{"title":"Books by Katherine Pangonis","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781474614092","title":"Queens of Jerusalem","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1187 Saladin's armies besieged the holy city of Jerusalem. He had previously annihilated Jerusalem's army at the battle of Hattin, and behind the city's high walls a last-ditch defence was being led by an unlikely trio - including Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem. They could not resist Saladin, but, if they were lucky, they could negotiate terms that would save the lives of the city's inhabitants.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQueen Sibylla was the last of a line of formidable female rulers in the Crusader States of Outremer. Yet for all the many books written about the Crusades, one aspect is conspicuously absent: the stories of women. Queens and princesses tend to be presented as passive transmitters of land and royal blood. In reality, women ruled, conducted diplomatic negotiations, made military decisions, forged alliances, rebelled, and undertook architectural projects.  Sibylla's grandmother Queen Melisende was the first queen to seize real political agency in Jerusalem and rule in her own right. She outmanoeuvred both her husband and son to seize real power in her kingdom, and was a force to be reckoned with in the politics of the medieval Middle East. The lives of her Armenian mother, her three sisters, and their daughters and granddaughters were no less intriguing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe lives of this trailblazing dynasty of royal women, and the crusading Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, are the focus of Katherine Pangonis's debut book. In QUEENS OF JERUSALEM she explores the role women played in the governing of the Middle East during periods of intense instability, and how they persevered to rule and seize greater power for themselves when the opportunity presented itself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204454219954,"sku":"9781474614092","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474614092_d24fbe94-e90d-42ca-996f-9d01e30c9f9a.jpg?v=1786020850"},{"product_id":"9781474614139","title":"Twilight Cities","description":"\u003cp\u003eIts name means 'centre of the world', and since the dawn of history the Mediterranean Sea has formed the shared horizon of innumerable cultures. Here, history has blurred with legend. The glittering surface of the sea conceals the remnants of lost civilisations, wrecked treasure ships and the bones of long-drowned sailors, traders and modern refugees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf the many cities that dot this ancient coastline, Tyre, Carthage, Syracuse, Ravenna and Antioch are among the oldest and most intriguing. All are beautifully situated, and for layers of history and cultural riches they are rivalled only by their sister cities of Rome, Istanbul and Jerusalem. Yet their fates have been remarkably different. Once major power centres, all five have declined into relative obscurity. Nevertheless, their entwined history takes in Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, Archimedes and the Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Norman conquests, and their greatness still lingers for those who seek it out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo bring these mysterious lost capitals to life, historian Katherine Pangonis sets out on a voyage from the dawn of civilisation on the Lebanese coast to a modern-day Turkey wracked by the devastation of the 2023 earthquake. Combining on the ground research with spellbinding storytelling skills, here is a revelatory new story of the Mediterranean, and a powerful reflection on the sometimes fleeting glory of empires.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44203494867122,"sku":"9781474614139","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474614139_72671b9d-9dbb-4fc7-badc-c004ecb1fa6a.jpg?v=1786020851"},{"product_id":"9781836430704","title":"A History of France in 21 Women","description":"From Eleanor of Aquitaine to Edith Piaf, Colette to Coco Chanel, discover the lives of 21 women who made French history'Fascinating, gripping, vividly detailed, this is a wonderful book full of unforgettable lives.' Kate Williams, author of Becoming QueenFrench women have always had so much more to say than ‘let them eat cake’! Whether kicking the English out of Orléans, marching on Versailles or running messages for the French resistance, their stories of courage, creativity and genius have long defined French history.   Unveiling the lives of twenty-one women who changed the course of French history, Katherine Pangonis spins a new history of France from the fifth century to the present day.   Trace the rise of Eleanor of Aquitaine from teenage bride to the most powerful woman in medieval Europe; follow Berthe Morisot as she infiltrates art’s biggest boy’s club – the Impressionists; and discover how two of the twentieth century’s great fashion icons – Coco Chanel and Josephine Baker – found themselves spying for opposite sides during World War Two. Meet lesser known (yet no less influential) figures like Christine de Pizan, a medieval proto-feminist, and Paulette Nardal, who took Paris's overwhelmingly white, male literary establishment by storm. Fresh, funny and unapologetically feminist, A History of France in 21 Women reveals France as never before.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369292345717,"sku":"9781836430704","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781836430704_e657a0cf-7a43-4051-b850-3d0fee2a752c.jpg?v=1786028116"},{"product_id":"frances-forgotten-past","title":"France's Forgotten Past","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrance's fields of sunflowers, hillsides of grapevines, and salty coastlines have provided the perfect setting for a millennium of colorful, surprising history. But beyond the artists and writers, the revolutionary battles, and opulent royal courts, there are secret islands, warring queens, and hidden labyrinths to be found. This well-researched and original book uncovers chapters of France's history outside of the mainstream, starting at ancient civilizations and ending in a modern-day metropolis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcross thirty-two chronological chapters, Katherine Pangonis shifts the historical focus to the people and places that played a part in this country's multifaceted history and have since been misplaced or misunderstood—until now. Through the struggles and triumphs, the pain and joy portrayed in these stories, Pangonis shows us that French history is anything but straightforward. From ancient princesses to courtesans of the Belle Époque, from Caribbean colonies to the banks of the Seine, this book leaves no stone unturned in exploring the dense, tangled, and bumpy history of France.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57629181575541,"sku":"9780500029893","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-katherine-pangonis.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}