Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

(I finished this the day before we left for England and since that's been a couple of weeks ago, this will be rather short.)  Not much seems to have been written about Isabella of Angouleme – the beautiful, young heiress who was bethrothed to Hugh de Lusignan (Hugh IX) but caught the eye of the lecherous King John and became Queen of England.


Published in 2006, Queen Without a Conscience is Isabella’s story told by Isabella herself as well as several of those close to her – Hugh, Anne, her primary lady, King John, Isabella’s son Henry (later Henry III) and her second husband, Hugh X. Each chapter is clearly labeled with who the narrator is (as well as the time period covered) and most of the time the multiple POV worked pretty well.  Unfortunately by the end, I felt like it was all pretty shallow - lots of history but not a whole lot of insight into Isabella's character.

Initially you can’t help but feel sorry for Isabella. Betrothed at a young age to Huge IX, she goes to live with his family and as the two spend time together, they become genuinely fond of each other. Isabella even begins to look forward to her marriage. And then her parents are offered a bigger prize and with some lies about the fate of Hugh and the dangling of a crown and pretty dresses and jewelry in front of their vain daughter, the deal is done. Of course Hugh is mad as hell when he finds out his bride has been snatched away from him and he vows vengeance on England’s king.

Isabella finds she is happy with John – for a while. She quickly learns that she can get her way with him through sex and she uses it to her advantage whenever possible. But eventually she becomes disillusioned and as unrest grows in the country over John’s high-handed treatment of the barons, she begins to worry about her future. When John’s unexpected death fails to bring her the role she envisioned for herself in the government, she finds herself exiled to France where she makes a scandalous marriage – with Hugh’s eldest son who had been betrothed to her daughter.

Although I’m not so sure I would go so far to say that Isabella didn’t have a conscience, a definite change comes over her as she gets older and she becomes more grasping, ambitious, ruthless and requires constant validation as the former Queen of England. Even Hugh comes to no longer recognizes her and the pair become estranged.

While not a great book, I enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to reading the author’s other book, Queen Without A Country about Richard I’s queen, Berengaria.



In case the FTC asks: This one came from Paperback Swap.