Game of Queens

"Densely packed with fascinating material, this immensely ambitious undertaking succeeds triumphantly."

"A fascinating work of world and women's history."

"Gristwood's fresh take on a well-documented period and the achievements, failures, and relationships of some of Europe's most powerful players is intriguing, cohesive, and accessible."

"[Game of Queens] casts a well-researched time period in an intriguing light.... Readers of popular history, especially of Tudor England, and of women's history will find much to enjoy."

"Sarah Gristwood handles multiple narrative strands with tremendous finesse, dexterously synthesizing the stories of women who, in many cases, never met but whose lives intertwined in manifold ways."

"Game of Queens is a magnificent exploration of a most remarkable group--the women who ruled sixteenth century Europe. Sarah Gristwood gives us impeccable research, incisive attention to detail, and exquisite writing as she investigates these truly fascinating women and their lives of courage, tribulation, and determination. Absolutely unputdownable."

"Sarah Gristwood's study of the brilliant, beleaguered, and often bloody difficult women who kept Europe going in the sixteenth century is compelling, clear-eyed, beautifully rendered, and never-more-timely."

"In her elegant and engaging style, she combines incisive detail with over-arching and eye-opening themes of queenship and the role of women in a male-dominated world. This book is a wonderful, timely contribution to our understanding of the period, and a pacy and illuminating good read."