Book Review: Chaucer's Tale

Title: Chaucer’s Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury

By: Paul Strohm

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ (3)

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book and thus had a hard time writing this review. Paul Strohm clearly did a great deal of research and put a lot of effort into this book, but I felt like this became more about the history of London in the late 14th Century and less a micro biography of Chaucer.

Don’t get me wrong, I really did like the book and if it had been packaged as a history of London or the politics of England during the time of Chaucer, I wouldn't be so conflicted. So much time was spent on the history, social dynamics, politics, and other notable persons of the time, that Chaucer became a minor player in his own story. A chapter would begin with some aspect of Chaucer’s personal or professional life, and then Strohm would spend the next 30 pages discussing something related and Chaucer would all but disappear until the author circled back and discussed how it could have influenced Chaucer’s writing. He might include a passage from Chaucer’s work to illustrate his point, but anything related directly to him was a fraction of what was written about the setting. Frequently I had to remind myself that the book was about Chaucer, and not London or later, Kent.

The passages quoted from Chaucer’s work were what I really liked about the book. I loved how Strohm used the Old English and the modern vernacular. He did an excellent job choosing passages that related to the chapter. It was only during these brief interludes when I felt the focus was on Chaucer.

Though I really enjoyed the book, due to the unfocused nature of the narrative, I can’t justify giving it a 4 cup rating. But because I personally liked it overall I’m giving it a rating of 3.

**NetGalley provided me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review: Joan of Arc

Title: Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured

Author: Kathryn Harrison

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ (4)

I was first introduced to the story of Joan of Arc in CCD class by a lovely religious sister (For those who aren't Catholic, a sister could be considered an un-cloistered nun.) who was visiting our church. I remember that she was wearing a plain navy blue dress, and being a young child, I wondered why she wasn't wearing black robes and a wimple like the nuns did on TV. She was visiting our class that evening because she felt it was important for us to learn about the remarkable girl our church was named for, Joan of Arc. Since that day I have been fascinated by the paradox of this peasant girl, warrior and savior of France.

Probably one of the most well-known of the Catholic Saints, there are a lot of books written about her life as a warrior. But most of these books are written for children or are carefully cultivated to emphasize her Saintly status. So I was really excited to have the chance to read a more academic and factual version of her life.

Kathryn Harrison begins with the traditional story of our Saintly virgin and how God told her to leave her home and save France from the English. Joan of Arc was carefully researched and Harrison does her best to strip away the myths surrounding Joan, a task that is made difficult because of how short her public life was and the infamous nature of her death. She also delves into the political and social climate of France and England during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) and how Joan fit into this tumultuous period in history. This adds more insight into how truly incredible it was for this unknown girl to gain the respect and admiration of veteran soldiers and then lead them into battle – and win.

I really enjoyed this; for the most part Harrison maintained a good flow, although there are some parts that were bogged down by excess information. That aside, this is the best Joan of Arc biography I have read (and I've read quite a few) and is a good example of how biographies of female historical figures should be done.

**NetGalley provided me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review: Isabella: The Warrior Queen

Title: Isabella: The Warrior Queen

Author: Kirstin Downey

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ (5)

If you were to ask anyone who Queen Isabella of Spain was, most people would tell you that she was the monarch who bankrolled Christopher Columbus’s expedition across the Atlantic. Some might even remember that she was the Queen during the rise of the infamous Spanish Inquisition <insert obligatory Monty Python joke>. And, while these are important, they are only a fraction of the history changing events that occurred during the life and reign of one of the most famous (and infamous) rulers in Christendom.

Although I am a history major, Spain is a region I know very little about. Little by little, I’m learning about the colorful, and at times tumultuous, history of what was once the most powerful country in the Western world. I was pretty excited to have the opportunity to read this book because many of the biographies I've seen about Isabella were either written for children and/or they were a joint biography with her husband Ferdinand. And Kirstin Downey certainly filled that void.

The story of the rise of Isabella of Castile and Leon didn't begin with her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon. It didn't begin with the death of her father King Juan II or the death of her older brother King Enrique. It began nearly 750 years before her birth when the Moors left Africa and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Downey gives the reader a much-needed primer on the wars between the Moors and the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula. It is this and many other instances where the author puts the actions of Isabella into a greater historical context. She does an excellent job giving us the details but also giving the reader a look at the bigger picture. 

Downey takes great care to show us that Isabella was a real person; she wasn’t a saint but also had flaws like anyone else. Although she was a powerful monarch, she wasn’t infallible. She accomplished amazing things during her reign but she was also responsible for some terrible things. The author is careful to rely on facts and not, unlike many biographies, speculate about the feelings and motivations of Isabella and the people around her.

Isabella was a thoroughly researched and fascinating read. I enjoy biographies and I really love it when an author manages to give the subject back their humanity and remind us that these were real people and not characters in a fairy tale — and Kirstin Downey does just that. Even though I have the digital copy, I am definitely going to go out and buy the hard copy of Isabella: The Warrior Queen to put on my biography shelves at home next to the biographies of her daughter Catherine of Aragon.

**Yes I do have a separate section on my shelves for biographies. No, I do not sort them alphabetically by person. I sort them by time period, country, and then person. It’s my system and it works for me.**

**NetGalley provided me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review: A People's History of the French Revolution

Title: A People's History of the French Revolution

Author: Eric Hazan; Translation: David Fernbach

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ 

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I’m a history major and I love reading books about life in times long gone. I’m not an expert on the French Revolution, but I do have a bit more knowledge about the subject than the average (American) person. But this book gave me some trouble. Don’t get me wrong, Eric Hazan’s A People’s History of the French Revolution is full of interesting information and facts, but it is not written for people who have an interest in history but rather people who study history. 

At times it felt like I was reading a textbook and I almost reverted to my student habit of taking notes and making flow charts just so I could have a clearer picture of what I had just read. This is not something I want from a book I picked up because of a casual interest in the subject. At times the writing was engaging and held my interest, but other times it was dry and it was difficult for me to not skim over the chapter. I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I tried so hard to get into it, but more often than not I would put the book down every 10-15 pages because I would find myself seeing the words but not reading and absorbing what was written. 

The reason I rated it at 3 is because it does have loads of great information and it is well organized. This book would be a great resource for a student working on a research paper, as a recommended text on a class syllabus, or for someone who has more than a casual interest in French history.  

**NetGalley provided me with an advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.**