Margaret, Queen of Sicily by Jacqueline Alio

At the end of each brief description is a link to downoad a PDF file that includes part of the book's front matter, a sample chapter or two and, of course, its table of contents and index. As a full-time librarian, you probably haven't much time to ponder a purchasing decision before making an acquisition. Her comments about her approach to writing these biographies shed light on the goals, research and historiography behind her work. (If you go to Bologna to consult the only surviving manuscript of this chronicle, it is Jackie's book the staff will hand you if you require an English text.) She co-authored a popular book on Sicily's multicultural history that has been used as a text in university courses and a practical guide for educators planning such courses in Sicilian studies. Based in Palermo, the home of Sicily's queens, Jackie Alio is a dedicated scholar who has pursued academic projects like the first English translation of the Ferraris Chronicle, a work composed in Latin in 1228.

Who is Jacqueline Alio? She's one of the best medievalist historians you've (probably) never heard of. Unlike the monographs published by most academic presses, these useful references are affordable. Some of these books reflect original research – the kind of thing you would expect from an academic press having peer review – but each is eminently readable and informative for any curious student of history. Very few scholars have written books about the medieval queens of Sicily, and only two or three in English.

' Margaret, Queen of Sicily should easily become the first point of reference for scholars of Margaret working in English and for general readers interested in her world.' For Libraries: Books About Sicily's Queens

Margaret, Queen of Sicily by Jacqueline Alio