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The Queen and the Mistress: The Women of Edward III
The riveting story of two women whose divergent personalities and positions impacted the court of Edward III, one of medieval England's greatest kings.
There were two women in Edward III's Philippa of Hainault, his wife of forty years and bearer of twelve children, and his mistress, Alice Perrers, the twenty-year-old who took the king's fancy as his ageing wife grew sick. After Philippa's death Alice began to dominate court, amassing a fortune and persuading the elderly Edward to promote her friends and punish her enemies.
In The Queen and the Mistress , Gemma Hollman brings the story of these two women to life and contrasts the "perfect" medieval queen—the pious, unpolitical, steady Philippa—with the impertinent youth—the wily, charismatic, manipulative Alice. One died a royal, adored, while the full force of the English court united against Alice, wresting both money and power from her and leaving her with nothing but a mission to try to reclaim all that was lost.
Both women had wealth and power but used vitally different methods to dispense it. In The Queen and the Mistress, Hollman brings to the fore their differences and similarities in a unique look at women and power in the Middle Ages.
There were two women in Edward III's Philippa of Hainault, his wife of forty years and bearer of twelve children, and his mistress, Alice Perrers, the twenty-year-old who took the king's fancy as his ageing wife grew sick. After Philippa's death Alice began to dominate court, amassing a fortune and persuading the elderly Edward to promote her friends and punish her enemies.
In The Queen and the Mistress , Gemma Hollman brings the story of these two women to life and contrasts the "perfect" medieval queen—the pious, unpolitical, steady Philippa—with the impertinent youth—the wily, charismatic, manipulative Alice. One died a royal, adored, while the full force of the English court united against Alice, wresting both money and power from her and leaving her with nothing but a mission to try to reclaim all that was lost.
Both women had wealth and power but used vitally different methods to dispense it. In The Queen and the Mistress, Hollman brings to the fore their differences and similarities in a unique look at women and power in the Middle Ages.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published April 4, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 23, 2023
A book actually about the women in question, that didn’t contain filler chapters about the men around them!!! A true rarity
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September 9, 20224/4/23
November 23, 2022
Excellent and fascinating read looking at the two great loves of Edward III's life, his queen Phillipa and his mistress Alice Perriers a woman much maligned by history. Two women I knew very little about were brought out of the shadows. Excellent.
June 12, 2023
The Queen and the Mistress: The Women of Edward III by Gemma Hollman focuses on Queen Philippa, the wife of Edward for over three decades, and Alice Perrers, a lady who served Philippa who became Edward's companion during Philippa's decline and then for several years after her death unto his own passing.
This book has left me with conflicting feelings. It's very well-researched, and I'm tickled whenever I can see research drawn on from other books, like The Perfect King, which I just finished quite recently and a big reason why I chose this book to read when I did. The problem is that I went into this wishing to know more about both the women, but particularly Philippa. I wished to get a deeper sense of the woman who apparently made a love match with a king, which was definitely no certain thing, and who held his attention for almost the entirety of their marriage, another trait not guaranteed to the spouses of kings. Upon finishing this book, I feel that wish has been granted with Alice, but not so much with Philippa.
The book is split basically in half between the two women, but it somehow feels like it's a very cursory glance at Philippa. I thought I would get a better reckoning of her than I did with The Perfect King, which was obviously focused on Edward. She spent all her time falling pregnant in that book, and I thought it would be better in this one, but it wasn't to a great degree. I liked to hear more about her intercessions on the behalf of women and children, sparing them from death for minor crimes, and I enjoyed hearing about her finery, but it seemed most of the pages were like "Philippa was heavily pregnant". I guess I was expecting letters or documents or something.
The Alice portion is better at this than the Philippa. She is better fleshed out, and I get a greater sense of her as a woman, although at the beginning of her portion was a lot of "...and she probably..." "...and her family may have..." which I don't especially like in historical tracts but can kind of forgive with understanding as to the limited sources, especially for women. But there, too, I have a massive bone to pick about the Alice portion, and it's in the simply enormous amount of sympathy the author gives to her.
I understand that it was very difficult for women at the time, and they had basically little to no agency of their own, and the limitations become starker the further down the line that the women were descended in terms of class. I think, however, that in trying to paint a more charitable view of Alice Perrers, the author makes a massive overcorrection. She comes off as very, very, very, very, VERY greedy. She wants to provide for her children--fine. She wants to keep herself in security--OK. She had fifty-six manors bestowed upon her by Edward! She had countless clothing and garments bequeathed to her. She was on the level to his daughter in terms of the finery she received. She had thousands and thousands and thousands of litres of wine, which was another way she could make income. She was placed as guardian to a very wealthy child, who she married to her son to secure him an even higher foothold. She took properties from Edward's children, which they weren't thrilled about. Whenever she was banished, and then allowed back at court when they believed Edward to be dying, instead of, say, I don't know, quitting while she was ahead, she went right back into angling for pardons and helping friends get appointments while continuing to snatch things up left and right. It's just funny that the whole chaos of Edward's father was how he spoiled and showered items on his (male) favourites, and then Edward turns around and does basically the same thing.
You also have to question the physical and mental stability of Edward at the time; it's argued by many historians that he had probably suffered at least one stroke before his death, and possibly multiple ones. He's frail and fading; how could she not be taking advantage of him, whether or not she had loved him or continued to love him even while scheming to both enrich her holdings while protecting herself for when he soon died? The fact that she married either right after he died or before in a last-ditch effort to try to keep her land with her should she come before Parliament certainly speaks to that.
Anyway. I guess what I'm saying is I was left a little disappointed with the Philippa section but liked her better as a person, and I was more impressed with the Alice Perrers section but came off liking her even less than I had going into it. I can grant that women struggled at the time, but that doesn't mean she wasn't greedy.
Also side note: there was mention about how neither woman was wholly good or bad. The assertion, therefore, that Philippa wasn't perfect because she was in debt means basically nothing. In the text it's shown that she was constantly struggling to maintain her household as she was given property that did not generate enough income to fund the family that seemed to grow with every passing year, and Philippa often kept her children with her, which means she would have to budget for their staffs. Not only that, but Edward LOVED to throw money around for bejewelled clothing he would only wear once to massive, lavish tournaments. He spared no expense with cloths for the garments and the like; Philippa was supposed to be a symbol of his leadership and the greatness into which he was leading England. She could hardly go around in plain clothes while he's glittering like the sun next to her. I think she probably did the best that she could with what was given to her, especially when she had to make do with less at one point than what knights earned yearly.
This book has left me with conflicting feelings. It's very well-researched, and I'm tickled whenever I can see research drawn on from other books, like The Perfect King, which I just finished quite recently and a big reason why I chose this book to read when I did. The problem is that I went into this wishing to know more about both the women, but particularly Philippa. I wished to get a deeper sense of the woman who apparently made a love match with a king, which was definitely no certain thing, and who held his attention for almost the entirety of their marriage, another trait not guaranteed to the spouses of kings. Upon finishing this book, I feel that wish has been granted with Alice, but not so much with Philippa.
The book is split basically in half between the two women, but it somehow feels like it's a very cursory glance at Philippa. I thought I would get a better reckoning of her than I did with The Perfect King, which was obviously focused on Edward. She spent all her time falling pregnant in that book, and I thought it would be better in this one, but it wasn't to a great degree. I liked to hear more about her intercessions on the behalf of women and children, sparing them from death for minor crimes, and I enjoyed hearing about her finery, but it seemed most of the pages were like "Philippa was heavily pregnant". I guess I was expecting letters or documents or something.
The Alice portion is better at this than the Philippa. She is better fleshed out, and I get a greater sense of her as a woman, although at the beginning of her portion was a lot of "...and she probably..." "...and her family may have..." which I don't especially like in historical tracts but can kind of forgive with understanding as to the limited sources, especially for women. But there, too, I have a massive bone to pick about the Alice portion, and it's in the simply enormous amount of sympathy the author gives to her.
I understand that it was very difficult for women at the time, and they had basically little to no agency of their own, and the limitations become starker the further down the line that the women were descended in terms of class. I think, however, that in trying to paint a more charitable view of Alice Perrers, the author makes a massive overcorrection. She comes off as very, very, very, very, VERY greedy. She wants to provide for her children--fine. She wants to keep herself in security--OK. She had fifty-six manors bestowed upon her by Edward! She had countless clothing and garments bequeathed to her. She was on the level to his daughter in terms of the finery she received. She had thousands and thousands and thousands of litres of wine, which was another way she could make income. She was placed as guardian to a very wealthy child, who she married to her son to secure him an even higher foothold. She took properties from Edward's children, which they weren't thrilled about. Whenever she was banished, and then allowed back at court when they believed Edward to be dying, instead of, say, I don't know, quitting while she was ahead, she went right back into angling for pardons and helping friends get appointments while continuing to snatch things up left and right. It's just funny that the whole chaos of Edward's father was how he spoiled and showered items on his (male) favourites, and then Edward turns around and does basically the same thing.
You also have to question the physical and mental stability of Edward at the time; it's argued by many historians that he had probably suffered at least one stroke before his death, and possibly multiple ones. He's frail and fading; how could she not be taking advantage of him, whether or not she had loved him or continued to love him even while scheming to both enrich her holdings while protecting herself for when he soon died? The fact that she married either right after he died or before in a last-ditch effort to try to keep her land with her should she come before Parliament certainly speaks to that.
Anyway. I guess what I'm saying is I was left a little disappointed with the Philippa section but liked her better as a person, and I was more impressed with the Alice Perrers section but came off liking her even less than I had going into it. I can grant that women struggled at the time, but that doesn't mean she wasn't greedy.
Also side note: there was mention about how neither woman was wholly good or bad. The assertion, therefore, that Philippa wasn't perfect because she was in debt means basically nothing. In the text it's shown that she was constantly struggling to maintain her household as she was given property that did not generate enough income to fund the family that seemed to grow with every passing year, and Philippa often kept her children with her, which means she would have to budget for their staffs. Not only that, but Edward LOVED to throw money around for bejewelled clothing he would only wear once to massive, lavish tournaments. He spared no expense with cloths for the garments and the like; Philippa was supposed to be a symbol of his leadership and the greatness into which he was leading England. She could hardly go around in plain clothes while he's glittering like the sun next to her. I think she probably did the best that she could with what was given to her, especially when she had to make do with less at one point than what knights earned yearly.
July 9, 2024
Two women that are viewed as near polar opposites - Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III - kind, respectful, a woman who knew her place as queen; and Alice Perrers, mistress to King Edward III - greedy, inappropriate, a woman who took advantage of an elderly, ailing king. This is how they have historically been portrayed. But in her book The Queen and the Mistress, Gemma Hollman seeks to reevaluate both women and give a fresh eye to how they have been portrayed in light of each other and their circumstances.
The book is essentially two parts, one for each woman. The chapters on Philippa basically reaffirm that she was an ideal medieval queen. The worst we can perhaps say about her is that she loved her clothing and jewelry. Otherwise she was a doting mother, supported her husband, intervened at times for the less fortunate, and was in pretty much all regards exactly what she was supposed to be. Alice proves to be the more interesting figure because there's more to delve into. From a merchant family, she worked her way into Philippa's service and eventually began an affair with Edward. Through this position she became fabulously wealthy, particularly in terms of properties and lands.
The crux of the book is really trying to level out Alice's reputation. Hollman seems to depict that Edward truly cared for her, and gave her what he did out of his own kindness. And I feel that Hollman further concludes that Alice's reputation was not warranted. She may have been opportunistic and readily willing to take whatever Edward gave, but she wasn't exactly a corrupting influence on the king. That being said, I do think Alice seemed to be involved in some shady business and used her positions and connections to help orchestrate things that worked to her own advantage.
The Queen and the Mistress was a good read, if not particularly outstanding. I'd probably give it a 3.5. The chapters on Philippa were nice to read, but I do have a bit of a soft spot for her; Hollman doesn't really uncover anything groundbreaking here. I definitely got more out of the chapters on Alice, and Hollman convincingly shows that a woman wielding her own power was seen as a dangerous, inappropriate thing during this period. I did feel, however, that Hollman maybe went just a touch too far in trying to reverse Alice's image.
The book is essentially two parts, one for each woman. The chapters on Philippa basically reaffirm that she was an ideal medieval queen. The worst we can perhaps say about her is that she loved her clothing and jewelry. Otherwise she was a doting mother, supported her husband, intervened at times for the less fortunate, and was in pretty much all regards exactly what she was supposed to be. Alice proves to be the more interesting figure because there's more to delve into. From a merchant family, she worked her way into Philippa's service and eventually began an affair with Edward. Through this position she became fabulously wealthy, particularly in terms of properties and lands.
The crux of the book is really trying to level out Alice's reputation. Hollman seems to depict that Edward truly cared for her, and gave her what he did out of his own kindness. And I feel that Hollman further concludes that Alice's reputation was not warranted. She may have been opportunistic and readily willing to take whatever Edward gave, but she wasn't exactly a corrupting influence on the king. That being said, I do think Alice seemed to be involved in some shady business and used her positions and connections to help orchestrate things that worked to her own advantage.
The Queen and the Mistress was a good read, if not particularly outstanding. I'd probably give it a 3.5. The chapters on Philippa were nice to read, but I do have a bit of a soft spot for her; Hollman doesn't really uncover anything groundbreaking here. I definitely got more out of the chapters on Alice, and Hollman convincingly shows that a woman wielding her own power was seen as a dangerous, inappropriate thing during this period. I did feel, however, that Hollman maybe went just a touch too far in trying to reverse Alice's image.
May 24, 2024
The Queen and the Mistress is a dual biography of Queen Philippa of Hainault and Alice Perrers. These two women came from different backgrounds but are the only women that King Edward III ever loved. Philippa of Hainault was an adored queen to the English people. However, Alice was reviled and feared as King Edward III’s mistress. While they were different in social status, they were able to become the wealthiest and most powerful women of England during King Edward III’s reign.
Queen Philippa of Hainault married King Edward III as part of a marriage alliance. However, they had a very loving and happy marriage. Initially, Queen Philippa of Hainault was often overshadowed by her mother-in-law, Dowager Queen Isabella of France. When her husband finally was independent from his mother, Queen Philippa started to gain power. King Edward III doted on her, trusted her, and relied on her. Queen Philippa gave King Edward III many children. She interceded for criminals, participated in charitable acts, and founded the Queen’s College at the University of Oxford. Therefore, she was seen as a good queen whom all of England adored.
I found Philippa of Hainault to be a fascinating queen. I had never heard of her story. This may be because very few historians have studied her particularly, focusing on her more scandalous mother-in-law, Dowager Queen Isabella of France. While her story is not as colorful as her mother-in-law, she had a happier and a husband who loved her. She excelled in her duties in queenship. She was a faithful wife and caring mother. It is no wonder why she was considered to be one of England’s modeled queens.
Alice Perrers came from a family of goldsmiths. She was a widow who served Queen Philippa of Hainault. She captured King Edward III’s attention when Queen Philippa of Hainault was terminally ill. King Edward III remained faithful to Alice until his death. Alice bore him three children. As King Edward III’s mistress, she was the most powerful and wealthiest woman in England. She often meddled in politics and increased her wealth. After King Edward III’s death, Alice lost most of what she had gained. Her lands were confiscated and given to others. Her daughters did not marry into noble households. Thus, Alice suffered the consequences as King Edward III’s mistress.
I have heard more about the notorious Alice Perrers than Queen Philippa of Hainault. This is because there have been many fascinating novels about her, especially The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion and The King’s Concubine by Anne O’Brien. Therefore, I was not a stranger to her story. In this dual biography, Alice comes across as more sympathetic. She was power-hungry and greedy, but she was faithful to King Edward III until his death. She was also very intelligent and persistent. She never gave up fighting for her rights. Thus, Alice is a very complex historical figure. She used her position as the king’s mistress to advance her own ends and tried to financially secure her future once King Edward III passed away.
Overall, this book examined how women exercised power in medieval England either as a queen or a mistress. The biographies of the two women were brief but very detailed. There were a few times in which the book was repetitive. I also found Queen Philippa of Hainault’s biography to be better written than Alice Perrers’s story. This is because Alice Perrers’s biography often relied more on speculation because very little information is known about her. Still, The Queen and the Mistress was an enthralling read! This book is a must-read for fans of English royalty! I hope that there will be more studies on both Queen Philippa of Hainault and Alice Perrers in the future! The Queen and the Mistress is an extraordinary tribute to two very formidable yet forgotten women of the Middle Ages.
(Note: I was given a review copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.)
Queen Philippa of Hainault married King Edward III as part of a marriage alliance. However, they had a very loving and happy marriage. Initially, Queen Philippa of Hainault was often overshadowed by her mother-in-law, Dowager Queen Isabella of France. When her husband finally was independent from his mother, Queen Philippa started to gain power. King Edward III doted on her, trusted her, and relied on her. Queen Philippa gave King Edward III many children. She interceded for criminals, participated in charitable acts, and founded the Queen’s College at the University of Oxford. Therefore, she was seen as a good queen whom all of England adored.
I found Philippa of Hainault to be a fascinating queen. I had never heard of her story. This may be because very few historians have studied her particularly, focusing on her more scandalous mother-in-law, Dowager Queen Isabella of France. While her story is not as colorful as her mother-in-law, she had a happier and a husband who loved her. She excelled in her duties in queenship. She was a faithful wife and caring mother. It is no wonder why she was considered to be one of England’s modeled queens.
Alice Perrers came from a family of goldsmiths. She was a widow who served Queen Philippa of Hainault. She captured King Edward III’s attention when Queen Philippa of Hainault was terminally ill. King Edward III remained faithful to Alice until his death. Alice bore him three children. As King Edward III’s mistress, she was the most powerful and wealthiest woman in England. She often meddled in politics and increased her wealth. After King Edward III’s death, Alice lost most of what she had gained. Her lands were confiscated and given to others. Her daughters did not marry into noble households. Thus, Alice suffered the consequences as King Edward III’s mistress.
I have heard more about the notorious Alice Perrers than Queen Philippa of Hainault. This is because there have been many fascinating novels about her, especially The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion and The King’s Concubine by Anne O’Brien. Therefore, I was not a stranger to her story. In this dual biography, Alice comes across as more sympathetic. She was power-hungry and greedy, but she was faithful to King Edward III until his death. She was also very intelligent and persistent. She never gave up fighting for her rights. Thus, Alice is a very complex historical figure. She used her position as the king’s mistress to advance her own ends and tried to financially secure her future once King Edward III passed away.
Overall, this book examined how women exercised power in medieval England either as a queen or a mistress. The biographies of the two women were brief but very detailed. There were a few times in which the book was repetitive. I also found Queen Philippa of Hainault’s biography to be better written than Alice Perrers’s story. This is because Alice Perrers’s biography often relied more on speculation because very little information is known about her. Still, The Queen and the Mistress was an enthralling read! This book is a must-read for fans of English royalty! I hope that there will be more studies on both Queen Philippa of Hainault and Alice Perrers in the future! The Queen and the Mistress is an extraordinary tribute to two very formidable yet forgotten women of the Middle Ages.
(Note: I was given a review copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.)
May 11, 2023
The writing itself was great, and I will definitely read more from this author. In terms of content however, the first half of the book (about 100 pages) focuses on Queen Philippa, but I didn’t feel like I learned very much about her, despite her being queen consort for 40 years. I suppose that’s because she was considered the ideal woman in her time, i.e. had a lot of babies and didn’t get involved in anything outside of that and charitable work. Again, well-written, but perhaps her story didn't need to be stretched to fill 100 pages.
The second half of the book is a lot more interesting, as it focuses on Alice Perrers, who did cause a lot of furor in her day. And while there is a focus on the political goings-on in both sections, in Alice’s that context was actually relevant to her life. But as with Philippa’s section, I do have some gripes - towards the end, it tried a bit too hard to make her out to be more sympathetic (which I felt was unnecessary) based almost purely on speculation about Alice’s feelings, as well as downplay her actions by (accurately) pointing out how very few options women had in her time. It can be simultaneously true that she was unfairly targeted by powerful men because she was a woman, especially an ambitious one, and also that she became greedy and manipulative as she gained more and more wealth and influence (she had acquired 56 manors by the time Edward III died, IIRC).
The second half of the book is a lot more interesting, as it focuses on Alice Perrers, who did cause a lot of furor in her day. And while there is a focus on the political goings-on in both sections, in Alice’s that context was actually relevant to her life. But as with Philippa’s section, I do have some gripes - towards the end, it tried a bit too hard to make her out to be more sympathetic (which I felt was unnecessary) based almost purely on speculation about Alice’s feelings, as well as downplay her actions by (accurately) pointing out how very few options women had in her time. It can be simultaneously true that she was unfairly targeted by powerful men because she was a woman, especially an ambitious one, and also that she became greedy and manipulative as she gained more and more wealth and influence (she had acquired 56 manors by the time Edward III died, IIRC).
January 23, 2023
All too often once a woman in history is given a label, it sticks. For hundred’s of years writers have described King Edward’s queen, Philippa of Hainault, as a kind-hearted, pious woman, an exemplary wife, mother and Queen. The other woman in his life, his mistress Alice Perrers, has been considered to be a greedy seductress who played on an old man’s vulnerability. As Gemma Holman says these two women, one the high born daughter of a count the other from a family of London goldsmiths, have been portrayed “as the angel and devil on Edward’s shoulders.” Gemma sifts carefully through the evidence and evaluates it anew to paint a much more complex and rounded picture of the women who were closest to King Edward. Philippa was indeed a near perfect queen who supported her husband, gave birth to twelve children and whose charitable acts were legion. But she also was in debt for most of her life and frequently had to be bailed out from the Royal coffers. Alice did gather as much land as she could after the King’s death, sought o secure her children’s fortunes and was sometimes unpleasant to her contemporaries. But she emerges as an intelligent, shrewd and confident woman trying to find her way in a world where the rules were set by men. With my interest in the history of costume I found the descriptions of Philippa’s extravagant clothes and the way textiles were used to signal and advertise the magnificence of the English Royal family fascinating.
I strongly recommend this well written account that challenges the accepted versions of the lives of these two women who dominated the court during the fourteenth century without glossing over their failings.
I strongly recommend this well written account that challenges the accepted versions of the lives of these two women who dominated the court during the fourteenth century without glossing over their failings.
April 1, 2023
A thorough, well researched look at the wife and mistress of Edward III. Against the backdrop of the 100 Years’ War, England’s monarchy was solid.
I liked the introspective analysis of Philippa, fecund queen and steady helpmate of Edward, and also the analysis of his mistress, Alice.
The book brings forward two women who made substantial contributions to both English and European history during the medieval period.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Pegasus Books for the digital copy.
I liked the introspective analysis of Philippa, fecund queen and steady helpmate of Edward, and also the analysis of his mistress, Alice.
The book brings forward two women who made substantial contributions to both English and European history during the medieval period.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Pegasus Books for the digital copy.
November 27, 2024
Really enjoyed this! Easy to read and I was happy to see the story focused on both women. It didn’t stray to other key male figures, which is very hard to do in this time period with limited sources. Great job!
September 24, 2023
*3.5 stars
November 22, 2023
It's fine for a queen to collect riches,
Not acceptable to do so for a mistress.
Not acceptable to do so for a mistress.
September 18, 2025
A fun quick read!
June 24, 2023
I love nonfiction books where, even when the author doesn’t say, you can tell exactly what their source is. Especially from a period like this, where remaining texts are relatively sparse.
We don’t actually know exactly when this major royal person was born — just a guess as to the month — but we do know the fabrication and cost of basically every garment they ever wore!
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It did a good job of sticking closely to its two female main characters, but still giving enough context and overall narrative for it to make sense.
My one comment would be that it contradicts itself a few times as to the legacy of these women — sometimes it talks about how the Queen was remembered as this wonderful person, great ruler etc etc; and sometimes it talks as if all she’s remembered for is spending way too much money on clothes and jewels.
We don’t actually know exactly when this major royal person was born — just a guess as to the month — but we do know the fabrication and cost of basically every garment they ever wore!
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It did a good job of sticking closely to its two female main characters, but still giving enough context and overall narrative for it to make sense.
My one comment would be that it contradicts itself a few times as to the legacy of these women — sometimes it talks about how the Queen was remembered as this wonderful person, great ruler etc etc; and sometimes it talks as if all she’s remembered for is spending way too much money on clothes and jewels.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews