Queen Isabella

Lisette Lecat's elegant style portrays a wide array of characters during the time of Queen Isabella. Weir paints a sympathetic picture of the notorious queen, best known for murdering her husband, King Edward II. This is also a new look at Edward, a weak and corrupt leader more interested in his homosexual lovers than his family or his nation. What makes Weir a stand-out historian is the marvelous job she does putting listeners into a place and time. Lecat depicts all the pageantry and horror of medieval court life with an immediacy that might have come directly from today's headlines. D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

May 1, 2006
Vilified throughout the centuries as the coconspirator in the murder of her husband, King Edward II of England, Queen Isabella receives sympathetic treatment from historical biographer Weir. Born in 1295 to King Philip and Queen Jeanne of France, Isabella was betrothed in infancy and married at 12 to create an alliance between the two countries. Though Isabella and Edward had four children, Edward paid more attention to his male favorites, Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Dispenser the Younger. In 1325, Isabella returned to France, and with her lover, Roger Mortimer, she raised an army to oppose Edward. The king was deposed and died in prison in 1327 -murdered, many would have it, on Isabella -s order. When Edward III was grown, he imprisoned his mother and executed Mortimer. After her release, she maintained cordial relations with her son and often visited his court. Weir uses contemporary sources and later scholarship to create this portrait of the queen and her social and political world. Lisette Lecat -s reading is exquisite; her clear, crisp voice allows the listener to keep track of the characters and the chronology in a story that is mostly narrative and little dialog. Highly recommended." -Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.