Catherine Hanley

An exhilarating, accessible chronicle of the ruling families of France and England, showing how two dynasties formed one extraordinary story. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made...

A life of Matilda—empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages Matilda will attract a growing audience interested in stories of women challenging the male-dominated European past.”—Alexandra Locking, Medieval Review “A lively and authoritative account.”—Katherine Harvey, Times Literary Supplement Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to...