{"title":"Books by Catherine Hanley","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780300251470","title":"Matilda – Empress, Queen, Warrior","description":"A life of Matilda—empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages  “[Matilda] will attract a growing audience interested in stories of women challenging the male-dominated European past.”—Alexandra Locking, Medieval Review  “A lively and authoritative account.”—Katherine Harvey, Times Literary Supplement   Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to the English crown—the first woman ever to hold the position—and an able military general.      This new biography explores Matilda’s achievements as military and political leader, and sets her life and career in full context. Catherine Hanley provides fresh insight into Matilda's campaign to claim the title of queen, her approach to allied kingdoms and rival rulers, and her role in the succession crisis. Hanley highlights how Matilda fought for the throne, and argues that although she never sat on it herself her reward was to see her son become king. Extraordinarily, her line has continued through every single monarch of England or Britain from that time to the present day.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56232049279349,"sku":"9780300251470","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780300251470_c3dec8a2-2714-4b0d-9247-54583f2957e4.jpg?v=1786032890"},{"product_id":"9781803995168","title":"Lionessheart","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘... brings the medieval world vividly to life, recreating the always fascinating and sometimes dangerous world in which Joanna moved.’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e - \u003cem\u003eAll About History\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard the Lionheart travelled to far-flung realms, went on crusade, met kings and popes, and exerted a great deal of influence on the world around him … and so did his sister.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine have been the subject of much historical attention, but their daughters have been curiously overlooked. The youngest of them, Joanna, led a particularly extraordinary life full of adventure and danger – and not a little controversy – that was more than a match for those of any of her brothers, including the famed Lionheart himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLionessheart\u003c\/em\u003e is Joanna’s story, and also an exploration of the wider world of the twelfth century as seen through the eyes of a woman who was a princess and a pioneer, a warrior and a wife, a captive and a queen.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685667053941,"sku":"9781837052653","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56307433439605,"sku":"9781803995168","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781837052653_20ba6e2e-e48f-48f0-8645-dff0608f1794.jpg?v=1792598806"},{"product_id":"9780300272970","title":"Two Houses, Two Kingdoms – A History of France and England, 1100–1300","description":"An exhilarating, accessible chronicle of the ruling families of France and England, showing how two dynasties formed one extraordinary story   The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. The lands under the control of the English king once reached to within a few miles of Paris, and those ruled by the French house, at their apogee, crossed the Channel and encompassed London itself.      In this lively, engaging history, Catherine Hanley traces the great clashes, and occasional friendships, of the two dynasties. Along the way, she emphasizes the fascinating and influential women of the houses—including Eleanor of Aquitaine and Blanche of Castille—and shows how personalities and familial bonds shaped the fate of two countries. This is a tale of two intertwined dynasties that shaped the present and the future of England and France, told through the stories of the people involved.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311683383669,"sku":"9780300272970","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780300272970_8f560c02-6232-457d-a82a-2f61f3d4c948.jpg?v=1786012743"},{"product_id":"the-family-lives-of-medieval-women","title":"The Family Lives of Medieval Women","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWomen in the Middle Ages led fascinating and often wildly differing everyday lives, depending on their social class and family situation.\u003c\/strong\u003e Yet their wealth of experience has long been obscured and overshadowed by the experiences of men, with history books often relegating women to a single, catchall chapter, as if their lives formed a unified story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile a number of medieval women have claimed biographers’ attention, they tend to be the exceptional figures who broke the mould. What, then, of the countless others who were not exceptional and who did not blaze a new trail? How did their family lives and the constraints imposed upon them influence the ways in which they lived, worked, rejoiced, grieved and shaped their world?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Family Lives of Medieval Women\u003c\/em\u003e turns the spotlight on these women and examines how the concept of family impacted every aspect of their existence, whatever their social class. It draws us into bustling towns and rural villages, into courts and castles, to meet secular women of every standing and learn about their lived experiences. For the first time, the full spectrum of the female familial experience is considered, illuminating the lives of medieval women with the depth, nuance and humanity they have always deserved.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487750693237,"sku":"9781803999104","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803999104.jpg?v=1786354976"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-catherine-hanley.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}