A biography of Joanna I of Naples, arguably the first European woman to reign as queen in her own right, as a result of a decision by her father, Robert the Wise. Joanna’s titles included Queen of Naples (roughly the southern third of the Italian peninsula), Duchesse of Provence, Princess of Achaia in Greece (because her great-great-grandfather, Charles of Anjou, had bought it) and Queen of Jerusalem (because Charles had bought that too, despite not having any physical presence there). She also had a claim to be Queen of Sicily and was able to exercise that claim briefly (after a series of complicated legal maneuvers, both Joanna and Frederick III claimed the title of sovereign of Sicily, leading to the Neapolitan state being called “The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies” for hundreds of years thereafter).

Naples under Joanna had a mix of fortunes; she entertained both Boccaccio and Petrarch, but also had to endure the Black Death, warfare, and bad luck in husbands (she was put on trial in Papal court for the murder of her first husband, Andrew of Hungary, and her next two, Louis of Taranto and James IV of Majorca, died on campaign). Joanna herself was eventually murdered while a prisoner of Charles of Durazzo (probably; Charles claimed she died of “natural causes”).

Author Nancy Goldstone has written a readable and interesting book. There is, alas, no real feel for Joanna as a person – i.e., what she ate, how she took her leisure, etc. - but that can’t really be helped; there’s not much feel for the life of anybody during this time period. Good maps and genealogical trees; contemporary illustrations. A somewhat sparse index. ( )

Despite liking Goldstone's history books in the past, this one just hasn't grabbed me, so I'm going to call it a DNF. I usually like these glimpses into what life might have been like for royal/upper class women in times long ago. This one takes place in the 1300s. But it is feeling too much like a string of disasters and wars and too little of really getting to a characterization of Joanna I. I know it's hard to piece that together 700 years after events, but I'm not getting enough about her life, decisions, or period details to keep me interested. ( )

This was a very colourful and dramatic slice of Medieval European history focusing on a little known and fascinating ruler, one of the most powerful female rulers of the Medieval age. "During her long, eventful reign, Joanna held together a large and far-flung dominion, which included Provence and all of southern Italy, and even expanded her rule, however briefly, into Sicily and Piedmont.....For more than thirty years, this queen fed the poor and cared for the sick; built churches and hospitals; reduced crime and promoted peace; protected trade and introduced new industry within her borders. She guided her subjects to recovery from the many instances of plague, war, famine, and depression endemic to the second half of the fourteenth century." So, why is she called the "notorious" Queen? This is because of the accusation that she murdered her first husband Andrew of Hungary, though she was cleared of this in a trial in 1348. However, this set off a very turbulent period of threatened and actual invasion, negotiating with 5 or 6 successive popes, marital turmoil with the first three of her four husbands, and seeing the deaths of her young children by Andrew and by her second husband Louis of Taranto. Joanna's final fall came at the hands of another Hungarian invasion, after she fell foul of the battles of rival Popes at the time of the Great Schism of the Papacy, an event "which would bitterly divide the church for the next forty years and be as damaging to Europe, and especially to the kingdom of Naples, as any war". Her murder as a wretched prisoner in a remote castle I found particularly sad and bathetic, an ignominious end to a great ruler. In conclusion, the author rues the fact that Joanna's story "when it is recounted at all, focuses entirely on her notoriety, as the queen who murdered her husband, and not on the many impressive accomplishments of her reign." A great read. ( )

This was a really good book. I enjoyed learning about a queen I had previously never heard about.
However, I did want there to be a bit more clarity about how Joanna I got to the throne of all three places mentioned in the title (maybe I didn’t read it very closely). ( )

Highly engaging biography of a much maligned queen. ( )