The Guise in Europe is a collection of essays that span almost two centuries of the Guise's involvement in European politics from the elevation of Claude de Lorraine to the title of duke of Guise, to the death of his great-great-granddaughter, Marie, in 1688. It includes essays by historians, art historians and literary scholars and offers a breadth of different interpretations of the Guise's self-fashioning in art and literature as well as an analysis of the range of Guise activity during this tumultuous period. As the title suggests, the aspirations, representations and memory of the Guise, the editors argue, is as important as the reality of their mixed achievements. These range from the heroic, in the case of Claude de Lorraine, to the ridiculous, in the case of the Neapolitan adventures of Henri ii, fifth duke of Guise, via the ignominious, with Henri i's involvement in the Holy Catholic League. As Stuart Carroll argued in Martyrs and murderers, the chequered reputation of the Guise can be explained in part by the breadth of their ambitions that spanned the whole of Europe and not just France. The Guise in Europe is a reminder of the dynasty's involvement in French, Spanish, but also Italian, imperial and Scottish politics, sometimes in the service of the kings of France, as the dukes always made sure to emphasise, or not. The collection opens with a discussion of the Guise's crusading credentials by Robert Sturges: the Guise claim to descend from Godefroy de Bouillon was an essential component of their self-fashioning and formed part of their family history and mythology throughout the period. The penultimate chapter, by Penny Richards, explores how this legacy was passed down to posterity and is still celebrated at their castle of Joinville, as well as how the double murder of the Guise brothers at Blois in 1588 is commemorated to this day. Marjorie Meiss-Even and David Taylor, discussing the Italian taste of the sixteenth-century dukes and Van Dyck's portrait of Henri ii in their respective chapters, both explore the use of material culture by the Guise to broadcast a certain image of themselves when attending court, whether in France or in exile in the Netherlands. Indeed, as is made clear in the chapters by Michèle Benaiteau, Silvana D'Alessio and Charles Gregory, the reputation and appearance of Henri ii, fifth duke of Guise, was key to his pursuit of the Guise's rêve italien, irrespective of his military and diplomatic shortcomings in his quest for the Neapolitan throne. The Guise's formidable women are also given their due in a chapter by Jonathan Spangler comparing the beleaguered mother of the said duke, with the regency of Marie de’ Medici and Anne of Austria. Finally, the chapter by Jessica Munns includes a discussion of the portrayal of another Guise woman, Marie Stuart, as well as of other famous or infamous Guises in British drama from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Together with Penny Richards's chapter about memory, this final chapter offers a rare insight in the longevity and posterity of myths and legends that were either promulgated by the Guise or by their many enemies. The book is richly illustrated with a colour insert which features paintings, monuments and engravings that were either commissioned by the Guise or erected posthumously. In this respect it is a shame that the collection does not include a discussion of The triumph of the eucharist enamel commissioned by Cardinal Charles de Lorraine that is now part of the Frick collection in New York. Other than Robert Sturges's discussion of Henri i's pursuit of a heavenly Jerusalem during the wars of religion, the religious reputation of the Guise is not particularly well represented in the collection. This is perhaps a deliberate decision on the part of the volume's editors who wanted to offer another facet of the Guise than the one that they are most commonly associated with, namely their alleged fanaticism, but is strange, given their legacy. The volume should be praised for its ambition and scope: to discuss the fortunes of one of Europe's most powerful and prestigious aristocratic families from the point of view of different disciplines over two centuries. The Guise in Europe is a valuable addition to the historiography surrounding the Guise and offers insights into their legacy that have been neglected until now.