The Queen’s Hand: Power and Authority in the Reign of Berenguela of Castile Author: Janna Bianchini Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Book Release Date: 2012 Pages: 363 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Her name is undoubtedly less familiar than that of her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, or that of her famous conqueror son, Fernando III, yet during her lifetime, Berenguela of Castile (1180-1246) was one of the most powerful women in Europe. As queen-consort of Alfonso IX of León, she acquired the troubled boundary lands between the kingdoms of Castile and León and forged alliances with powerful nobles on both sides. Even after her marriage was dissolved, she continued to strengthen these connections as a member of her father's court. On her brother's death, she inherited the Castilian throne outright—and then, remarkably, elevated her son to kingship at the same time. Using her assiduously cultivated alliances, B...
The Briar Club Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense Publisher: William Morrow Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 430 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful work of historical fiction, a story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. In this gripping women’s fiction novel, everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who fin...