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caidyn's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Joanna was definitely a fascinating woman. It just felt like so much of the book was about other people than her.
siria's review against another edition
3.0
If you didn't know that it was all true, the life story of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, would read like something from a terrible daytime soap: heir to the throne of Naples, she inherits the throne from her grandfather at the age of 17. She marries first her younger cousin, Andrew, who lacked both intelligence and charm; Andrew was murdered by some of her partisans, and accusations that Joanna had been involved led to Andrew's family taking away Joanna's toddler son by Andrew, who died shortly afterwards. Joanna then married another cousin, who was a total bastard, and had two more daughters by him (who both died young); then a Spanish king-without-a-kingdom who turned out to be insane; and finally to an older German duke who was attractive because of his military savvy. Are you boggling yet? This is all before I tell you that this took place against a backdrop of plague, Papal schism, economic collapse, the writings of Boccaccio, and general political intrigue.
Goldstone does a pretty good job at piecing together Joanna's life from the surviving sources--the medieval sources for the kingdom were largely deliberately destroyed by the Nazis in '43. Where the book is weak is in some of its treatment of the chronicle sources, and in how consistently it tries to place Joanna in her wider context, or in using some of what we do know about Joanna to plausibly extrapolate more about her role. Goldstone has also a tendency to go off on tangents which I suspect she felt necessary in order to pad out the word count—did we really need a blow-by-blow account of the battle of Crécy when our focus in on Sicily? All that said, I think it wouldn't be a bad text to use in an undergraduate history course, especially as Goldstone's conscious aim is to show how a woman could successfully govern a medieval kingdom, despite the ways in which Joanna was largely dismissed by later historians. There's a lot here which undergrads could usefully tackle in terms of both the pros and the cons of historical writing.
(As an aside, I can't believe the number of reviews on this site about The Lady Queen which dismiss it for 'not being a very good novel'. Are there really so many people out there who don't grasp the difference between a novel and a biography? Between fiction and non-fiction? 'Novel' is not a straight synonym for 'book'.)
Goldstone does a pretty good job at piecing together Joanna's life from the surviving sources--the medieval sources for the kingdom were largely deliberately destroyed by the Nazis in '43. Where the book is weak is in some of its treatment of the chronicle sources, and in how consistently it tries to place Joanna in her wider context, or in using some of what we do know about Joanna to plausibly extrapolate more about her role. Goldstone has also a tendency to go off on tangents which I suspect she felt necessary in order to pad out the word count—did we really need a blow-by-blow account of the battle of Crécy when our focus in on Sicily? All that said, I think it wouldn't be a bad text to use in an undergraduate history course, especially as Goldstone's conscious aim is to show how a woman could successfully govern a medieval kingdom, despite the ways in which Joanna was largely dismissed by later historians. There's a lot here which undergrads could usefully tackle in terms of both the pros and the cons of historical writing.
(As an aside, I can't believe the number of reviews on this site about The Lady Queen which dismiss it for 'not being a very good novel'. Are there really so many people out there who don't grasp the difference between a novel and a biography? Between fiction and non-fiction? 'Novel' is not a straight synonym for 'book'.)
smbla's review against another edition
3.0
I knew absolutely nothing about Joanna I having focused my "royal" reading on the big three English, French and Russian dynasties. Nancy Goldstone did a very good job of bringing her to life and the royal court-the treachery and the incestuous nature of marriage and alliances. The fact that she was able to be crowned given she was a women and her relationship with the church I found very interesting.
firerosearien's review against another edition
4.0
It's a good popular history...I am not very familiar with Joanna's reign and the book kept me interested, however as I am unfamiliar with the reign I can't vouch for its accuracy.
libkatem's review against another edition
3.0
It was good!! I never really had read anything about Joanna I, so I found it insightful, and more than a little tragic. Mrs Goldstone is a wonderful writer of history [but purists beware: she doesn't do footnotes;)]
All in all, worth reading if you are historically inclined.
All in all, worth reading if you are historically inclined.
alice2000's review against another edition
4.0
While being a big history buff I'd never really delved into the Middle Ages. That being said I will be looking out for more books dealing with this era as this one was gripping and insightful.
Joanna I is not anyone I'd ever heard of. Her life reads like a novel, but as is often the case, real life is stranger than fiction. In a period of time where women ruled in much more benign ways she forged a path as the absolute Monarch of her kingdom, which was fairly extensive.
The names and places were a tad hard to follow, not through any fault of the author, but as a casuality of the times. It was fascinating to learn of all the advances that we appreciate today being put forward by Joanna and others of that time. Law and medicine just to name a couple.
I fully intent to read Goldstone's other work, The Four Queens, for another fix on this part of history.
Joanna I is not anyone I'd ever heard of. Her life reads like a novel, but as is often the case, real life is stranger than fiction. In a period of time where women ruled in much more benign ways she forged a path as the absolute Monarch of her kingdom, which was fairly extensive.
The names and places were a tad hard to follow, not through any fault of the author, but as a casuality of the times. It was fascinating to learn of all the advances that we appreciate today being put forward by Joanna and others of that time. Law and medicine just to name a couple.
I fully intent to read Goldstone's other work, The Four Queens, for another fix on this part of history.
shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really good book. I enjoyed learning about a queen I had previously never heard about.
However, I did want there to be a bit more clarity about how Joanna I got to the throne of all three places mentioned in the title (maybe I didn’t read it very closely).
However, I did want there to be a bit more clarity about how Joanna I got to the throne of all three places mentioned in the title (maybe I didn’t read it very closely).
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
4.0
Joanna of Naples had one of the most interesting reigns of the Medieval world, however, most of the world does not remember her for the prosperity and calm that she brought to her realm. She is mainly remembered for the trial that she underwent for the murder of her husband. Although she was cleared of this murder, the stain hung on her character through the centuries. Most people look past what she was able to accomplish for the Kingdom of Naples, and focus on the one issue, but she was much more than that.
Happiness was never meant to be for Joanna. She was raised by her grandparents after the death of her parents. She became the heir of her grandfather, much to consternation of the nobles and the disappointment of the kingdom of Hungary. Throughout her entire reign, and especially after the death of her husband, of Hungarian origin, the threats became more apparent and proved watching.
Joanna was a huge patron of the arts, and she deeply cared for the welfare of the people living within her kingdom. Under her rule, the poorer people were taken care of. Hospitals were built, food was available, and the people were able to regain the prosperity which had been abundant under her grandfathers rule.
This book was a great read and brought to the forefront a lot of the history on Joanna that we do not normally hear. I would recommend this read out.
Happiness was never meant to be for Joanna. She was raised by her grandparents after the death of her parents. She became the heir of her grandfather, much to consternation of the nobles and the disappointment of the kingdom of Hungary. Throughout her entire reign, and especially after the death of her husband, of Hungarian origin, the threats became more apparent and proved watching.
Joanna was a huge patron of the arts, and she deeply cared for the welfare of the people living within her kingdom. Under her rule, the poorer people were taken care of. Hospitals were built, food was available, and the people were able to regain the prosperity which had been abundant under her grandfathers rule.
This book was a great read and brought to the forefront a lot of the history on Joanna that we do not normally hear. I would recommend this read out.