TWO ISABELLAS OF KING JOHN

King John of England was married to two women: Isabella of Gloucester and Isabelle of Angoulême. The two women were central to shaping John and his reign, each in her own way moulding the unpopular king and each other over the course of their lives. Little is known about Isabella of Gloucester and she has largely become a historical footnote. She was the daughter of nobleman William FitzRobert second Earl of Gloucester and her marriage to King John in 1189 granted him rights over her substantial property as he was positioning himself as heir to Richard I (the Lionheart). Isabelle of Angoulême has a reputation as a witch and a poisoner. She was the great grand-daughter of King Louis VI of France, whose vast land holdings in France made her an attractive asset. Chapters cover childhood and education, the role of women and queens, John Plantagenet, changing roles and representation in literature. However, both were products of their time, victims and pawns of the powerful men whose voices overwrote the experiences of women. Taking a feminist light, McQuinn brightly shines it on both England's least well-known consort, Isabella of Gloucester, the king's first wife, and one of its least popular, Isabelle of Angoulême, his child bride. 8 pages of illus. 208 pages.