like the cover says it does. It was difficult to keep track of who was whom even among the few women here (since there seem to be no less than 2 people with the same name, both men and women), and I just didn't want to fight to try and understand what was going on any more. Disappointing and unfortunate.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a non-fiction of four sisters of Provence (a region in France in the 13th century), Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia and Beatrice, who become queens of France, England, Germany and Sicily respectively.

Although this is filled with interesting information and obviously well researched, the writing style can be a bit dry and slow. I also felt there was not exactly a wealth of information on the queens and what information was there did not fully support the idea that they were quite as powerful as the title would have you believe.

The reason for the lack of information about them is due to the amount of detail of other people and events around the queens. I understand the politics of the time were complicated and involved many important players, therefore in order to understand the world the queens lived in, we must be briefed on everything going on around them too so I can't hold it against the author too much. But it meant the book lacked a true focus on the queens.

It wasn't until about half way through the book that some of the queens finally started coming into real power. Maybe it has something to do with Blanche of Castile, Marguerite's mother in law, who stole the spotlight in many occasions until her death half way through the book. Marguerite didn't really come into power until that point.

Eleanor, though highly influentual, did not seem adequate enough to make up for her husband's failures and for the majority of the book, England seemed to suffer as a result.

Sanchia was portrayed as politically unambitious - plus, she was barely crowned a queen before she died. She was queen for 4 years but did nothing noteworthy during that time and thus her reign is brushed by in the book, summarizing with the admittance that she was "queen in name only". So she hardly contributed to "ruling Europe".

Beatrice, although portrayed as ambitious and determined to make her mark in the world, didn't seem to carry much power before she also died shortly after becoming a queen. There was little evidence that she played an important political role before that. She was fortunate that her husband shared her own ambitions but although their goals were the same, Beatrice's methods were often dismissed (sometimes even laughed at) in favor of her husbands, which proved more successful.

I was also surprised to see so much military detail in a book about four women, written by a woman. Maybe I'm just stereotyping here but I personally tend to zone out over military history so these parts were particularly a struggle for me to get through.

I expected the queens to have more power than they did and for the book to focus more on their relationships with each other, showing how they worked together to rule Europe as a whole. But that was not the case. I still enjoyed it, it just wasn't quite what I expected.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love learning about history and I love learning about untold female stories in history, so yeah, this was a good book for me.

I know it was standard practice for the time but still, the huge age gaps in the marriages really made me uncomfortable. Eleanor(the 2nd sister) is 13 when she marries Henry iii who was 29....... and Sanchia(the 3rd sister) is 14 when she marries Richard of Cornwall who was 33. Thanks, I hate it!

This isn't really a criticism of the book but I hated the way Sanchia got screwed after she married Richard. JUSTICE FOR SANCHIA!!!!!!!!!

Also I swear the book never mentioned that Blanche of Castile and Henry iii were cousins???? There was still a 20 year age gap but I feel like that should have been at least mentioned once cause it adds more depth to the dynamic between France and England at that time.

This book something I don't really like in historical autobiographies where specific sections(or sisters in this case) will be focused on instead of things being in chronological order. The book was divided by chapters of all the sisters. So in Sanchia's last chapter we see her death and then two chapters later in Marguerite's chapter it's mentioned that Sanchia was there for Christmas and it kinda pulled me out of the book because it's been established that Sanchia has died.

The crusade sections of this book was horrible and not because the writing was bad but because it was so awful. The 1st crusade was already bad and just when you think the 2nd crusade can't be worse then the 1st, it is. Louis's 2nd crusade sounded absolutely horrible. Marguerite lost her husband, son, daughter, daughter in law, son in law, a unborn grandchild and brother and sister in law all because of this crusade.

Beatrice and Sanchia definitely didn't get as much time as Marguerite and Eleanor. I also felt that Beatrice was kind of painted into a corner and wasn't given that much nuance when someone like Eleanor was. Not that Eleanor was bad but the book seemed more willing to forgive her than Beatrice.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enduring historical myth is that women through the ages have played a minor role and have had a limited impact on historical evnts. In Europe during the 13th Century, four beautiful sisters, the daughters of the Count and Countess of Provence, Raymond Berenger V and Beatrice of Savoy, came out of the minor nobility to become queens. Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice became the queens of France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and Sicily, respectively. At age 13, Marguerite became the bride of the French king, Louis IX, who was dominated by his mother, the White Queen, until her death. Marguerite accompanied Louis IX on his First Crusade which turned into a rout and a disaster. In fact, shortly after giving birth in the Middle East, Queen Marguerite had to raise funds to ransome her captive husband from the Mamluks. Queen Marguerite and her sister, Queen Eleanor of England, were instrumental in persuading their husbands to forge a strong peace treaty between their two countries and the two royal families were emotionally close. Sanchia was married to Henry III's younger brother, Richard, who was one of the wealthest men in Europe. Unfortunately, she was marginalized by her husband and her reign as the queen of the Holy Roman Empire was short. Beatrice inherited all of her father's property which she had to defend from the claims of her sisters and she eventually married Charles, a younger brother of Louis IX. She and her husband, Charles, maneuvered diplomatically, to secure Charles's position as King of Sicily and they had to fight to gain that throne. Unfortunately, Beatrice died not long after being crowned Queen of Sicily. Goldstone draws heavily on primary sources including correspondence among the sisters, their families, and those close to them. She also relies heavily on contempory chroniclers of that period such as Matthew Paris and Jean de Joinville. A highly readable book providing a window into that era of European history.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a group biography of four medieval women by a non-professor historian a la Barbara Tuchman. The four sisters were the children of the count of Provence; the two eldest married Saint Louis IX and Henry III of England and the two younger married younger sons of those houses who managed to wrangle less important kingdoms for themselves. Some readers of the book think it's too boring and serious, while others think Goldstone isn't a legitimate historian and makes mistakes. Since I was not reading the book for research, yet have a good attention span, I found it diverting. Goldstone gives the readers a tour through the medieval world of dynastic entanglements and a tax-and-spend system with a real emphasis on tax. It seemed like a pleasant coda to one of my all-time favorite books:

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging historical glimpse into the lives of four sisters from Provence. Even if you aren't given to reading loads of non-fiction, this might capture your interest. The author researched all aspects of their lives so well you leave the book with a definite sense of the historical characters as people (even to the point of thinking you'd hate so-and-so given the chance to meet them in person). It was very well-written and engaging, and only lost out on five stars for me because I felt by the end of the book, Gladstone was a little tired of explaining international political intrigue (which is understandable given the lives of the people in question).

[Hana Neua · Rating 5 out of 5]

O.k. but with one exeption surely, in about 1250 Bohemia was a kingdom with its king, not a county with a count. The Bohemian/Czech king was one of se en electors who were entitled to vote the Roman king. Stupid Mistake.i wonder if there were more ???

[Luciana Betenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorei este livro! História real de quatro irmãs nascidas em uma família provençal no séc. XIII. As irmãs se casam com dois pares de irmãos (entre eles o Rei da França e o Rei da Inglaterra) e se tornam rainhas. Muito bacana ver as estratégias, movimentos de guerra, diplomacia e acordos num mundo parecido com um tabuleiro de War e onde as mulheres claramente participam e influenciam a política e o jogo de poderes. Recomendo!

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read and full of drama.
The author makes the effort to flesh out both times and players in relatable ways.
Yet, I'm much more familiar with this period in history and there's some fiddling with the facts.
The low rating is largely due to Islamaphobic and anti-asian sentiment characterization of the Mongols.
The author does make attempts in the narrative to view non-Europeans in neutral ways she largely fails.

[Jeannette Katzir · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be a biographer's dream, but it certainly isn't mine.
I tried to enjoy, but can't. It has snippets of interest, then it's bogged down in boring, slow, mindless, endless detail. Couldn't and wouldn't finish it.

[Charmaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was mistaken about this book. I thought it was historical fiction but, as it turns out, it is a narrative. It's probably a very good narrative, but I just couldn't get into it.