Title: Lionessheart

Author: Catherine Hanley

Genre: Historical Nonfiction

Publisher: The History Press

Publication Date: 27th March 2025

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover:

Summary:

Richard the Lionheart travelled to far-flung realms, went on crusade, met kings and popes, and exerted a great deal of influence on the world around him … and so did his sister.

The sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine have been the subject of much historical attention, but their daughters have been curiously overlooked. The youngest of them, Joanna, led a particularly extraordinary life full of adventure and danger – and not a little controversy – that was more than a match for those of any of her brothers, including the famed Lionheart himself.

Lionessheart is Joanna’s story, and also an exploration of the wider world of the twelfth century as seen through the eyes of a woman who was a princess and a pioneer, a warrior and a wife, a captive and a queen.

Review:

I love history and have a particularly fascination with the medieval period so this biography of Joanna Plantagenet appealed to me immediately – and happily I can confirm it certainly didn’t disappoint. It is an indisputable fact that women’s lives were nowhere near as closely recorded as men’s in the Middle Ages, even royal women were largely overlooked entirely by male writers. Consequently, Catherine Hanley had a challenging job in piecing together Joanna’s story and has done so brilliantly. Lionessheart is meticulously researched yet entirely engaging from beginning to end. Joanna was the youngest daughter of the very famous figures of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, and she led a remarkable life full of intrigue. Hanley has used the minute mentions of Joanna from the time period, usually made in the course of recording men’s deeds and lives, and has given us a picture of an interesting and nuanced woman who was involved in the course of history in a multitude of ways. Lionessheart also richly illuminates the way life would have been for other women of the medieval period and the way they could sometimes achieve a great deal despite the lack of power and agency that women were typically able to possess. This is a brilliant read, and an incredibly compelling story of a woman that, until now, I knew virtually nothing about. Much has been written about Joanna’s family, particularly her parents and brothers, but she fully deserves to be acknowledged as both a force, and a fascinating subject in her own right. Highly recommended. 

★★★★.5

I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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