The Queen and the Mistress: The Women of Edward III

by Gemma Hollman

Overview

The riveting story of two women whose divergent personalities and positions impacted the court of Edward III, one of medieval England's greatest kings.

There were two women in Edward III's life: Philippa of Hainault, his wife of forty years and bearer of twelve children, and his mistress, Alice Perrers, the twenty-year-old who took the king's fancy as his ageing wife grew sick. After Philippa's death Alice began to dominate court, amassing a fortune and persuading the elderly Edward to promote her friends and punish her enemies.

In The Queen and the Mistress, Gemma Hollman brings the story of these two women to life and contrasts the "perfect" medieval queen—the pious, unpolitical, steady Philippa—with the impertinent youth—the wily, charismatic, manipulative Alice. One died a royal, adored, while the full force of the English court united against Alice, wresting both money and power from her and leaving her with nothing but a mission to try to reclaim all that was lost.

Both women had wealth and power but used vitally different methods to dispense it. In The Queen and the Mistress, Hollman brings to the fore their differences and similarities in a unique look at women and power in the Middle Ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639363599
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Gemma Hollman has a Master’s degree in Medieval History from the University of York. She runs the Just History Posts blog and Twitter account and has written for the British Numismatic Journal. She is the author of Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth Century England, also available from Pegasus Books, and lives Hertfordshire, England.

Editorial Reviews

02/06/2023

Fourteenth-century English king Edward III’s devoted wife of over 40 years, Philippa of Hainault, and his long-term mistress, Alice Perrers, take center stage in this intriguing yet somewhat dry dual portrait from historian Hollman (Royal Witches). Sketching Philippa’s biography primarily through her travels with her husband on military campaigns and her 12 pregnancies, Hollman presents the queen as a steadfast and mostly traditional matriarch, who periodically asked her husband for mercy on behalf of lawbreakers and courageously called meetings with powerful men over state matters when Edward could not. Hollman creates a somewhat fuller portrait of Alice, Edward’s late-life companion, who shrewdly amassed a large property portfolio and an array of well-placed allies. Somehow, Alice also secretly bore three illegitimate children to Edward, though Hollman’s account leaves several unanswered questions about how Alice quietly juggled childbirth with serving as Philippa’s “damsel.” While Philippa retained an almost saintlike reputation, both women received public derision for their enormous debts, which emptied an already low treasury decimated by Edward’s military ambitions. Hollman is an assiduous researcher with a deep appreciation for the era, but the inner lives of both women remain elusive. Still, medieval history buffs will savor this fresh take on a consequential reign. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"A must-read for anyone interested in medieval women’s or royal history."

Catherine Hanley

"An important and timely book looking at royal women who faced envy and political attack in the guise of accusations of witchcraft."

Philippa Gregory

"In The Queen and the Mistress, Gemma Hollman challenges much of the misinformation and misconceptions which have surrounded both women for centuries ... A triumph of historical research and interpretation."

Sharon Bennett Connolly

"The way Hollman deftly untangles royal lineages and courtly machinations to bring sky to the stories of these women makes me want to accuse her of witchcraft. Well done."

J.W. Ocker

Even readers familiar with the basic history of the Wars of the Roses will see aristocratic skulduggery in a strikingly fresh way in Royal Witches, as we continue to grapple with the treatment of women who rise to important positions even in our own time.

BookPage

"Some of history's most overlooked witches finally have their day in a smart expose boiling over with intriguing women."

Susan Fair

Praise for The Queen and the Mistress

From the Publisher

"This introduces new readers, in the most accessible and colorful way, to a group of royal women who certainly deserve more public notice than they have hitherto received."

Professor Ronald Hutton