Game of Queens (Gristwood)

The Game of Queens:  The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe
Sarah Gristwood, 2016
Basic Books
392 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780465096787


Summary
Sixteenth-century Europe saw an explosion of female rule.

From Isabella of Castile and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth Tudor, women wielded enormous power over their territories for more than a hundred years.

In the sixteenth century, as in our own, the phenomenon of the powerful woman offered challenges and opportunities. Opportunities, as when in 1529 Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy negotiated the "Ladies’ peace" of Cambrai.

Challenges, as when both Mary Queen of Scots and her kinswoman Elizabeth I came close to being destroyed by sexual scandal.

A fascinating group biography of some of the most beloved (and reviled) queens in history, Game of Queens tells the story of the powerful women who drove European history. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1956 (?)
• Where—Kent, England, UK
• Education—B.A., Oxford University
• Currently—lives in London and Kent (in England)


Sarah Gristwood is a British author and journalist. She is the author of several historical biographies, most recently The Game of Queens about the 16th century's rule by a number of powerful women.

Gristwood was born in Kent, England, and read English literature at Oxford University, graduating in 1978. After leaving Oxford, she began a career as a journalist, eventually finding her niche in film journalism. She interviewed celebrities ranging from Johnny Depp and Robert DeNiro to Paul McCartney. Her stories have appeared in the UK's leading newspapers: The Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, as well as in magazines like Cosmopolitan and Country Living.

Books
Turning to historical biographies, Gristwood published her first book, Arbella: England's Lost Queen, in 2005. Next, in 2007, came Bird of Paradise: The Colourful Career of the First Mrs Robinson, followed that same year by Elizabeth and Leicester: Power Passion and Politics.

Then came The Ring and the Crown: A History of Royal Weddings 1066–2011, co-authored with Allison Weir in 2011. The same year, Gristwood also published her first historical novel, The Girl in the Mirror. Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses came out in 2014, followed two years later by The Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe in 2016.

Miscellany
n 2011, Gristwood published the 50th anniversary edition of The Breakfast at Tiffany's Companion. In 2013 she co-wrote Fabulous Frocks with Jane Eastoe, and in 2016 she released The Story of Beatrix Potter under the UK's National Trust imprint.

In addition to her writing, Gristwood has become a regular commentator on royal affairs, working with the team that provided live coverage on Radio for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. She has since spoken on the Queen’s Jubilee, the royal baby, and other royal stories for Sky News, Woman’s Hour, Radio 5 Live, and CBC.

Personal
Gristwood is married to film critic Derek Malcolm, and the two split their time between London and Kent. (Adapted from the author's website.)

Book Reviews
Gristwood successfully demonstrates how mentors...and power wielders...helped influence generations of ambitious, high-ranking women through networking and clever manipulation…. [A] fresh take on...some of Europe’s most powerful players.... [I]ntriguing, cohesive, and accessible.
Publishers Weekly


Gristwood chronicles the unusual happenstance of the 16th century whereby most of Europe was under a female ruler's control.... While the analysis isn't groundbreaking, it casts a well-researched time period in an intriguing light. —Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO
Library Journal


[I]ntriguing collective biography about overlooked women of historical significance.... Gristwood interweaves their respective accomplishments and failures, placing the group dynamic firmly into historical and social context.... A fascinating work of world and women's history.
Booklist


Sarah Gristwood’s sweeping survey of the careers of numerous royal women in 16th-century Europe amply justifies the nod to Game of Thrones in the title: it features enough dynastic conflict, violence and sexual intrigue to satisfy the most hardened addicts of the series…. Gristwood handles multiple narrative strands with tremendous finesse, dexterously synthesising the stories of women who, in many cases, never met but whose lives intertwined in manifold ways…. Densely packed with fascinating material, this immensely ambitious undertaking succeeds triumphantly.
Literary Review (UK)

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