Queens of the Conquest

This is non-fiction history about the queens of England in the century after the Norman Conquest. It covers five Norman queens, and it sets out to clear away the romantic myth and prejudice that has gathered around them over the centuries.

The account starts with Matilda of Flanders, who backed William the Conqueror when he invaded England in 1066. It closes with the Empress Maud, who claimed the throne as queen in her own right and fought a bitter war to make that claim good. Between them come three more queens, each treated as an influential figure with a character worth knowing.

Alison Weir does not write five separate biographies. The lives overlap and lead into one another, so the book reads as one connected history of a period of upheaval in England. Love, murder, war and betrayal run through it, along with some comedy, and the cast includes heroines, villains, stateswomen and lovers.

It is the first volume of a series on England's medieval queens. Readers who want political and dynastic history told through the women at its centre, rather than through the kings alone, will find it useful.