“This is a fascinating book, deeply researched in both English and French archives and lavishly illustrated, of one of England’s most tragic and forgotten queens. Gordon has done a wonderful job in bringing this heartbreaking story to life.”

Christopher Given-Wilson, emeritus professor of medieval history, University of St Andrews, and author of "Henry IV"

“Ysabel is the heart-rending story of a forgotten queen of medieval England. Crowned in Westminster Abbey at the age of seven, her father was mad, her husband was murdered, and she died after childbirth before she was twenty. It is the life of a woman with great privilege and no power, a woman who had everything except choice – and who now, for the first time, can speak to us. Dillian Gordon’s book is not just a compelling narrative; it is a great feat of historical recovery. Until now, the details of Ysabel’s life were hidden in a range of medieval documents accessible only to scholars. Out of them, Gordon has spun a tragic tale of a girl’s life sacrificed to her family’s pursuit of power.”

Neil MacGregor, former director of the National Gallery and the British Museum

“Gordon, in this ground-breaking study, illuminates the glittering but often cruel world in which Ysabel lived her short life. It is a story told with clarity, scholarship and sensitivity.”

Caroline Barron, University of London

“A fascinating and meticulously researched biography of an overlooked woman who deserves to be remembered.”

Elizabeth Day, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author