Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Apple
Android
Windows Phone
Android
To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Up to 85% Off Over 1,000 Kindle Books
Visit our Holiday Deals store and save up to 85% on more than 1,000 Kindle books. These deals are valid until December 31, 2015. Learn more
When I heard that Tracy Borman was releasing a new title I had to pre-order it right away. I has so enjoyed her earlier work, "Elizabeth's Women" (I ordered if from Amazon UK so that I would not have to wait for the US release!) that I had high hopes for "Wife of The Conqueror" - and I was, happily, not disappointed!
Many of us have read a book about William , or at least know about who he was and what his claims to fame are, but few of us know much about his Queen, the very first Queen of England, Matilda, who wielded as much power as any women of the time, acting as regent in Normandy whilst William was about the business of conquering England. Matilda was the backbone of her family and she is largely responsible for fostering an environment of understanding and cooperation after William conquered England, deflecting tensions and skirmishes with a deft hand.
Ms. Borman has sifted through "historical artifacts and documents" to compile an excellent, highly enjoyable, biography of this truly unique women. Matilda was diminutive at 4 feet 2 inches tall but she had the intellect and courage of any man of her time.
From the jacket: "...this mother of 9, including four sons who went on to inherit William's French and English dominions, confounded the traditional views of women in medieval society by seizing the reins of power whenever she had the chance, directing her husband's policy, and at times flagrantly disobeying his orders..."
I think that Ms. Borman has the ability to sift through historical documents and collate the information - presenting a biography that is at once both easy to read as well as packed with significant historical notes. The reader gets a clear image of the people and the times.Read more ›
8 Comments
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Chances are when you hear the name "Matilda" if you think of anything you might recall Harry Belafonte's eponymous 1950s hit calypso song about the woman who takes his money and runs to Venezuela. Or the unofficial national anthem of Australia, "Waltzing Matilda," the most recorded song in the Land Down Under. ("Matilda" is Oz slang for the bag or backpack in which the "swagman" or hobo carries his essentials as he roams the country).
Tracy Borman's "Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I" will change your understanding of the name "Matilda" forever.
Borman set the bar high with "Elizabeth's Women" and her other books, but "Queen of the Conqueror" meets and even exceeds those high standards It's a page-turning, suspenseful work that examines William the Conqueror's brutal side as well as the moderating influence this diminutive woman of noble birth had on the Norman duke who invaded England in 1066. (Matilda was reputed to be four feet two inches tall, although some sources say she was five feet tall. In any case, she was the shortest queen in England's history!)
When Matilda of Flanders was born in 1030 or 1031, women weren't considered important enough to matter to serious historians, so Borman has drawn on many original sources, including the "Domesday Book" and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" to piece together the story of this remarkable woman.
Borman says Matilda was the model for future powerful women rulers, who relied on their intelligence and political skills to often "out man" their male counterparts. Think Eleanor of Acquitaine, Queen Elizabeth I of England, Catherine the Great of Russia, Golda Meir of Israel and "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher.Read more ›
1 Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Although Matilda is by any account a compelling character, relatively little has been written about her. Much of what does exist is hearsay, biased reporting, or downright fiction. After nearly a thousand years, it's no easy task to assemble the bits and pieces that remain and construct a credible biography.
Tracy Borman has done it. Following her book Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen, about the women of Elizabeth I's court, Borman has filtered through the sources in France and England to draw a picture of the influential wife of William the Conqueror. When she includes the fairy tales and gossip, she labels them as such. They are part of what made Matilda's reputation during her life and after. It would be as wrong to disregard the rumors of Matilda as it would be to disregard the effect that Shakespeare's hunchbacked Richard III has had on the reputation of the Richard III of history. But it's important to distinguish between the legend and the reality.
What emerges from the few credible sources that Borman has found, is a strong-minded and charismatic woman. William left her in charge in Normandy when he was away conquering England and for much of the several years after that. This contradicts what I thought I knew about the role of women in Norman times. Borman further points out that both William and Matilda had had strong women as role models as they were growing up, so Matilda was not breaking any new ground by running the show in her husband's absence.Read more ›
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
![]({"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vFH-C8lYL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[233,346],"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vFH-C8lYL._SX334_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[336,499]})
