Buy new:
-20% $19.90
FREE delivery Monday, May 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$19.90 with 20 percent savings
List Price: $24.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Monday, May 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 9. Order within 15 hrs 23 mins
Only 4 left in stock - order soon.
$$19.90 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$19.90
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$15.93
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Book in Very Good Condition. Unmarked Pages. Book in Very Good Condition. Unmarked Pages. See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 9. Order within 15 hrs 23 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$19.90 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$19.90
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Michèle K. Spike
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Tuscan Countess: The Life and Extraordinary Times of Matilda of Canossa (Mark Magowan Books) Hardcover – Illustrated, September 28, 2004

by Michele K. Spike (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 45 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$19.90","priceAmount":19.90,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"90","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"wIPcJRQQyBDaJ3cgmsTVnpLssyyDKuddLkDi3O2K%2FZD2PWHY3JvdjEkN%2Bxv%2BjdQbhbPRaxVr3W4eCFk5CaZhQ17w0XZeiIADW%2BXHxqtD%2Fmx8tAg60Mn0GDKDCdY3L%2Fj0WMj29KgDqcE%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$15.93","priceAmount":15.93,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"93","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"wIPcJRQQyBDaJ3cgmsTVnpLssyyDKuddcP7%2B7vXagZi%2B5GbJxr2LgOGvcXI0IjpuxFIq%2BFXrYWqPQEwNc7i9D3jDK5zAca1LTB0U46dEJaqjbYhmfVyrgaUK9lf4EbJBrwmVkpj2r2FuDxJDAdI%2F7KypICaIgLu9sa7bwh9v%2FNZ2KC964GjldKfhge8ZzxB1","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Chronicles the life of Matilda of Canossa, renowned for her relationship with Pope Gregory VII; depicts her as one of the most influential female figures in history; and describes the author's visits to related sites.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    312 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vendome Press
  4. Publication date
    September 28, 2004
  5. Grade level
    8 and up
  6. Reading age
    13 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.13 x 9.25 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0865652422
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0865652422
  10. See all details
Next page
Books with Buzz
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Frequently bought together

Tuscan Countess: The Life and Extraordinary Times of Matilda of Canossa (Mark Magowan Books)
$19.90
Get it as soon as Monday, May 13
Only 4 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The military leadership of Matilda of Canossa, 1046–1115 (Gender in History)
$26.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
Only 4 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The dramatic life of Matilda of Canossa (1046-1115) could easily be the plot of a Pirandello play: there are papal intrigues, warring medieval factions and even an ill-fated marriage to a hunchback that ends in murder. Spike's marvelous biography of the countess takes on all of these events, and also explains how Matilda became an ardent defender of the lands in the Po Valley, which she considered her birthright. Spike deftly conjures the world of pre-Renaissance Italy, where a woman "passed through her life from father to brother, to husband, to son, as each in his turn acted for her welfare." Many of the men in Matilda's life, however, failed to act in her best interests, and under such conditions, the remarkable young woman flouted the traditions of her male-dominated world and managed to defend her small portion of Italy from Henry IV. Using a staggering amount of new research, Spike peels back layer upon layer of previous myth to render a startling new portrait of the countess. (The author also displays a novelist's talent for detail, exploring the unusual alliance between Matilda and Pope Gregory VII, her ally and lover.) Spike's first-person account of her exhaustive research is one of the book's unexpected pleasures; the modern-day characters she encountered during her hunt provide this engrossing historical chronicle with a richly personal subtext. While the occasionally academic tone may put off some readers, Spike's absorbing work should appeal to highbrow Italo-philes and those interested in papal history. 40 b/w illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

There is no doubt that the Tuscan countess Matilda of Canossa (1046-1115) played a role in some of the key events of her age, including the Investiture Controversy that pitted the great reforming pope Gregory VII against the German king Henry IV. But what if you are an author trying to reconstruct a life on the basis of sparse and unreliable records? You write about yourself, looking for traces of Matilda in present-day Italy. You go into detail about convoluted medieval and papal politics. And you engage in speculation. Spike's thesis is that Gregory and Matilda carried on a love affair that shaped the modern church, and to support this view she sometimes veers close to the stuff of romantic novels. Gregory is referred to time and again as the man Matilda loved; his piercing eyes looked "into the deep blue sea of her loneliness"; his vision of an imperial papacy is a dream they shared. Perhaps. Whatever the truth, this is a serious study, the personal travelogue and the occasional romantic embellishment notwithstanding. Mary Ellen Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vendome Press; First Edition (September 28, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0865652422
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0865652422
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.13 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Michèle K. Spike

Michèle K. Spike

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
45 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

C Armstrong
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, good history on important historical figure
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
For someone who is looking for an interesting work on Medieval history, important women, papal, Tuscany, etc, but written like a journey and not a monograph. Probably the best work in English on Matilda and her ties to the rivalry between Pope Gregory and Emperor Henry IV.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Luis Eugenio Espinosa
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating tour: inspired by Mathilda
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2012
Verified Purchase
Since I've read about her in Church History, I have been searching for something readable and, to certain extent, more objective. The simultaneous tour through Mathilda's life and times and thorugh Italy (and Speyer), has been delightful. I appreciate a well written book although, at certain points, I just wanted to skip some of the remarks added by the author that I considered distracting, it took me some time to fully grasp the relevance for her of this academic exercise as an experience mediating a series of expectations...

Wow, no single line on Mathilda was left without consideration, I am not so sure about some of the collateral remarks, facts, judgements or evaluations...
An excellent opportunity for those who love reading history with a human touch, with a kind scholar presenting it in an easy and readable way..., hopefully others can also follow such a fascinating path of academic research and pleasant writing
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Hazel
5.0 out of 5 stars Great history
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2011
Verified Purchase
Combination of history and travel makes good reading and covers more than you ever thought of knowing about this fascinating Matilda. A lot of detail about conflicts between papal factions and the (un)holy Roman emperors and how this smart woman was involved.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Jo L. Willis
3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy History
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
It's a history, not a novel. And pretty heavy at that. Lots of repetition but I guess war was the major form of entertainment in the 11th century, so they pursued it over and over. And since not all sources led to clear conclusions, there were some jumps in the continuity. But overall it provided a good view of life in the dark ages of Northern Italy and France. Not a place nor time to be enthusiastic about.
Matilda was an exceptional woman of property and education, which made her more aware and aggressive and interested in Church politics, which was after all the only game in town. This was very clear and well defined via all the wars and intrigues. But then the times were sometimes boring and the book echoed these periods, as the countess, priests, monks, servants and countless others abided their time at the hard work of farming or sitting on mountain tops awaiting the "right time" for action.
There was a wonderful exhibit accompanying the book about this woman, Matilda of Canossa, at the College of William and Mary, Muscarelle Museum in Williamsburg Va., which was sponsored by the book's author Michele Spike. Together, the exhibit and the book provided an excellent picture of life of the period.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
John Sloan
2.0 out of 5 stars Not a biography - the author's assumptions and prreconceptions
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book is mostly a self-serving account if the author's lengthy exploration (a travel guide) of Italian cities and castles in search of evidence that Countess Matilda and pope Gregory VII engaged in serial fornication for years, made OK by this feminist 21st post sexual revolution individual, "because she loved him" - despite her admitting that SHE found no PROOF. She apparently did not learn what society in the 11th century thought about chastity, clerical celibacy, simony, lay investiture - the subjects of continual violent conflict between the Papacy and German rulers.
Helpful
 Report
Angela Gustafson
5.0 out of 5 stars Love Reading
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2011
Verified Purchase
Thank you for having the book I was looking for and for getting it to me so quickly. The condition was great, I'd use this vendor again. Thanks
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Online shopper for sure
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
Good story lots of intrigue
Helpful
 Report
B. A. Morrison
3.0 out of 5 stars Not my cup of tea, although it could be yours
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
While I am sure she was a great lady in her own way, the book was just too religious for me. I understand from friends that it got better later on, I only got about 15% of the book before giving up. If the book/character's don't grab you before that just give in. I tried as it was our book clubs choice, but they lost me. Sorry
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything perfect, tutto perfetto!
Reviewed in Italy on November 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Delivery in advance in comparison with the scheduled date, and book in perfect conditions. Thanks! Consegna in anticipo rispetto al previsto e prodotto in ottime condizioni. Grazie!
Report
trottman
5.0 out of 5 stars An informative and well researched biography
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
The queen of both Louis VII of France and Henry II of England the extraordinary life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is justly regarded as one of the most famous women of the Middle Ages, has been well documented on both sides of the Atlantic. It is however surprising that the dramatic life of Matilda of Canossa has escaped the attention of English language historians which is why Michele K .Spike's informative and excellently researched biography "Tuscan Countess" is so welcome

A major figure in Italian power politics of an age that predated that of Eleanor by several decades, Matilda's dominating ambition was to be allowed to inherit the substantial land holdings of her father, who was to meet his death in yet another controversial hunting accident. In this design Matilda's continuing nemesis was the land grabbing King Henry IV of Germany who she was eventually to defeat in battle. She was also the boon companion, lover and keeper of the flame for Pope Gregory VII, remembered for demanding the celibacy of a reluctant priesthood.

Written in the first person and without a dry page this labour of love brings Matilda and her time vividly to life. In her conclusions the author allows her heroine full rein and Matilda finally emerges as a beacon of womanly virtue surrounded by angry, warring men. Matilda may well have been concerned for the welfare of her subjects but she understood the demands imposed by the age in which she lived and was obliged to act accordingly. No wilting violet she was well able to organise the dispatch of an unwanted husband by the strategic placing of a red hot poker.

Trottman
Report
Book Worm
1.0 out of 5 stars One of the few books I have not bothered to finish
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Matilda is a fascinating character and deserves to be much better known. This is not the book to achieve that. Spike is very enthusiastic about her subject, unfortunately her prose style is practically unreadable, sentences are loaded with so many clauses that I quickly lost the thread of what she was trying to say. By page 40 I had lost count of the number of times she mentioned the malaria infested swamps surrounding Mantua so gave up. It would be wonderful if a really competent historian produced a readable history of this feisty woman who challenged the most powerful men of her age.
Report
Lady One
5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING Mathilda of Tuscany
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2011
Verified Purchase
I believe this book should be high school material in very single country in Europe. Make yourself a favour and get to know Mathilda and read this book. It is well written and the research is fantastic.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Ostin H
5.0 out of 5 stars The politics of religion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2010
Verified Purchase
An iconic woman in European history; told in a clear fashion and without the coy obfuscation of the official church historians.
A good read in its own right.
3 people found this helpful
 Report