52 in 2011
Jun. 6th, 2011 06:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumineauxI went on a bit of a history-reading kick, with mixed results:
42. She-Wolves by Helen Castor
Using the controversy over the reign of Mary I of England as a framing device, Castor examines other English reigning queens: Matilda the Empress, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou. The title "she-wolves" refers to the derogatory nickname given to both Isabella and Margaret by male writers. This is a highly readable book, with a nice flow. The framing device is a bit unnecessary from my point of view, but I can see how Castor might have felt it necessary to link her less famous subjects (everyone but Eleanor) with the currently hot Tudors.
43. Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill
Yawn. Snore. Far less a traditional history than Cahill's running commentary on what he feels to be the key events of the 10th-13th centuries. Definitely not for any reader who is not already familiar with key people and events. Cahill barely explains who Thomas Aquinas is, much less some of the more obscure figures he discusses. The title, by the way, refers to "Mysteries" in the religious sense.
42. She-Wolves by Helen Castor
Using the controversy over the reign of Mary I of England as a framing device, Castor examines other English reigning queens: Matilda the Empress, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou. The title "she-wolves" refers to the derogatory nickname given to both Isabella and Margaret by male writers. This is a highly readable book, with a nice flow. The framing device is a bit unnecessary from my point of view, but I can see how Castor might have felt it necessary to link her less famous subjects (everyone but Eleanor) with the currently hot Tudors.
43. Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill
Yawn. Snore. Far less a traditional history than Cahill's running commentary on what he feels to be the key events of the 10th-13th centuries. Definitely not for any reader who is not already familiar with key people and events. Cahill barely explains who Thomas Aquinas is, much less some of the more obscure figures he discusses. The title, by the way, refers to "Mysteries" in the religious sense.
