About the book:
Amid the lush valleys and fragrant wildflowers of Provence,
Marguerite, Eléonore, Sanchia, and Beatrice have learned to charm, hunt, dance,
and debate under the careful tutelage of their ambitious mother—and to abide by
the countess’s motto: “Family comes first.”
With Provence under constant attack, their legacy and safety
depend upon powerful alliances. Marguerite’s illustrious match with the young
King Louis IX makes her Queen of France. Soon Eléonore—independent and
daring—is betrothed to Henry III of England. In turn, shy, devout Sanchia and
tempestuous Beatrice wed noblemen who will also make them queens.
Yet a crown is no guarantee of protection. Enemies are
everywhere, from Marguerite’s duplicitous mother-in-law to vengeful lovers and
land-hungry barons. Then there are the dangers that come from within, as
loyalty succumbs to bitter sibling rivalry, and sister is pitted against sister
for the prize each believes is rightfully hers—Provence itself.
From the treacherous courts of France and England, to the
bloody tumult of the Crusades, Sherry Jones traces the extraordinary true story
of four fascinating sisters whose passions, conquests, and progeny shaped the
course of history.
My review:
This story was intriguing and somewhat tragic toward the
end. What the four young women's mother intended for good - to have each of the
sisters marry well and hopefully bring about peace between warring countries -
didn't necessarily turn out that way. All were ambitious in their own way. All
were also very powerless because they didn't have a choice regarding their
husbands. They reigned in the shadow of their spouses and often weren't taken
seriously by the men in their lives even though these women had wisdom to
offer. I found Sanchia's tale to be particularly tragic. She just wanted to be
a nun and was forced to marry so she spent her whole life feeling like she had
betrayed Christ, whom she'd married in her heart.
The story of Marguerite was tragic as well. The White Queen,
her mother-in-law, had her son under her thumb for years and Marguerite was
scorned in many ways. She had eleven children and outlived most of them. All
she wanted was the inheritance that she was promised when she married, yet all
she got was grief when she tried to obtain it.
Beatrice was the most misunderstood of them all. In the end
they realized she had a good heart and they hadn't appreciated her when she was
around. They saw her as manipulative, ambitious, and selfish. The end of the
story had a shocking revelation about Sanchia, her sister, and what she'd done
to protect her. Eleanore, the queen of England and mother of King Edward I, had
her own tragic tale as well.
Overall, I found this book enjoyable. I haven't finished a
novel - especially one of this length - in quite a while. I think the fact that
it hopped around and alternated the women's perspectives kept me reading
because nothing had the chance to drag out much. I would recommend this book to
people who enjoy historical fiction. I'm not sure how many of the details were
true other than their births and deaths, but the conjecture from the author fit
the story nicely regardless.
Four Sisters, All Queens by Sherry Jones, was published by Simon and Schuster (Gallery Books) and released in 2012.
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