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rlbasley's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting story of essentially sisters who happened to also be queens and how family dynamics played a part in history and how politics played apart in family
bookhookgeek's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, although I think I might have read it too soon after "The Sister Queens" by Sophie Perinot (which deals mainly with Marguerite and Eleanor).
alexiacambaling's review against another edition
4.0
Out of the four sisters, I grew attached to Marguerite and Beatrice for a number of reasons.
Marguerite's been portrayed as the tragic queen. The one whose husband ignores her for her mother-in-law who abuses her. She made me feel sympathetic and I could understand why she turned to another later on.
Beatrice, she's the complicated one. The one who plays by her own rules. The one who just ones to be part of the sisters because she has always been the outsider. While they all ignored and never helped her, she helped them. She saved Eleanore from her subjects and Marguerite from scandal, despite their treatment of her.
All in all, this is a very good book to read.
Marguerite's been portrayed as the tragic queen. The one whose husband ignores her for her mother-in-law who abuses her. She made me feel sympathetic and I could understand why she turned to another later on.
Beatrice, she's the complicated one. The one who plays by her own rules. The one who just ones to be part of the sisters because she has always been the outsider. While they all ignored and never helped her, she helped them. She saved Eleanore from her subjects and Marguerite from scandal, despite their treatment of her.
All in all, this is a very good book to read.
jenmiller253's review against another edition
Maybe I am burning out on historical fiction but I couldn't take anymore of the women's good intentions being squashed by those around with more power. The husbands seemed like jerks (all in different ways) and the way Dowager Queen Blanche of France is described is very one note - all power hungry and mean.
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].
morgandhu's review against another edition
2.0
I was somewhat disappointed with Sherry Jones' historical novel Four Sisters, All Queens. Perhaps because of the focus on the personal lives, ambitions, and interactions of the four Savoyard sisters - Marguerite, Eleonore, Sanchia and Beatrice of Provence - the intense political and military turmoil of their time, which in some ways reshaped the borders and balance of power in Europe, was dealt with rather sketchily.
As the queens of France, England, Germany and Sicily, these four women were at the centre of conflicts of diplomacy and arms from Wales to Outremer, and while women did not always have direct access to information or knowledge, a historical novel with subjects so close to so much important history should be able to paint the background of their times, the intrigues and issues in their courts, the policies of their husbands and the effects of the major events in and between their countries in sufficient detail to give the characters and their action depth, and the reader a solid understanding of the times. Unfortunately, Four Sisters, All Queens does not achieve this.
Further, I found the private lives of the four sisters rather melodramatically handled at times, and their characters at times too modern - particularly Marguerite. It's not easy to recreate a historical character who is unequivocally of her time - but getting it right can be the difference between a rich and fulfilling journey to the past, and a generic costume drama. And the writing was at times awkward and somewhat confusing.
Nonetheless, I did read it through to the end, and there were some parts of it that were quite enjoyable - Eleonore's early years with Henry III of England, Marguerite's courage and leadership in Damietta while on crusade, for example. But after two misses, I don't think I will be reading any more from Jones, when there are other, superior historical novelists to choose from.
As the queens of France, England, Germany and Sicily, these four women were at the centre of conflicts of diplomacy and arms from Wales to Outremer, and while women did not always have direct access to information or knowledge, a historical novel with subjects so close to so much important history should be able to paint the background of their times, the intrigues and issues in their courts, the policies of their husbands and the effects of the major events in and between their countries in sufficient detail to give the characters and their action depth, and the reader a solid understanding of the times. Unfortunately, Four Sisters, All Queens does not achieve this.
Further, I found the private lives of the four sisters rather melodramatically handled at times, and their characters at times too modern - particularly Marguerite. It's not easy to recreate a historical character who is unequivocally of her time - but getting it right can be the difference between a rich and fulfilling journey to the past, and a generic costume drama. And the writing was at times awkward and somewhat confusing.
Nonetheless, I did read it through to the end, and there were some parts of it that were quite enjoyable - Eleonore's early years with Henry III of England, Marguerite's courage and leadership in Damietta while on crusade, for example. But after two misses, I don't think I will be reading any more from Jones, when there are other, superior historical novelists to choose from.
abookishaffair's review against another edition
4.0
Marguerite, Eleonore, Sanchia, and Beatrice are all sisters and all queens. They all knew from very young ages that they would be married off to men who could increase their family's prestige and power. Talk about pressure. I'm not sure that I could function under that much pressure; I guess it's a good thing that I live now and not in those days. The fact that all four of these women become queens is fascinating.
Being one of three girls, I'm always fascinated with sister stories. That is a really, really special bond. In this book, you really get to see that bond between the sisters (although some of them seem to be more bonded than others throughout the book). This book explores a lot of loyalty issues. From a very young age, the sisters hear that family comes first; however, once they are married and off on their own in their own, they have other loyalties that start pulling on them. It was interesting to see how differently each sister dealt with the various pressures. You get the sense that all four of the sisters have very different personalities, which makes it even more interesting.
The story focuses mostly on Marguerite, who becomes married to the French King, and on Eleonore, who is shipped oh so far away to become the Queen of England. I'm wondering if there isn't a lot of information on Sanchia and Beatrice as there is notably less on both of them. It would be interesting to know more about them.
One thing that I noticed in this book is that it is written in the 3rd person present point of view, which isn't something you see very much. It definitely took me awhile to get used to it but once I got into it, I appreciated that the style brought you into the book a little more actively.
Bottom line: I think this is a good book for historical fiction lovers who like stories about family ties.
Being one of three girls, I'm always fascinated with sister stories. That is a really, really special bond. In this book, you really get to see that bond between the sisters (although some of them seem to be more bonded than others throughout the book). This book explores a lot of loyalty issues. From a very young age, the sisters hear that family comes first; however, once they are married and off on their own in their own, they have other loyalties that start pulling on them. It was interesting to see how differently each sister dealt with the various pressures. You get the sense that all four of the sisters have very different personalities, which makes it even more interesting.
The story focuses mostly on Marguerite, who becomes married to the French King, and on Eleonore, who is shipped oh so far away to become the Queen of England. I'm wondering if there isn't a lot of information on Sanchia and Beatrice as there is notably less on both of them. It would be interesting to know more about them.
One thing that I noticed in this book is that it is written in the 3rd person present point of view, which isn't something you see very much. It definitely took me awhile to get used to it but once I got into it, I appreciated that the style brought you into the book a little more actively.
Bottom line: I think this is a good book for historical fiction lovers who like stories about family ties.
emakay's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I feel like this book tried to do too much at once. In attempting to tell the stories of all four sisters, Jones had to resort to many time skips and off-screen action. She set up conflicts in one chapter, only for it all to be resolved in the very next chapter, with characters relating the events in dialogue or summed-up narration. This lowered my engagement in the story, and I feel that the book would have benefitted if Jones chose instead to focus on one or two sisters, and thus spend more time building the events of their lives in a more engaging manner.
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