Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe

by Sarah Gristwood

Overview

"Sarah Gristwood has written a masterpiece that effortlessly and enthrallingly interweaves the amazing stories of women who ruled in Europe during the Renaissance period." -- Alison Weir

Sixteenth-century Europe saw an explosion of female rule. From Isabella of Castile, and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth Tudor, these women wielded enormous power over their territories, shaping the course of European history for over a century. Across boundaries and generations, these royal women were mothers and daughters, mentors and protées, allies and enemies. For the first time, Europe saw a sisterhood of queens who would not be equaled until modern times. A fascinating group biography and a thrilling political epic, Game of Queens explores the lives of some of the most beloved (and reviled) queens in history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465096794
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	11/29/2016
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	851,892
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Sarah Gristwood is a regular contributor to many London publications as well as a commentator on royal and historical affairs. The author of several previous books, including Blood Sisters, Gristwood splits her time between London and Kent, United Kingdom.

Table of Contents

Chronology viii

Family Trees xiii

Dramatis Personae xvi

Preface xxv

Author's Note xxxi

Part I 1474-1513

1 Entrance: The Netherlands, 1513 3

2 'Lessons for My Daughter': Spain and France, 1474-1483 10

3 Youthful Experience: The Netherlands and France, 1483-1493 15

4 'Fate Is Very Cruel to Women': Spain, Savoy, and France, 1493-1505 21

5 Princess Brides: England and Scotland, 1501-1505 30

6 Repositioning: The Netherlands, Spain, England, and Scotland, 1505-1512 35

7 'False Imputations': France and the Netherlands, 1513 42

8 Flodden: Scotland and England, 1513 50

Part II 1514-1521

9 Wheel of Fortune: France and the Netherlands, 1514-1515 59

10 'A Splendid New Years Gift': France, 1514-1515 64

11 'One of the Lowest-Brought Ladies': Scotland and England, 1515-1517 71

12 'Inestimable and Praiseworthy Services': The Netherlands and France, 1516-1519 81

13 The Field of Cloth of Gold: Calais, 1520 87

14 Repercussions: The Netherlands and France, 1520-1521 95

Part III 1522-1536

15 'Wild for to Hold': England and Scotland, 1522-1524 107

16 Pavia: Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Spain, 1525 116

17 'A True, Loyal Mistress and Friend': England, 1525-1527 123

18 New Pieces on the Board: Scotland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, and France, 1526-1528 132

19 'Ladies Might Well Come Forward': The Netherlands and England, January-June 1529 139

20 The Ladies' Peace: Cambrai and England, July-December 1529 145

21 Exits and Entrances: The Netherlands, France, and Italy, 1530-1531 149

22 'Thus It Will Be': England, 1530-1531 155

23 'A Native-Born Frenchwoman': England, 1532-1535 159

24 'Inclined Towards the Gospel': France and the Netherlands, 1533-1536 164

25 'To Doubt the End': England, 1536 169

Part IV 1537-1553

26 Daughters in Jeopardy: England and Scotland, 1537-1543 181

27 Pawns and Princesses: The Netherlands and France, 1537-1543 188

28 New Winds: England and France, 1544-1547 197

29 Accommodations: France, 1548-1550 200

30 'Device for the Succession': England, 1547-1553 204

Part V 1553-1560

31 'Herculean Daring': England, 1553-1554 211

32 'Not One Year of Rest': Scotland and the Netherlands, 1554-1558 222

33 Sisters and Rivals: England, 1555-1558 226

34 'If God Is with Us': France, 1558-1560 232

35 'Maidenly Estate': England, 1558-1560 239

36 Trouble in Scotland: Scotland, 1558-1560 245

Part VI 1560-1572

37 'Rancour and Division': France, 1560-1561 251

38 'Two Queens in One Isle': Scotland and England, 1561-1565 258

39 Challenge and Conciliation: France, 1562-1565 268

40 'Majesty and Love Do Not Sit Well Together': Scotland, 1565-1567 274

41 'Daughter of Debate': The Netherlands, France, and England, 1566-1571 285

42 The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day: France, 1572-1574 293

Part VII 1572 ON

43 Turning Points: England and France, 1572-1587 309

44 Prise: Fotheringhay, 1587 312

Postscript 317

Acknowledgments 325

Notes, and Further Reading 327

Illustration Credits 333

Index 335

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2016
Gristwood (Blood Sisters), a commentator on British royal affairs, reframes the Renaissance as an “Age of Queens” in a fast-paced chronological narrative bursting with intrigue. Opening with Spain’s Isabella of Castile (1451–1504) and concluding with England’s Elizabeth I (1533–1603), Gristwood successfully demonstrates how mentors, such as Margaret of Austria (whose court included a young Anne Boleyn), and power wielders, such as the resolute Isabella, helped influence generations of ambitious, high-ranking women through networking and clever manipulation. Some of these women (such as Louise of Savoy and Catherine de Medici) enjoyed great success, while others endured—and sometimes caused—great misery (notably Mary, Queen of Scots, and Mary I). Gristwood places each woman’s story in the context of her own realm as well as in that of contemporary Europe, using multiple sources and providing clear, impartial explanations. She sympathetically describes limited options for women, especially regarding marriages, and also bluntly details self-destructive decisions. Surprisingly, Gristwood barely mentions some of the powerful and well-known medieval queens (Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France) who preceded the women here, perhaps because too much emphasis on them would have shifted the book’s steady focus. Gristwood’s fresh take on a well-documented period and the achievements, failures, and relationships of some of Europe’s most powerful players is intriguing, cohesive, and accessible. Illus. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"Densely packed with fascinating material, this immensely ambitious undertaking succeeds triumphantly."
—Literary Review (UK)

"A fascinating work of world and women's history."—Booklist

"Gristwood's fresh take on a well-documented period and the achievements, failures, and relationships of some of Europe's most powerful players is intriguing, cohesive, and accessible."—Publishers Weekly

"[Game of Queens] casts a well-researched time period in an intriguing light.... Readers of popular history, especially of Tudor England, and of women's history will find much to enjoy."—Library Journal

"Sarah Gristwood handles multiple narrative strands with tremendous finesse, dexterously synthesizing the stories of women who, in many cases, never met but whose lives intertwined in manifold ways."—Literary Review (UK)

"Game of Queens is a magnificent exploration of a most remarkable group—the women who ruled sixteenth century Europe. Sarah Gristwood gives us impeccable research, incisive attention to detail, and exquisite writing as she investigates these truly fascinating women and their lives of courage, tribulation, and determination. Absolutely unputdownable."—Kate Williams, authorof England's Mistress

"Sarah Gristwood's study of the brilliant, beleaguered, and often bloody difficult women who kept Europe going in the sixteenth century is compelling, clear-eyed, beautifully rendered, and never-more-timely."—JessieChilds, author of God's Traitors: Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England

"In her elegant and engaging style, she combines incisive detail with over-arching and eye-opening themes of queenship and the role of women in a male-dominated world. This book is a wonderful, timely contribution to our understanding of the period, and a pacy and illuminating good read."—Alison Weir, authorof The Lost Tudor Princess

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
Gristwood (Blood Sisters) chronicles the unusual happenstance of the 16th century whereby most of Europe was under a female ruler's control either in her own right or as a regent. The women portrayed here are well known to history (e.g., Anne Boleyn, Isabella I of Castile, Catherine de' Medici, and Marguerite de Navarre) and are shown interacting with one another as rulers, friends, or family; playing primary roles in domestic and foreign affairs; and even creating the atmosphere for incidents such as the Ladies' Peace (1529) and the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572). It is this complex relational web of sisterhood, interwoven by the women as either mothers, daughters, or mentors, that marks the era and its historical events. This web, started in the late 1400s, was eventually broken in the latter half of the 1500s by an ideological battle that tore at the foundations of society: the Reformation. By focusing exclusively on these female figures, Gristwood argues that they are the primary movers of historical developments in this century. VERDICT While the analysis isn't groundbreaking, it casts a well-researched time period in an intriguing light. Readers of popular history, especially of Tudor England, and of women's history will find much to enjoy.—Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO

Library Journal