Lisa Hilton has written a comprehensive study of nineteen queens of England spanning five hundred years. She identifies each wife of the reining monarch, then proceeds to describe the life, times, and political climate of the time period. Sometimes colorful and full of vivid pictures, other times confusing with the complicated bloodlines of the princesses, she does manage to build a detailed picture of the queens and their impact on the country. Hilton points out, "One picture of medieval woman, now thankfully dismissed, presents them as scarcely more than 'animated title deeds',". Hilton takes pains to prove that they were so much more. Educated, cultured, political, and savvy, they not only shaped an era, but a nation as well, paving the way for their own female descendants to literally embrace kingship and rule as effectively, and in some cases as ineffectively as their male ancestors.
Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman
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