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A review by spookynorvegan
Queens of the Conquest: England's Medieval Queens by Alison Weir
3.0
Though it ended up feeling like quite a slog by the time I finished it, and I didn't organically mesh with the structure in which Weir related these historical events/biographies, I first picked up this book to learn something. To educate myself in a time period where my preexisting knowledge was practically non-existent. And this book did do just that.
The family trees that preceded the table of contents were intimidating before I started my reading. After finishing the book, I'm familiar enough with lines of parentage and marriage that I don't even have to look at them. Weir lets events play out largely in the form of long excerpts of historical letters and contemporary accounts, as well as a hefty amount of educated speculation. Given the time period, that isn't something that can be completely avoided, still, it just didn't sit well with me, and a reader of historical nonfiction/biography should always be wary of the personal biases of the author and sources of their research.
The family trees that preceded the table of contents were intimidating before I started my reading. After finishing the book, I'm familiar enough with lines of parentage and marriage that I don't even have to look at them. Weir lets events play out largely in the form of long excerpts of historical letters and contemporary accounts, as well as a hefty amount of educated speculation. Given the time period, that isn't something that can be completely avoided, still, it just didn't sit well with me, and a reader of historical nonfiction/biography should always be wary of the personal biases of the author and sources of their research.