The Sister Queens: Isabella and Catherine de Valois

by Mary McGrigor

Overview

Isabella de Valois was 3 years old when, on a hot August day in 1392, her father suddenly went mad. Less than four years later, she was married by proxy to the English King Richard II and arrived in England with a French retinue and her doll's house. Richard's humiliating deposition and brutal murder by his cousin, the future Henry IV, forced Isabella's desperate return to France where she found her country fatally divided. Isabella's sister, Catherine de Valois, became the beautiful young bride of Henry V and is unique in history for being the daughter of a king, the wife of a king, the mother of a king and the grandmother of a king. Like her sister, Catherine was viewed as a bargaining chip in times of political turmoil, yet her passionate love affair with the young Owain Tudor established the entire Tudor dynasty and set in motion one of the most fascinating periods of British history. The Sister Queens is a gripping tale of love, exile and conflict in a time when even royal women had to fight for survival.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750967884
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	01/07/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	593,664
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mary McGrigor is the author of several books, including Argyll, The Other Tudor Princess, and The Tsar's Doctor.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Family Trees and Map 8

Part I Isabella

1 The First Daughter 15

2 Childhood of Fear 20

3 Le Bal des Sauvages 26

4 A Journey of Diplomacy 29

5 The French Bride 39

6 A Poet is Born 44

7 The Little Queen 49

8 The Fatal Challenge 58

9 Lancaster's Revenge 66

10 My God! A Wonderful Land is This! 72

11 The Only Chance of Safety 81

12 City of Anarchy 87

13 The Madness of King Charles 94

14 The Fairest Thing in Mortal Eyes 104

Part II Catherine

1 Mortal Rivalry 113

2 A Challenge of War 120

3 The Cabochien Revolt 125

4 The Price of a Bride 132

5 Invasion 137

6 A Country Robbed of Rule 147

7 The Conqueror 150

8 A Princess Lovely to the Eye 154

9 The Royal Captives 159

10 The Treaty of Troyes 165

11 Summons for the Scottish King 170

12 The Hero of England's Return 175

13 Return to France 183

14 Last Battle of the Soldier King 187

Part III Rivals for Power

1 Jacqueline's Story 197

2 Invasion of Hainault 200

3 The Poet King 205

4 Mother of the King 211

5 Rivals in the War for Power 215

6 Childhood of a King 222

7 Renewal of War in France 228

8 The Maid of Orléans 234

9 The Treachery of Burgundy 240

10 Betrayal 244

Part IV Legacy

1 The Widower 249

2 The King's Half-brothers 257

Envoi 260

Appendix 1 261

Appendix 2 273

Notes 277

Bibliography 282

Index 284