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Queens of the Conquest

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Queens of the Conquest

By: Alison Weir
Narrated by: Julia Franklin
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About this listen

In the first volume of this epic new series, Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England's queens in the century after the Norman Conquest.

Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in 1066, to the turbulent life of the Empress Maud, who claimed to be queen of England in her own right and fought a bitter war to that end, the five Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters.

©2017 Alison Weir (P)2017 W.F. Howes Ltd Europe Medieval Politics & Activism Royalty Middle Ages England Tudor

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Critic reviews

"Known for best-selling historical biographies, Alison Weir is in command of her detail." (Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail)
"Weir has a shrewd sense of what will seize the imagination of the keen historical amateur." ( The Independent)
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Despite there being little historical information Alison Weir manages to bring to life some of the strong women behind the thrones in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Alison Weir writes very well but the audible version relies heavily on the skill of the narrator. Unfortunately in this instance I found it was marred a little by the reader who paused in some very strange places mid sentence and either read without inflection or contrarily read as if it were a schoolboy's adventure novel. I found myself focusing on this and missing whole paragraphs some of the time. But apart from that I found it an absorbing and informative book.

good story

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It's an interesting listen but it is hindered by the narration which is rather clunky with pauses mid sentences. I think this may be a case of poor editing though, which is a shame. If you can get pass the odd pacing then it's a enjoyable listen and a great insight into the era from a different angle.

Interesting Book

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I hadn't read any of Alison Weir's books until I picked up a book about Isabella, Queen of Edward II. I am now hooked. The Queen's are so much more interesting than the Kings. As women they were absolutely subject to the will of their husbands, but notwithstanding this, through sheer force of personality and will, they managed to exert enormous influence for good and for ill. This book takes us from Matilda of Flanders, consort of William the Conqueror, to the Matilda consort of King Stephen, and the Empress Maud, mother of Henry II.

Enjoyed every minute of this book. There have been some issues with the narration for some of the reviewers on here, but for me it wasn't a major detriment. It wasn't one of best performances I have listened to, but neither was it one of the worst.

Far more interesting than the Kings.

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I’m sure this is extremely well researched and thought out. However, the narrators voice is so irritating and dull, she might as well be reading the shipping forecast

Manages to make amazing historical characters totally dull

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it's right to say these women were great in their own right, want more details

Great women

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The narrator chops the phrases with strong accent on some syllables and sharp unmelodic intonation. This could be irritating and distracting at times... Towards the end I wasn't noticing this as much but found it difficult to immerse into the story because of this.

Fascinating book but at times difficult to listen

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I loved the content of this book, as I have done with all those by Alison Weir. However my enjoyment was a little spoiled by Julia Franklin’s breathy and sometimes disjointed delivery of the text. I found it tended to disrupt the meaning of the narrative and made the sequence of events a struggle to follow.

On the whole I would still recommend this book on the content alone which seemed very thoroughly researched and authoritative.

Breathy delivery but engrossing content

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poor narrator which spoiled the book. stories were otherwise interesting. I would avoid anything with this narrator

disappointing narration

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If any proof were needed, this work shows how important it is to learn a wider range of history than we are taught at school.

Excellent

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A collection of stories brought to life very well. A good amount of detail and context

A very enjoyable read

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