Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England | 
I‘m about 100 pages from finishing this book, so I drew a little sketch in my planner. I have a small list of possibilities for my next read. These are my top three.
• Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley
• The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir
• Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph Gies & Frances Gies
“The dreadful punishment of drawing, hanging, beheading, and quartering had first been introduced into England by Henry III in 1238, when it was meted out to a man who tried to murder the King.” Pg 248
“On the night before Isabella arrived in Paris, King Philip and his court had witnessed the burning of her godfather, Jaques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar.” Pg 98
I had no idea the last Grand Master—the man Isabella‘s father unjustly charged with treason so he could take the Order‘s assets—was also her godfather.
“These happy and auspicious plans were overshadowed in France by the mass arrest of about two thousand Knights Templar, on the King‘s orders, on 13 October. …For the next seven years, the Templars in France would be…interrogated, tortured, tried, and sometimes burned at the stake. Philip‘s treatment of the Templars paved the way for their condemnation by the Pope and the dissolution of the Order.” Pg 13-14
“…in 1309, under pressure from Philip, Clement moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon in southern France, where it was to remain for nearly seventy years, in thrall to the kings of France.” Pg 11
I picked up a couple books by Alison Weir at the bargain store last week. It seemed best to start here since I just read _England in the Age of Chivalry . . . And Awful Diseases_ by Ed West: it offers a very, very brief history of England around the time of Isabella.
"But there was no escaping his tormenters, who spread his legs and inserted 'a long horn into his fundament as deep as they might, and took a spit of burning copper, and put it through a horn into his body, and oft-times rolled therewith his bowels, and so they killed their lord, and nothing was perceived."
?Gee. One more example of how Medieval people were horrific in their methods. Some historians believe Edward II escaped. I sure do hope so.
pickThis was my beach read, and I enjoyed it a lot. Great story and writing, but occasionally tedious due to dense historian detail.
Isabella's story is worthy of an action and sex-packed HBO series. The daughter of the French king, smart and beautiful, Isabella is neglected by her husband, Edward II, who prefers men, and misrules the country. She ends up leading a rebellion and leaves Edward for his mortal enemy. You go, girl. ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
#startswithQ I could have used Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym but posted about it 3 days ago ?. So, here's Queen Isabella ?. Isabella of France married Edward II of England and was also known as "the She-Wolf of France". In the movie Braveheart, Isabella sleeps with William Wallace (Mel Gibson) ?; but IRL she was only about 10 years old when he died and not yet married to Edward II.
