A review by jennysaisquois
The Rebel Princess by Judith Koll Healey

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the Alais Capet series. I've been a major historical fiction fan (particularly medieval history, particularly mysteries) for most of my reading life, and I'm making an effort to read more about historical women. While of course this isn't a biography or nonfiction, it's clear that Healey has researched and relies on the historical source materials as much as possible. This doesn't mean it's dry or slow-moving at all; there's plenty of intrigue and adventurous travel that serves to highlight the lifestyles, customs, and politics of different parts of medieval France.

For more intrepid, intelligent women in a similar time period, I'd STRONGLY recommend Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death suspense series, set mostly in England during Henry II's reign; and Elizabeth Chadwick's Eleanor of Aquitaine series, which opens in her youth and is a great window into the complicated politics of medieval France and England.