I was wondering if I had ordered some Mills And Boon nonsense instead of an Alison Weir book. We know that Eleanor and Henry's relationship was based on love and passion, but we don't need it pushed in our faces over and over again. First of all, there is too much emphasis on sex, and after a while it gets VERY tedious. I have always been a fan of Alison Weir's work, but alas, this pile of nonsense belongs in the bin.
Shocking and moving in places, you will definitely shed some tears along the way.įinally, I enjoyed the deeper messages within this book - passionate love cannot last, people change over time, the bonds between a mother and her children may vary from one child to another, and forgiveness is always the right choice, because without it, bitterness will eat away at any happiness remaining. The fact that she survived into her 80s, after 11 pregnancies, is also pretty mind-blowing.Ī really well-crafted book, clearly a labour of love. Remember this was the 12th Century, no high speed trains back then. I ended up admiring her greatly, not least because of the huge distances she travelled during her life, constantly moving from England to France, from palace to castle, either on horseback or in a litter. The relationships between Eleanor and her many children are particularly well represented, also the passionate nature of the woman and her lust for life. Loads of historical detail, very convincing character portrayals, and a well-drawn picture of a marriage in tatters make this novel a rewarding read. The book covers all the rest of her life, her many pregnancies, and the decline of her marriage from a passionate, all-consuming love affair to a bitter power struggle which continues for years, with the inheritance of the royal children providing the board for the chess-like game that Henry and Eleanor play with each other. Married first to the King of France, after that union is annulled, Eleanor quickly becomes the wife of the charismatic Henry II, a volatile man with an insatiable appetite for women. So, from the bare bones of the biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the author has created a wonderful portrait of this amazing woman, and her complicated life.
I usually read Tudor novels, so this was new ground for me, but I learned a lot along the way, which, I think, is part of Weir's motive for creating these historical tales which are based on her own meticulous research. It requires your concentration and commitment for 2 or 3 days, if you are really to get into the swing of the narrative. Well, you will need to set aside time to read this novel, that's for sure.
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