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70th out of 371 books
—
201 voters
Isabeau: A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer (The Isabella Books #1)
by
N. Gemini Sasson (Goodreads Author)
The story of Queen Isabella, who sought revenge on her husband Edward II, and her lover Sir Roger Mortimer, who masterminded the invasion that accomplished it.
The marriage of Isabella of France and Edward II of England in 1308 is a union meant to secure lasting peace. For years, Isabella is a loyal wife, who repeatedly salvages her husband's kingship, even as she endures h...more
The marriage of Isabella of France and Edward II of England in 1308 is a union meant to secure lasting peace. For years, Isabella is a loyal wife, who repeatedly salvages her husband's kingship, even as she endures h...more
Paperback, 422 pages
Published
September 7th 2010
by Cader Idris Press
(first published August 1st 2010)
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"Isabeau" is a superbly-crafted, hugely-engaging novel set in 14th century England and France, which tells the story of Isabeau of France - Queen Isabella of England - and her efforts to rescue both her adopted country and her loved ones from the machinations of the English king, her husband, Edward II.
Married to Edward as a young girl, Isabella knows deep unhappiness and neglect. Edward is a feeble and low-minded king, and is far too easily led by the despicable court lizard Hugh Despenser, Edw...more
Married to Edward as a young girl, Isabella knows deep unhappiness and neglect. Edward is a feeble and low-minded king, and is far too easily led by the despicable court lizard Hugh Despenser, Edw...more
I will be hosting a giveaway for TWO of N. Gemini Sasson's novels within the next week, so make sure to stop by and enter for a chance to win!
http://historicalfictionobsession.blo...
Coming across author N. Gemini Sasson is one of the best discoveries I've made on Amazon.com. I was browsing through my recommendations on Amazon around two months ago, and I happened across her Trilogy on Robert the Bruce. I hadn't read very much about him, and the Kindle edition price was incredibly cheap ($2.99),...more
http://historicalfictionobsession.blo...
Coming across author N. Gemini Sasson is one of the best discoveries I've made on Amazon.com. I was browsing through my recommendations on Amazon around two months ago, and I happened across her Trilogy on Robert the Bruce. I hadn't read very much about him, and the Kindle edition price was incredibly cheap ($2.99),...more
I received this book as part of a first-reads giveaway.
I really enjoyed reading this book, Isabeau. I found it to be a fascnating, compelling read. In this novel of historical fiction the characters really come to life and are well-developped. Throughout the book, the main characters of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer are faced with many challenges to overcome and moral questions to think about as they struggle against King Edward and his closest advisor. The author, N. Gemini Sasson, must ha...more
I really enjoyed reading this book, Isabeau. I found it to be a fascnating, compelling read. In this novel of historical fiction the characters really come to life and are well-developped. Throughout the book, the main characters of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer are faced with many challenges to overcome and moral questions to think about as they struggle against King Edward and his closest advisor. The author, N. Gemini Sasson, must ha...more
I loved the author's slant on the Queen Isabella/Roger Mortimer affair. Neither character is painted as either black or white, as often history portrays them, but rather as complex figures who come together in a dynamic love affair. Queen Isabella's motivation is often said to have been pure revenge, however in this novel she is shown as a woman who tried to be a good wife to her husband, but doing so began to contradict her duties as a queen. She had England's best interest at heart, aswell as...more
This is the story of Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II of England, and Sir Roger Mortimer. Isabella was married to Edward as relatively young girl. They had a bad marriage and she blamed it to a great extent on Hugh Despenser the Younger who had a close relationship and undue influence on Edward. Isabella and Roger Mortimer eventually launched a rebellion against Edward II and succeeded in deposing him and putting her son Edward III on the throne. This is my poor description of the actual histor...more
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect with this, but it was enjoyable. It started a bit slowly, but about a third of the way in, it really picked up speed. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the relationship between Edward II and Isabella; he couldn't have completely been the spineless, sniveling creature portrayed here. I understand that the story was told from Isabella's and Mortimer's points of view, so it makes sense that Edward was shown as such, as well as Despenser to be as devo...more
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This was a good book. I think that if the reader were not familiar with the characters and time period and just picked it up, it would take a while to catch on to the story. This novel was more about Isabella and Mortimer (as the title states) and less about the politics. Isabella is clever, but mostly ruled by emotion. I thought Mortimer was something of a brute, but the sort of brute that mostly had his country's good at heart, but I wonder if his need for revenge and the country's good didn't...more
If you like historical novels, this book will not disappoint. Isabeau, daughter of King Philip IV of France, becomes Queen Isabella, wife of King Edward II at the tender age of 12, nearly 13. The marriage was arranged as a way to bring peace between France and England. King Edward proves to be as bad a husband as he is king. What surprises me is that four children were born of that marriage...four! Because from the gist of the story, Edward preferred his men friends over Isabella. But kings are...more
I recently wrote my dissertation on Isabella of France and the contributing factors to her rebellion of 1326, which meant a lot of research into her life and Edward II's reign. What struck me immediately with this book was the in depth historical knowledge which accompanied the fiction. Time and time again I found myself impressed with the in depth detail.
More importantly I found the emotional and personal depiction of Isabella, Mortimer and the other characters to be fascinating and intriguing...more
More importantly I found the emotional and personal depiction of Isabella, Mortimer and the other characters to be fascinating and intriguing...more
I've been looking forward to reading this since I first heard about it, and I wasn't disappointed. This is Isabella's story from her wedding to her son's accession, told in alternating first-person by Isabella and Roger Mortimer. Both narrators come across as realistic people with flaws and virtues (especially Roger), as do the supporting characters around them. I'm not a fan of the "Edward II was the worst king ever" trope, especially as a flimsy cover for homophobia (I'm looking at you, Braveh...more
Ms. Sasson's writing is elegant and effortless. Never strained or contrived. As someone who has an interest in English history, I found this really engaging, and an interesting theory as to what went on behind the scenes of Edward II's expulsion and overthrow. I doubt very much that Isabelle would have felt differently about her husband's misdeeds than would any wife today, and in that I found it relevant as well. I'm looking forward to reading more of Ms. Sasson's work.
For a woman who has lost everything, Revenge is the one thing that keeps her going. With her brother's support, who happens to be the King of France, Isabelle bides her time and exacts her price at just the right time. She hits when support for the English king is at its lowest, and his favorite Hugh Despenser is the most hated man in England. Her story is one that is riveting from the start, from bedroom to royal palaces, this story is an awesome read
Enjoyed this book; the author presents her heroine from a different point of view. She is somewhat kinder to Isabella than the general consensus has been. In particular, I enjoyed her portrayal of the young Edward III and look forward to reading more about him as he grows into hIs kingship in the author's sequel. Once again, however, I would have enjoyed the book more if not for a frequent number of spelling and grammatical errors.
This book was hard for me to get into. The first half seemed like it was written for a younger level. It didn't pull me in the way other historical fictions do. There wasn't a lot of details, descriptions, etc for me to feel like I could visualize what was going on. I kept reading because I wanted to know more about the characters since I don't know anything about this part of history. The second half was more interesting and seemed more detailed to me. Definitely not as good as other historical...more
Was there ever a man more odious than Hugh Despenser?
It was great to see Isabella emerge from her "trying-to-please" phase into the strong and determined character that she became.
Historically accurate an well written with a plot that moves at a great pace, driven by memorable characters.
I look forward to reading the sequel, The King Must Die
It was great to see Isabella emerge from her "trying-to-please" phase into the strong and determined character that she became.
Historically accurate an well written with a plot that moves at a great pace, driven by memorable characters.
I look forward to reading the sequel, The King Must Die
I didn't like how this constantly jumped back and forth between Isabeau and Mortimer's first person points of view. My opinion is either write in third person or stick to (at least mostly) one person's view point in first person. If you have to add another person's view in first person, keep it minimal like Margaret George does.
But otherwise I liked the writing style - not too modern but easy to read. It also seemed pretty accurate and any elements changed made sense. It was over all pretty good...more
But otherwise I liked the writing style - not too modern but easy to read. It also seemed pretty accurate and any elements changed made sense. It was over all pretty good...more
I love English history, and this is a reign that I've been been quite clear on the political happenings. I am so much clearer on things now, that I m going to re-read some of my other historical fiction books about this time period. Highly recommended for this reason -- the best book I've read about this particular monarch and reign.
This riveting story sweeps the reader into 14th century England, Scotland, and France with detailed historical fact.
From start to end, this book kept me turning its pages. Stunned by the beautiful descriptions, the author breathed life into this story. For anyone who loves history novels, you must read this book.
From start to end, this book kept me turning its pages. Stunned by the beautiful descriptions, the author breathed life into this story. For anyone who loves history novels, you must read this book.
It was pretty good, not great. There is not much sympathetic writing in regards this Queen of England. She is usually represented as a villainous creature, yet she was engaged and married to a stranger at a very young age, and survived. Her son Edward III is quite prominent in history.
This was a good read. It took a couple hundred pages to get going, but it's nearly a thousand pages long so I stuck with it. . . .otherwise, I might not have. The book was well written and I enjoyed that it switched between Isabella telling the story and Mortimer telling it. It gave a good perspective on each side. Furthermore, I am familiar with how the story truly ends and was happy to see that the author chose not to go there because I'd learned to love both characters. Their personalities re...more
I really wanted to like this book. And I actually did really like some of it. The story telling was well crafted and the changing point of view was not as jarring as it could have been. It was a quick, satisfying read although I do think at the ending it is obvious that the author had not originally intended to stretch the story into more than one book.
I do think the reason this book did not get more stars from me was the issue of having all characters speak in first person. It made things confu...more
I do think the reason this book did not get more stars from me was the issue of having all characters speak in first person. It made things confu...more
Liked the way she picked things up after the Robert the Bruce Trilogy, switching gears from Scotland's story to England's story, filling in what was suddenly missing from the last of the Trilogy. After growing acustomed to the different voices for each chapter, I don't know if I will feel fully informed any other way. I did feel it skipped a little too much at the first of the story. I had "The King Must Die" in my Kindle before finishing this "Isabeau"
I really enjoyed the book. the beginning as in most books kind of just goes along. I found it interesting because I have read about Edward II but not much about his wife. I became very sympathetic to her and what she was subjected to. The book really held my interest and I found I couldn't read it fast enough. I certainly have a different outlook on her relationaship's and why she did what she did. I really became part of the book (thats what reading for me is all about.) I was transported back...more
Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer conspire to overthrow a king. What a great discovery N. Gemini Sasson has been! I have voraciously devoured all three of the 14th Century, Edward/Isabella/Robert the Bruce books and cannot wait for the next ones. About the only negative thing I can say about this book was it ended way too soon and I'm wondering just how long I'm going to have to wait for the end. Of course I know the historical "end" but Ms. Sasson is another in a list of peers such as Elizabeth...more
I really enjoy historic fiction with or without romance. This story is about the neglected wife of Edward II Isabella of France.
When a woman is threatened and her children are taken away from her what can she do???? Find a lover, start a war and write history!
When a woman is threatened and her children are taken away from her what can she do???? Find a lover, start a war and write history!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Just one aside to the author: You've greatly overused and abused the word "leer." I hope you've corrected this habit in the sequel.
There’s nothing like reading fiction to get a feel for history. Too bad history books are not nearly as entertaining.
Very good historical which brought characters to life. At times switch between different narrators was confusing. Looking forward to reading others by this author.
The book had a rough start and I was getting pretty irritated at the flowery language she uses. Once we started to see the Queen as a heroine and not a helpless girl, the book took a good turn. It was a pretty good book about the rise of Queen Isabella.
Wonderful, superbly written historical novel. Highly recommend!
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Former teacher and track coach. Runner, gardener, dog lover and sometimes farmer. Author of medieval historical fiction: The Crown in the Heather (The Bruce Trilogy: Book I), Worth Dying For (The Bruce Trilogy: Book II) and Isabeau, A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer.
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