An ideal and captivating quick history of Britain from Julius Caeser's first expedition in 55 B.C. until Athelstan's consolidation of power in 937. This cutoff point seems to be chosen because that is when historical records become more complete, while Ashe prefers to work in the realm where historical records are sketchy or oblique, and must be pieced together with supporting clues from archaeology and legend to fill in a necessarily incomplete picture. Ashe draws heavily from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Nennius, Gildas, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Bede, and the more dependable Roman records, though always explicitly critical of his sources and lucid in his analysis of how we can draw the kernel of truth out of embellishments or legends. In some cases, such as the pre-Roman British kings listed by Monmouth, the legends are so lacking in support as to be historically hopeless. But where several perspectives exist, even corrupted accounts like Monmouth can be compared with other records to tease out dividends of clues into the reality. The critical view of the evidence and frank analysis leave a rich and fascinating account of almost a thousand years of Picts, Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Danes vying for control of the British Isles. A case in point is King Arthur, so buried in legend while so scarce from reliable historical records that uncovering the true history appears impossible, until Ashe navigates confidently through fact and fiction to lay out the most likely possibilities behind the legend. Ashe describes the roles of diplomacy, war, and religion in the constantly shifting tides of political power, gives brief biographical sketches of countless key players, and demonstrates the difference made by remarkable leaders such as Constantine, Maximus, Maelgwn of Gwynedd, Caewlin of Wessex, Saint Aidan, Aldfrith of Northumbria, Kenneth MacAlpine, and of course Alfred the Great. He gives telling insights into the rise of Christianity in the isles despite the resistance in turn of the Romans, Celts, Anglo-Saxons, and Danes. He also emphasises the point that Britain alone of any region in the Empire was granted independence from Rome before the barbarians arrived, which uniquely poised it to maintain a heightened cultural continuity, to the benefit of succeeding eras. I'd been looking for a good, concise history of pre-Alfred Britain, and this turned out to be just right. A fair, even treatment with a brisk, highly readable style.

This book discusses English history from about 1100 B.C to the reign of Alfred the Great, A.D. 871. Much of our information on this period comes from Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose "history" owed more to imagination and folklore (in particular the Welsh Mabinogian) than to historical scholarship. But from Geoffrey's work come many of the underpinnings of the King Arthur story, and he wrote of kings further immortalized in Shakespeares' plays and Eliot's poetry. Ashe discusses Geoffrey's work, comparing it to historical references. The result is a story viewed through the context of myth as well as history. The two do not always agree, but they complement each other and create a fascinating story with a varied cast: the warrior-queen Boadicea, Constantius, Merlin, Arthur. The brief discussion of Arthur's historical roots will be familiar to those who have read other books by Ashe, but it provides a good introduction for readers new to the subject.

As always, Ashe writes in a clear and accessible style. The book offers a historical perspective to readers interested in Arthurian lore and English literature. It is also likely to appeal to the reader who has an interest in history but not an extensive background.

I picked up this book expecting to find some boring interpretation of early Britain as I thought that all of these types of books would be. But I was really interested in the subject matter-----and this book made me even more interested. I was introduced to stories I'd never heard before and the book was easy to read for me (I'm in high school). I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend this book to anyone interested in early Britain. It offers many different perspectives of the legends while analyzing The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth. "Excellent" isn't even near enough to say!

I think the artwork in this book has been underrated, perhaps because only a few colors were used in printing. It's clever: the run-down New York City neighborhood is drawn in meticulous detail. I use it to show Inuit students what a city looks like! By contrast, the royal entourage is cartoon-style, not realistic. Not only does the royal family's entourage grow larger with each repetition of the pattern, but the characters themselves grow larger, until at the end of the book they have to hunch over to fit into the boy's tenement apartment. At the very end, the characters turn into playing cards (only in the art, not in the text) and the royal barber (who, we somehow suspect, is a self-portrait of the author) becomes a doll that has been sitting half-seen on the window sill all along. Lots to look at in this book.

One Monday Morning is the story of a little prince who each day of the week brings more friends to visit. However the little boy he's coming to visit isn't home. The story is much like the 12 days of christmas with the addition of interesting characters each day of the week.

This book is a great first time reader. It is better than Dick and Jane for several reasons. This book adds people and words as the story unfolds. It is an easy story to follow. It adds words that are pretty common to today's early readers. I am a literacy volunteer and I use this book for my older reading students.

One of the seven in the series "The Accursed Kings", "The Strangled Queen" is the story of Marguerite of Burgundy, the ill fated wife of Louis X of France. Incredible historical accuracy, attention to detail and high literary form make this novel more than good reading, like all the other in the series. If you can find all seven, by all means, get them!

I am deeply impressed by this book.I really like Marguerite of Burgundy.She is independent woman who is not afraid of her sexuality.Even when she is denounced she keep self-respect and she never said that she made a fault.Some think that she was a whore but it is understandable when you are married such person like Louis X-cruel,dull,ugly,quarrelsome,uncapable to satisfy his wife.I think that she was judged too severely.Isabella,the daughter of Philip IV,exposed and blamed her deed but later she also had a lover.Her husband is supposed to be a gay.Both Marguerite and Isabell have their arguments but Morguerite is supposed to be the fornicatress and is sentensed to death.It is so unfair,life is unfair!We shouldn't judge the other people too strictly!!

Marguerite of Bourgogne having fallen into disgrace is emprisoned in Chateau Gaillard. This (her emprisonment rather then her sentence to death) leaves King Louis X le Hutin (her estranged husband) still married and without a women at is side as well as without an heir to the trone of France (since Jeanne de Navarre is considered by Louis as a bastard). Only one of two solutions to solve this problem: either Marguerite grant annulment to Louis (allowing him to take a wife) or Marguerite dies...

I found this book at the library by chance. I was looking for a more books about Queen Elizabeth I. This book is a great introduction to women in history. It is easy enough for my then 8 year old to read for the Texas Reader's club. I am definitely checking it out for my 7 yr to use for her TX Reader's club requirements.

I checked "Ten Queens" out from my local library to brush up on my reading of some of my favorite historical figures of all time- Cleopatra VII and Eleanor of Acquitaine.
While the book shed great light on two of the most famous women in all of ancient/medieval history, the author also brought to light lesser known queens. All of a sudden, I have a great respect for the fearless Zenobia, the corageous Boudicca, and, of course, the Biblical Esther. He has done an oustanding job of researching all of the queens and presenting them all in a favorable light (though let's not forget Christina's hypocritical ways, Cleopatra's love affairs, and Catherine the Great's promiscuity- for history's sake).
All in all, a great book worth the money.

My nine year old daughter thoroughly enjoyed this overview of famous women rulers from ancient times to the 18th century.

The children in my Sunday School chose this book to read and demonstrate for their participation in an adult church service. The theme of the story, sharing, is told in a fun manner (a selfish king and a brave worm) and the ending is not only happy, but the lesson, there is real joy in sharing, is clear.

The children really liked and laughed with some of the story lines as outlandish things were done to save the apples from the worms. The one thing they did not like were the pictures in the book. All characters are illustrated as animals and the king is a pig. These are children in 2nd grade. (On the other hand, my 3 year old liked the pictures, but I'm not sure she understood the message.)

Overall, I believe the book gives a great message within a funny story.

We've all heard of King Midas and what befell him because of his penchant for gold. Now, make way for The Apple King, an old. old ruler who had a magnificent apple tree that bore the tastiest fruit in all of his kingdom.

Why, he was so proud of those apples that no one else was allowed to touch them. Anyone else even thinking of tasting one would probably be grounds for beheading. Pity the poor king's gardener when he discovered an unsightly hole in one of these prize apples. Surely not a worm!

Not one worm but worms. Stubborn worms who wouldn't leave even for a bag of gold. Faced with such a catastrophe the mighty ruler learned a lesson in sharing; he learned the joy of spreading happiness.

There's a lesson for youngsters in this ripe, juicy tale beautifully illustrated in sun-washed colors.

This beautifully illustrated book is great to read with your kids.
It is about what is most important in a child's upbringing.
The king and Queen in the book both think they know
what is best for the little prince, but neither of them
can agree on what that is. Together they set out to find the answer,
but the little prince already knows the answer it's Bub or Love as he can't quite pronounce it yet. I think
you and your kids will enjoy reading this book together.

I received this book as a gift. What a great gift. All three of my children have learned about "bub". You'll have to read it to figure out the mystery for yourself.

I love this book, it give you lots of info about Cleopatra and it's beautifully illustrated.

Cleopatra is one of the most famous women to ever grace the planet. At 14 she watched her father flee for his life and saw people had suffered under the cruelty of her father. She realized her family was at war with the people it ruled.

As Ptolemy XII's oldest surviving child, she would become queen when he died. To protect herself, she made friends with powerful courtiers and prepared herself for government by learning Egyptian and used religion to support her claim to the throne.

Through this book you will learn how Cleopatra used her charm and intelligence to remain queen. You will see how she hoped to make Egypt the successful empire it had been when the first Ptolemies ruled almost 300 years before.

The story gets rather interesting when Antony is disgraced after the Battle of Actium and Cleopatra is afraid of his anger. She locks herself in her mausoleum and sends him a message saying she is dead. In despair, Antony stabs himself and then dies in her arms. Within a few weeks of Antony's suicide Cleopatra also died

There are also beautiful pictures of imaginary fantasy scenes by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, photographs of locations mentioned in the stories and information on plays and movies inspired by Cleopatra's life. This is richly illustrated and contains many fascinating facts about her life and the men she loved.

Kathy Tucker and Nick Sharratt have gotten together and authored a marvelous and creative picture book that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about knights, and more. Each chapter, written in joyful rhythmic verse and complemented with bright, busy, detailed artwork tells the reader a little more about the life of a knight. Find out how you get to be a knight in the first place, what he does for a living (fights bad princes and fiery dragons), what he wears, how he accessorizes and where he lives. Then, look into what bad princes and fiery dragons do that's so awful and how a knight fights and beats them. And finally discover the really important information, every would-be knight needs to know: Do knights get to eat candy, watch T.V. and take naps? Do Knights Take Naps? is a charming, witty and humorous book that's perfect for emerging readers and also makes a wonderful read aloud story the entire family will enjoy.

My two year old son loves this book. It has well-drawn, colorful illustrations and rhyming text. The rhymes are musical enough that we've been reading it as a bedtime story for about two weeks, and though it's a little complex for a two year old, my son can "read" most of it to me. While it doesn't contain the blood and gore you'd usually associate with knights, it does have jousts, dragons, swords and flails - all presented in a non-frightening way - so it's perfect for bedtime adventure.

Buy this book and enjoy reading it out loud to your little ones.

Emily, an athletic young girl who rules the Greenwood, and spends her days climbing trees and riding horses through her lush green forest ,follows Arden ,a unicorn, into the Mysterious Forest. There Emily and Arden pass Jibbets and Giants to get to the Land of the Unicorns to ask The Great Unicorn to give Arden her unicorn powers back . On the way Arden and Emily learn about true friendship, and for both the girl and the unicorn , that's what truly matters.

This is an interesting book because Arden and Emily go on an adventure to Crumble Mountain. You will like this book if you like princesses, unicorns, kings and queens.

A truly romantic story of a beautiful merchant's daughter who does not want to marry the king. A boy/man is hired to persuade her to marry the king, but things get in the way....lovely!

A cute little hilarious book, with characters I fell deeply in love with. Even though this book was simple and easy, the love tension and emotions were hard to control. Not only was the story great of (romance/fantasy) but the cover, graphics, and layout of the book was eye catching and a beauty to see. The book jacket was even nice enough to be consider framed and hung on a wall. You have to get your hands on a copy of this book, or else you'll never be able to get one again.