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sdb27's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not very familiar with early modern European history, particularly that which includes women (as history rarely devoted time to women back then). I don’t typically read historical fiction because, for the most part, I find it rather tedious. This book took on the perspective of the four Provençal sisters, Beatrice, Sanchia, Eléonore, and Marguerite, who each became queens of Italy, Germany, England, and France, respectively. Since I’ve never even heard of these sisters before and I had never read any historical fiction that focused on this time period, Four Sisters struck my interest. With Sherry Jones’ elegant prose and vivacious character portraits, it managed to keep said interest throughout most of the book.
Jones manages to make a subject that can be potentially boring an easily accessible read. The setup was well done, and I really got a feel for the political and social climate at the time. The towering castles, the sprawing countryside, the balls and the courtly intrigue were each touched upon in turn, without becoming dull. While I found the social norms of the time rather grating—particularly the mindset regarding women and how they are just pretty objects with no brains or power—I liked that all four sisters at one point or another managed to prove otherwise, showing that it is truly the queen who is the quiet strength behind a royal family.
Jones also had the difficult task of trying to portray four historical figures about whom very little is known. I found the two youngest sisters annoying at different points, especially the naïve and meek Sanchia. However, the older sisters made up for the younger ones with their maturity, wit, and use of cleverness to stay afloat in the world of politics and betrayal at court. The relationship between the sisters was also a driving force in the novel, and a focal point which I found compelling. It’s difficult enough to become a queen of a country and marry a stranger… but to have a sister whose country is feuding with your own is even worse. Where do you draw the line between protecting family and committing treason? Four Sisters raised an important question: who should you serve first: country? Or kin?
Even immediately after reading the book, I don’t really recall the historical events that took place all too well. I suppose that is Four Sisters’ greatest weakness—the historical events that took place during the sisters’ reigns were not recounted in a compelling-enough way to keep my interest. Also, the girls’ husbands were terrible. I know that was probably how they had acted in real life, but it was rather painful to read about how neglected, abused, and usurped these sisters were by their husbands and the other men (and some women) in their lives. I kept waiting for them to stand up for themselves, but then I had to remind myself that that was not the way things were done in the 1200s.
Four Sisters was an interesting fictional insight into a remarkable family and the sisters who ruled the world for a time. At the very least, it succeeded in making me curious enough about the Provençal sisters to read more about them when the opportunity presents itself. Historical fiction lovers, this one is definitely for you. Between the clandestine romances, heaving bodices, courtly drama, and extensive historical research, this book presents an entertaining imagining of these queens, first and foremost sisters.
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For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
Jones manages to make a subject that can be potentially boring an easily accessible read. The setup was well done, and I really got a feel for the political and social climate at the time. The towering castles, the sprawing countryside, the balls and the courtly intrigue were each touched upon in turn, without becoming dull. While I found the social norms of the time rather grating—particularly the mindset regarding women and how they are just pretty objects with no brains or power—I liked that all four sisters at one point or another managed to prove otherwise, showing that it is truly the queen who is the quiet strength behind a royal family.
Jones also had the difficult task of trying to portray four historical figures about whom very little is known. I found the two youngest sisters annoying at different points, especially the naïve and meek Sanchia. However, the older sisters made up for the younger ones with their maturity, wit, and use of cleverness to stay afloat in the world of politics and betrayal at court. The relationship between the sisters was also a driving force in the novel, and a focal point which I found compelling. It’s difficult enough to become a queen of a country and marry a stranger… but to have a sister whose country is feuding with your own is even worse. Where do you draw the line between protecting family and committing treason? Four Sisters raised an important question: who should you serve first: country? Or kin?
Even immediately after reading the book, I don’t really recall the historical events that took place all too well. I suppose that is Four Sisters’ greatest weakness—the historical events that took place during the sisters’ reigns were not recounted in a compelling-enough way to keep my interest. Also, the girls’ husbands were terrible. I know that was probably how they had acted in real life, but it was rather painful to read about how neglected, abused, and usurped these sisters were by their husbands and the other men (and some women) in their lives. I kept waiting for them to stand up for themselves, but then I had to remind myself that that was not the way things were done in the 1200s.
Four Sisters was an interesting fictional insight into a remarkable family and the sisters who ruled the world for a time. At the very least, it succeeded in making me curious enough about the Provençal sisters to read more about them when the opportunity presents itself. Historical fiction lovers, this one is definitely for you. Between the clandestine romances, heaving bodices, courtly drama, and extensive historical research, this book presents an entertaining imagining of these queens, first and foremost sisters.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
irisparruca's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.....
That is how I feel about this book. The author did a marvelous job with this one and to think that I personally Hate history and have a lot of difficulty remembering historical facts. Well needless to say that I will be remembering this book for a very, very long time because the characters were so damn good and badass !
That is how I feel about this book. The author did a marvelous job with this one and to think that I personally Hate history and have a lot of difficulty remembering historical facts. Well needless to say that I will be remembering this book for a very, very long time because the characters were so damn good and badass !
jinny89's review against another edition
4.0
I’m much more acquainted with the Tudor time period when it comes to European history, but let’s face it: in a genre oversaturated with the Tudors, the premise of this story was too interesting to pass up — four sisters in the 13th century all became queens of different countries! It sounds totally fictional because hey, what are the chances of that happening? But it really happened! Combined with my fascination for historical royal fiction the past handful of months, and the fact that this book became the August book of my online book club, well, it’s inevitable I would eventually read it. Also, I had read Captive Queen by Alison Weir not too long ago, so it was kind of cool reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s descendants (through King Henry III in this book).
Four Sisters, All Queens is about the four daughters of Beatrice of Savoy who lived in the 13th century in Provence. An ambitious woman, she planned for her daughters to have the most advantageous marriages possible. Her daughters are, in birth order, Marguerite who became Queen of France; Eleanore who became Queen of England; Sanchia who became Queen of Germany; and Beatrice who became Queen of Sicily. Beatrice of Savoy tried to instill in her daughters that family comes first and to help one another to bring their own family name of Savoy to great heights. Unfortunately, each of her daughters experience a myriad of obstacles in their reigns (or during their journey to the crown. The youngest sisters did not become queens right away, but a long while after the two eldest). Like their mother, the daughters were highly ambitious themselves. The sisters often found themselves battling another sister for power, money, land and affection and learn that becoming a queen comes with many costs.
I really enjoyed this book! As someone with two sisters and no brothers, I am quite familiar with the way sisters can end up acting around one another. Of course, neither myself or my sisters are queens of anything (har har), so the characters in this book have much more serious and intense rivalries. I found the book very easy to read and get into, even though it started off a bit slowly, but it steadily builds momentum. Sometimes the names mixed me up but it’s not the author’s fault that there were so many Henrys and Edwards back then, haha. I particularly enjoyed the last 150 pages of the book, because that was when the youngest two sisters and their husbands started making claims to the thrones of Sicily and Germany (their husbands were, previously, brothers to the king of France and England, respectively — they didn’t start off as kings themselves). I’m not very familiar with this part of history, and I didn’t find the explanation of how they were able to just make a claim for those thrones (something about the pope picking the kings?) very clear, but I understood the gist of what was going on. The rivalries between the sisters were at their highest point at this part of the story, in my opinion, and I loved reading every word of it!
I feel the majority of the story focused more so on Marguerite and Eleanore. They are older than the two youngest by quite a number of years, so with a “head start” in their queening career, it is understandable that they have more story to tell. My favourite is actually Beatrice though. I loved her! She was the youngest sister and to me, she sort of felt like the underdog so I liked rooting for her. She also has a very memorable personality, being the spunkiest and most in-your-face Savoy girl. Sanchia had a rather small presence in comparison to her three sisters, but I really enjoyed her parts as well. I was a little disappointed by their endings though: the younger daughters’ endings were rather abrupt and seemed to come out of nowhere, and the older daughters’ seemed kind of anti-climatic.
Besides sisterly bonds and the trials and tribulations of being a queen, I also loved how the book explored how tough it is to be a woman in that period of time. The book did this by painting a wonderfully detailed portrait of each Savoy girl with their husband. They each had a unique relationship with their husbands, and each had their own way to try to take for themselves what power they could — some with more success than others. Beatrice is my favourite and I also felt like she had the most success with her husband as well. Some of the husbands came off as tyrants and some came off as incompetent rulers, but what I gathered was that you shouldn’t disregard the advice your queen gives you! These girls were, for the most part, pretty sharp.
If you enjoy historical fiction and want to take a trip far back in time, I definitely recommend Four Sisters, All Queens! Honestly, with how exciting these ladies’ lives were, I’m surprised there aren’t more books about them, as I would love to read more about them!
Four Sisters, All Queens is about the four daughters of Beatrice of Savoy who lived in the 13th century in Provence. An ambitious woman, she planned for her daughters to have the most advantageous marriages possible. Her daughters are, in birth order, Marguerite who became Queen of France; Eleanore who became Queen of England; Sanchia who became Queen of Germany; and Beatrice who became Queen of Sicily. Beatrice of Savoy tried to instill in her daughters that family comes first and to help one another to bring their own family name of Savoy to great heights. Unfortunately, each of her daughters experience a myriad of obstacles in their reigns (or during their journey to the crown. The youngest sisters did not become queens right away, but a long while after the two eldest). Like their mother, the daughters were highly ambitious themselves. The sisters often found themselves battling another sister for power, money, land and affection and learn that becoming a queen comes with many costs.
I really enjoyed this book! As someone with two sisters and no brothers, I am quite familiar with the way sisters can end up acting around one another. Of course, neither myself or my sisters are queens of anything (har har), so the characters in this book have much more serious and intense rivalries. I found the book very easy to read and get into, even though it started off a bit slowly, but it steadily builds momentum. Sometimes the names mixed me up but it’s not the author’s fault that there were so many Henrys and Edwards back then, haha. I particularly enjoyed the last 150 pages of the book, because that was when the youngest two sisters and their husbands started making claims to the thrones of Sicily and Germany (their husbands were, previously, brothers to the king of France and England, respectively — they didn’t start off as kings themselves). I’m not very familiar with this part of history, and I didn’t find the explanation of how they were able to just make a claim for those thrones (something about the pope picking the kings?) very clear, but I understood the gist of what was going on. The rivalries between the sisters were at their highest point at this part of the story, in my opinion, and I loved reading every word of it!
I feel the majority of the story focused more so on Marguerite and Eleanore. They are older than the two youngest by quite a number of years, so with a “head start” in their queening career, it is understandable that they have more story to tell. My favourite is actually Beatrice though. I loved her! She was the youngest sister and to me, she sort of felt like the underdog so I liked rooting for her. She also has a very memorable personality, being the spunkiest and most in-your-face Savoy girl. Sanchia had a rather small presence in comparison to her three sisters, but I really enjoyed her parts as well. I was a little disappointed by their endings though: the younger daughters’ endings were rather abrupt and seemed to come out of nowhere, and the older daughters’ seemed kind of anti-climatic.
Besides sisterly bonds and the trials and tribulations of being a queen, I also loved how the book explored how tough it is to be a woman in that period of time. The book did this by painting a wonderfully detailed portrait of each Savoy girl with their husband. They each had a unique relationship with their husbands, and each had their own way to try to take for themselves what power they could — some with more success than others. Beatrice is my favourite and I also felt like she had the most success with her husband as well. Some of the husbands came off as tyrants and some came off as incompetent rulers, but what I gathered was that you shouldn’t disregard the advice your queen gives you! These girls were, for the most part, pretty sharp.
If you enjoy historical fiction and want to take a trip far back in time, I definitely recommend Four Sisters, All Queens! Honestly, with how exciting these ladies’ lives were, I’m surprised there aren’t more books about them, as I would love to read more about them!
jennutley's review against another edition
2.0
I find these sisters and their story fascinating. This one would be a good intro to them if you have never heard of them before, but I much preferred the detail found in the nonfiction offering [b:Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe|691001|Four Queens The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe|Nancy Goldstone|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407956860s/691001.jpg|677345].
ihavenouseforit's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
michellemm85's review against another edition
3.0
3/6
I liked the story, but at times it felt tedious. I appreciated the ages of each queen listed under the year at each new chapter. I would have liked to see what the last two’s lives were like after their Kings died in more detail than a short paragraph epilogue. I can say that I didn’t like any of the King’s lol
Most likely won’t read again for a long time.
I liked the story, but at times it felt tedious. I appreciated the ages of each queen listed under the year at each new chapter. I would have liked to see what the last two’s lives were like after their Kings died in more detail than a short paragraph epilogue. I can say that I didn’t like any of the King’s lol
Most likely won’t read again for a long time.
nbcknwlf's review against another edition
2.0
I feel a little bad giving 2 stars because I did enjoy this book, it was a page turner and got me interested in learning more about these four sisters. But I just kept running into little things in the writing that I had a hard time getting past. Like the incessant use of the word "tic." And the decidedly modern feminist attitude the sisters sometimes displayed. I mean I like strong female characters too but let's remember what year it is. I will confess many of the things I initially thought were artistic license were actually true bits, so I'm willing to admit that maybe I was overly skeptical and it colored my opinion as I read. I'd give this author another try but there is better historical fiction out there than this particular book.
jessica_flower's review against another edition
3.0
This was. . . A lot.
Thanks be that we don't live in the Medieval period anymore.
CW: abusive marriages, abusive mother-in-law, torture, whipping, mentions of rape and more torture, murder, religious fanaticism a.k.a too much Christianity, emotional incest between mother and son/bad enmeshment vibes, INCOMPETENT AND SELFISH MEN, and period typical sexism (which was a lot) and period typical antisemitism and Islamophobia (which was, again, a lot)
I kept on wanting each sister (except Beatrice, most of the time) to just snap at their husbands and say everything they were thinking. They should've let Sanchia just enter a convent, she was way too naive to be of any use as a queen. Her story with Richard and all his infidelity is just pitiful.
Eléonore was the girlboss, at times way too close to the sun, but you learn as you go, I guess, and Marguerite, damn that girl needed a break from the fanatical dick in a box known as Louis IX. He didn't show her any respect that was due to her as a wife and queen. Probably because his mother was a narcissistic possessive bitch who manipulated her both her sons into seeing Marguerite as worthless even though she literally rescued them from captivity by the Muslims in Jerusalem.
Thanks be that we don't live in the Medieval period anymore.
CW: abusive marriages, abusive mother-in-law, torture, whipping, mentions of rape and more torture, murder, religious fanaticism a.k.a too much Christianity, emotional incest between mother and son/bad enmeshment vibes, INCOMPETENT AND SELFISH MEN, and period typical sexism (which was a lot) and period typical antisemitism and Islamophobia (which was, again, a lot)
I kept on wanting each sister (except Beatrice, most of the time) to just snap at their husbands and say everything they were thinking. They should've let Sanchia just enter a convent, she was way too naive to be of any use as a queen. Her story with Richard and all his infidelity is just pitiful.
Eléonore was the girlboss, at times way too close to the sun, but you learn as you go, I guess, and Marguerite, damn that girl needed a break from the fanatical dick in a box known as Louis IX. He didn't show her any respect that was due to her as a wife and queen. Probably because his mother was a narcissistic possessive bitch who manipulated her both her sons into seeing Marguerite as worthless even though she literally rescued them from captivity by the Muslims in Jerusalem.
kahlloria's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Author tried to tackle too much material, the third person narrative didn't really work and the transitions between events was confusing.