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In the case of Beatrice of Savoy (1205 – 1267), she had to think about four children - four daughters. Married to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, Beatrice raised her daughters to reach higher than countess and farther than Provence in which they did:
Margaret, Queen to Louis IX of France
Eleanor, Queen to Henry III of England
Sanchia, Queen to Richard, King of Germany
Beatrice, Queen to Charles I of Sicily
This fascinating family is brought to life in Sherry Jones' FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS:
Amid the lush valleys and fragrant wildflowers of Provence, Marguerite, Eléonore, Sanchia, and Beatrice have learned to charm, hunt, dance, and debate under the careful tutelage of their ambitious mother—and to abide by the countess’s motto: “Family comes first.”
With Provence under constant attack, their legacy and safety depend upon powerful alliances. Marguerite’s illustrious match with the young King Louis IX makes her Queen of France. Soon Eléonore—independent and daring—is betrothed to Henry III of England. In turn, shy, devout Sanchia and tempestuous Beatrice wed noblemen who will also make them queens.
Yet a crown is no guarantee of protection. Enemies are everywhere, from Marguerite’s duplicitous mother-in-law to vengeful lovers and land-hungry barons. Then there are the dangers that come from within, as loyalty succumbs to bitter sibling rivalry, and sister is pitted against sister for the prize each believes is rightfully hers—Provence itself.
From the treacherous courts of France and England, to the bloody tumult of the Crusades, Sherry Jones traces the extraordinary true story of four fascinating sisters whose passions, conquests, and progeny shaped the course of history.
I posted my review of FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS on Amazon at this link. I am giving away a print copy of FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about historical siblings that have intrigued you.
I'd like to learn more about childhood lives of the Tudor family - Arthur, Margaret, Henry, and Mary.
2. This giveaway is open to all readers.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, May 12, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 13.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
1. Leave a comment about historical siblings that have intrigued you.
I'd like to learn more about childhood lives of the Tudor family - Arthur, Margaret, Henry, and Mary.
2. This giveaway is open to all readers.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, May 12, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 13.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
The Borgias -- they really intrigue me.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 older sisters and the sisters in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and their experiences and interactions intrigued me when I read it when I was in the 7th grade. Being the youngest it gave me a new insight into my sisters' lives that I had never considered before (and made me more tolerent of them as well - I'm sure any of the other "youngest" in an all daughter household will understand).
ReplyDeleteThat one book also spurred me to read ALL of her stories and I still occasionally on a rainy day will pull one of her books off my bookcase shelf and sit back and read their stories once again - and give both my sisters a call to let them know how much I love them!
Jeanne, as I researched FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS, I was impressed by how each sister resembles, personallity-wise, the four March sisters in LITTLE WOMEN.
DeleteThanks for a great post! I'd have to say that I'd love to learn more about Hatshepsut (a female Pharoah of Egypt) and how she came to that role over her siblings.
ReplyDeleteAloha, Erin! Hatshepsut is a character! Her father was Pharaoh. When he died, his son with a "commoner" ascended the throne. Keeping with Egyptian tradition, Hatshepsut married her half brother, Moutnofrit, Tuthmose II. They did not have any children. When Mountfrit died, his son with another commoner ascended to the throne. Since he was a child, Hatshepsut ruled as his regent. A rule she did!
DeleteWhen Tuthmose III became of age, he overthrew his step mother. Ultimately he removed her name from her monuments. But Hatshepsut had already branded her name in history.
I cruised the Nile with other international teachers in December 2004 - we toured Hatshepsut's restored tomb.
Edward and Richard III, who I shall never be convinced killed his nephews. Doesn't "Tudor" scream mass murderers and lend some credence to the murder-gene theory in Defending Jacob?
ReplyDeleteI've always loved reading about Queen Victoria's and Albert's children. Many of them were married into very noble families across Europe.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to find out about the siblings of all our presidents with the Kennedy's being probably the largest group (but I'm not positive about that).
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on this one Kim I would adore to learn more about the Tudor family ! They have always seemed so intriguing and also to me anyways a little mysterious !
ReplyDeleteDesere
It would be interesting to learn more about the siblings of some of famous actors and actresses to see what they did with their lives.
ReplyDeleteI think I would like to know more about the Tudors family as well.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been very difficult being a woman in those times A Mother has to manipulate not only the daughters but family's of her choosing .I do love reading about our royalties past & present.
ReplyDeleteHave a good one Ann/alba
The Wright Brothers sound intriguing.
ReplyDeleteHow about the Hawaiian royalty?
ReplyDeleteHelen
They are fictional characters but I have always liked the sisters from Little Women. They are each so different but blend together so well as a family.
ReplyDeleteI always found it fascinating learning about Queen Victoria's children. They married into other royalty all over the place.
ReplyDeleteNorwegian king Halfdan the Black and his brother Olaf used their military skills and enlarged their territory. In my head these two were huge striking men who took what they wanted and were pretty ruthless. I would love to get a glimpse into their lives.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read more about the Tudors. They have always been interesting to me. Also like the Russian Royal Family.
ReplyDeletemisskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Geez Kim, I'm impressed :-) and jealous. Have always been intrigued about Egyptian history and it would be absolutely wonderful to do something like that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fearless woman Beatrice must have been to see that all of her daughters were well matched. I think I would like to learn more about these four sisters.
I would love to know more about the Tudors. I would also love to learn about our Presidents, going all the way back to George Washington. I can only imagine how things were.
ReplyDeleteMel
bournmelissa at hotmail dot com
The Kennedy siblings were always interesting to read about.
ReplyDeletei'm very fascinated about the Romanov siblings.......i know so little about them.........
ReplyDeletecyn209 at juno dot com
All the children of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Their parents had such an amazing love, I bet it had a great influence on their offspring. I imagine each of them was romantic in some way, though I could be wrong. They just seem to be a fascinating family.
ReplyDeletedr_mcsully[at]yahoo dot com