Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I,New

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAround the year 1049, William, Duke of Normandy and future conqueror of England, raced to the palace of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. The counts eldest daughter, Matilda, had refused Williams offer of marriage and publicly denounced him as a bastard. Encountering the young woman, William furiously dragged her to the ground by her hair and beat her mercilessly. Matildas outraged father immediately took up arms on his daughters behalf. But just a few days later, Baldwin was aghast when Matilda, still recovering from the assault, announced that she would marry none but William, since he must be a man of great courage and high daring to have ventured to come and beat me in my own fathers palace.Thus began the tempestuous marriage of Matilda of Flanders and William the Conqueror. While Williams exploits and triumphs have been widely chronicled, his consort remains largely overlooked. Now, in her groundbreaking Queen of the Conqueror, acclaimed author and historian Tracy Borman weaves together a comprehensive and illuminating tapestry of this noble woman who stood only fourfoottwo and whose role as the first crowned Queen of England had a large and lasting influence on the English monarchy.From a wealth of historical artifacts and documents, Matilda emerges as passionate, steadfast, and wise, yet also utterly ruthless and tenacious in pursuit of her goals, and the only person capable of taming her formidable husbandwho, unprecedented for the period, remained staunchly faithful to her. This mother of nine, including four sons who went on to inherit Williams French and English dominions, confounded the traditional views of women in medieval society by seizing the reins of power whenever she had the chance, directing her husbands policy, and at times flagrantly disobeying his orders.Tracy Borman lays out Matildas remarkable story against one of the most fascinating and transformative periods in European history. Stirring, richly detailed, and wholly involving, Queen of the Conqueror reveals not just an extraordinary figure but an iconic woman who shaped generations, and an era that cast the essential framework for the world we know today.Praise for Queen of the Conqueror[Tracy Borman] brings to life Queen Matildas enormous accomplishments in consolidating early Norman rule. Alongside her warrior husband, William I, Matilda brought legitimacy, a deeper degree of education, diplomatic savvy and artistic and religious flowering to the shared NormanEnglish throne. Borman . . . the chief executive of Britains Heritage Education Trust, fleshes out the personality of this fascinating woman, who set the steely precedent for subsequent English female sovereigns by displaying great longevity and stamina in a rough, paternalistic time. . . . A richly layered treatment of the stormy reign that yielded the incomparable Bayeux Tapestry and the Domesday Book.Kirkus ReviewsTracy Borman tells this story with a steady eye and a steady hand, tracing what can be known of Matildas part in the events that were to change the course of English history.Helen Castor, Literary Review