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Isabella of Angoulême (The Tangled Queen Book 1) by [Erica Lainé]

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Erica Lainé

Isabella of Angoulême (The Tangled Queen Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Erica Lainé (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 74 ratings

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Set in the thirteenth century, the kingdoms of England and France are struggling over territory as the powerful Angevins threaten the French king. In regions far from Paris local fiefdoms disregard all authority.

The Tangled Queen is the story of the little known and very young Isabella of Angoulême who was abducted by King John in 1200. She became his second wife and queen consort, aged 12. He was the most reviled king in English history and his lust for her led to the loss of Normandy and the destruction of the Plantagenet Empire, which then brought about the Magna Carta.

Isabella came of age in England, but was denied her place in court. Her story is full of thwarted ambition, passion, pride and cruelty. She longed for power of her own and returned to France after the death of John to live a life of treachery and intrigue…

Print length

231 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

October 28, 2015
File size

1532 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The first in the trilogy about Isabella of Angouleme: The Tangled Queen and a debut novel for me. It was a huge learning curve, writing, researching, writing again and editing. But once the first book was finished I knew I had to carry on with her story and wrote and wrote and wrote. And Lo! A trilogy was born.The first cover was beautifully designed by Silverwood and then for parts 1 and 2 we used the same map but put different iconic images on them.Isabella's gold matrix for her seal as Queen of England on part 2 and her blazon as Queen of England on Part 3. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Erica Lainé was born in Southampton and originally studied for the theatre at the Arts Educational School in Tring. After working in London and training as a speech and drama teacher she moved to Hong Kong with her family. Here she worked for the British Council for 20 years as a teacher and educational projects manager. Since 1997 she has lived in south west France where she became interested in all sorts of historical research and writing as President of the Aquitaine Historical Society. This led to a focus on Isabella of Angoulème and her life and times. The Aquitaine region is rich in English and French history and Isabella was woven into both. Author of the trilogy 'Isabella of Angoulème: The Tangled Queen', Erica continues to be fascinated by and to write about 13th century France and England. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B017CA54A6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ SilverWood Books (October 28, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 28, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1532 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 231 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,609 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #31,144 in Historical Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #84,478 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 74 ratings

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Erica Lainé

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I live in SW France and have done for 20 years after 20 years in HK. The space and tranquility here is good for the soul after the endless bustle of HK. That was a dynamic place to be and to work.To work hard and to be part of the way forward for that extraordinary place.

France slowed me down and I began to create a garden and gradually look around me and that was when I discovered, through the local History Society, that King John had been married to Isabella of Angouleme. I was intrigued as Angouleme is only 40 minutes away. I began to read and read and disappear down the rabbit holes of research. In 2015 Part 1 of The Tangled Queen was published by the independent publishers Silverwood and then as I read and researched more, Isabella became a trilogy.

Part 2 has a date with Valentine's Day 14th February 2018.

I hope my Isabella will appeal to readers of historical fiction who enjoy fiction that has a firm basis in the facts as we know them.But of course her personal life can only be created from what we can glean, and then the author creates her world... all these hundreds of years later.

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Amazon Customer

Excellent writer! can't wait for Part Deux

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 22, 2015

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What a lovely book! Excellent writer! can't wait for Part Deux.

One person found this helpful

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FrenchVillageDiaries

A novel that adds personality and flesh to characters from history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 13, 2016

This novel is set in the early 1200’s when power, corruption and the need to marry well, to ensure the continued allegiances between powerful and corrupt families, were commonplace. It was not unusual for brides to be children, often promised to much older men from a very young age. Isabella was one such bride, promised to Hugh Le Brun, Count of Lusignan, and she was sent with her maid to live with the Lusignan family and await her marriage. Here she met the notorious King John, who wanted her for his bride and her father, being more concerned with the family name than his daughter, helped to abduct her and had no qualms at marrying her and sending her off to England at 12 years of age. The demands made on her by her husband meant her life, as Queen of England was often lonely, frustrating and difficult. She provided John with five children before his death in 1216, when she had little option than to return to France as Countess of Angouleme.

Despite never having heard of Isabella, I was intrigued by this book as not only is Angouleme about half an hour from where I live, but a recent holiday to Le Mans had sown a seed of interest in the Plantagenet history period and I was keen to learn more about the this royal family, whose kingdoms crossed borders between England and France for many generations.

Many places mentioned in England were recognisable to me from my childhood and I even remembered learning about some of the events that appeared in the book, like the signing of the Magna Carta in Runneymede. I have also visited many of the places mentioned in France (usually on my bike rather than on horseback like in the book), including Angouleme, Lusignan in the Vienne and L’Abbaye de l’Epau in Le Mans. They all played their part in Isabella’s story and this book helped me to piece together the shared English and French history. Having only recently become interested in this period, I was a little concerned that I might find it to be too much like a school history lesson, but I need not have worried as from the beginning Erica easily kept my interest by adding personality to the characters while retaining the historical facts.

As a British immigrant holding court in France (well I’m on the village council) at a time when Europe is going through turbulent times, this book has made me realise this is nothing new; similar problems have been happening for centuries and will likely continue to do so.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 people found this helpful

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Julianna Lees

An imaginative account of the troubled marriage of "Bad King John's" child bride, the Queen Consort Isabella

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 26, 2015

This is the ideal historical novel giving the reader a wealth of historical information plus the additional interest of an imaginative expansion of what is known about Queen Isabella. The colourful descriptions of life in Aquitaine and England - with details of domestic routine from kitchen to bath house to great hall - all ring true and are fascinating. The style is brisk and straightforward, carrying the account of Isabella's troubled marriage and King John's dastardly behaviour to its conclusion, at a pace. For those familiar with the Aquitaine region, there is the additional pleasure of imagining places known today as they were in the 13th century, so this is ideal holiday reading for visitors to this part of France. The book is beautifully produced with map and dramatis personae inviting the reader to look up many more background details. The end leaves us on a cliffhanger as the newly-widowed but still youthful Isabella returns to her homelands to begin the next chapter of her eventful life. I would recommend this book for all the family, including modern, history-loving teenagers, as the sex is discreet and not intrusive. Let's have the next volume soon, please!

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Elizabeth Moore

A Step Back in Time

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on September 10, 2019

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I love immersing myself in English history, especially well-written historical fiction, but most of my reading has been of the Tudors. Thanks to this novel, the first of a trilogy, I have a much better idea of the history surrounding Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart and King John. When young Isabella of Angoulême enters the scene, historical facts become even more intriguing than any fictional imaginings. I'm delighted that this is the first in The Tangled Queen series as I'm not ready to bid farewell to Isabella just yet.

Whitey

A New Look at Plantagenet History

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

A lot of novels have been written about Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their sons, but this is the first one I’ve read which focuses on King John’s wife, Isabella of Angouleme. This is a complicated period of history but the author does a good job of portraying all the warring factions without it becoming confusing. Following John around his kingdom must have been exhausting for his wife, and the idea of never being settled comes across strongly. Isabella is not an especially likeable character but one can still sympathise as the realisation dawns that she will not have the life she was promised as wife of the king of England. Her sense of isolation is keenly felt - she seems to have no women around her and she is forever the outsider, given little say in matters, even concerning her own family. I feel, like all good trilogies, that this book was building up to something and I think she will become a force to be reckoned with in Book 2. She starts Book 1 as a child, but by the end she is a woman, a mother, a widow, and the game has changed. I would have liked to see more scenes between her and King John, and I felt that once Isabella was parted from her woman, Agnes, we lost the point of view which showed us Isabella’s nature. I’d also have liked to see the period, only referred to and not shown, when both she and John had affairs. In Book One we see her grow up, and I’m fascinated to discover how she will conduct herself and her affairs in the next book.

One person found this helpful

Reading Queen

An Interesting Read....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 15, 2016

Verified Purchase

I found it very difficult to like Isabella. Although she was only twelve years old she was not only an heiress, she was quite a self-absorbed young girl. Betrothed to the much older Hugh Lusigan, she fostered with him, learning the skills to run his home when they eventually married. Hugh was an honourable man who had postponed his wedding to Isabella, not willing to enter into marriage with a child.
A visit to the Lusigan’s from King John was to change Isabella’s destiny. With a bad reputation around women and young girls, John saw this beautiful rich young girl and wanted her. The thought of becoming Queen of England soon turned Isabella’s head. While John sent Hugh off on an errand likely to take several weeks, her parents, keen for such a prominent match took her home and allowed John to marry her.
Even at twelve, Isabella was very materialistic, dreaming of power and riches. Returning to England to have their wedding blessed and live with him at court, she soon found all John really wanted was her young body and her riches. He was not at all interested in her as his queen or in giving her any power.
The book tells of her life with John, one of disappointment and frustration. She has four children with him but spends most of her time almost exiled with them, cheated of the life at court she originally had planned. He does buy her expensive jewels but thinks nothing of taking them back to sell when he’s short of money.
John is a devious licentious man, extremely cruel and greedy, only interested in accumulating wealth and land and murdering those who get in his way. It is easy to understand why the barons rebelled and forced the Magna Carta on him. His greed, however, was such a singular focus in his life that it left him open to grave errors one of which cost him his lands in France.
This is an interesting historical account of Isabella’s life with John. Even after his death, she is kept from having any influence over her son Henry and the court he will establish. Part one ends as she plans to return to her homeland in France and left me wondering what was in store for this very unhappy and frustrated woman.

One person found this helpful

Louise Perfect

Interesting insight into the tangled web of politics and intrigue across Aquitaine

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

I have just finished reading the trilogy Isabella of Angouleme which presents an interesting and fascinating insight into the tangled web of politics and intrigue between France and England at that time.
I live in the Charente Maritime having moved here permanently five years ago Although I knew a little of the history and ownership of territory by the English over the centuries I did not feel the history until I read these books.
Having come to know the geography of the region over several years Erica's writing has made me look at places across Aquitaine e.g Saintes, Bordeaux, Pons, Angouleme, Royan, La Rochelle with new eyes. Good for visitors to the region as well as residents wanting to gain an insight into this part of France and French /English relations.

One person found this helpful

V. M. Finnegan

Excellent book about a fascinating historical character

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 3, 2016

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I heard about it on Twitter & curiosity made me buy it. I was not disappointed at all. Erica writes clearly about the protagonist & the world she lives in. King John is as horrible as I always thought he was but Isabella gives as good as she gets considering the imbalance of power. There is more to this story & I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

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