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jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
Born into a life of wealth and privilege, young Alienor of Aquitaine is destined for greatness. However when her father dies prematurely the 13 year becomes the heiress to a vast fortune and is married off to Louis of France. Louis was destined for the Church but the death of his brother meant that he became King of France, however Louis is influenced by ascetic churchmen and this leads to conflict in his marriage to Alienor. Growing to dislike one another the two struggle with their marriage.
The story of Eleanor of Aquitaine is very well-known and has been told many times both as fact and fiction. However her early life is less well covered on the fictional front and in the first book of a planned trilogy Chadwick seeks to address this. In common with most medieval marriages the marriage of Louis and Alienor was dynastic move rather than a love match and, as often is the case, in an age where divorce was unheard of the getout was annulment. The excuse given was consanguinity but given that all the royal houses intermarried this was impossible to avoid. Louis wanted a pious, compliant wife to give him sons, Alienor was too passionate and quite probably his intellectual superior. Whilst much of this book is complete fiction it is backed up by strong research therefore the known facts are not messed with and the day to day life of Alienor is pretty accurate. It is only the emotional parts and the dialogue that are pure fiction. Whilst Chadwick is a writer who does play to the very romanticised end of historical fiction she is a strong writer with a good ear for dialogue and that is what makes this a very readable book.
The story of Eleanor of Aquitaine is very well-known and has been told many times both as fact and fiction. However her early life is less well covered on the fictional front and in the first book of a planned trilogy Chadwick seeks to address this. In common with most medieval marriages the marriage of Louis and Alienor was dynastic move rather than a love match and, as often is the case, in an age where divorce was unheard of the getout was annulment. The excuse given was consanguinity but given that all the royal houses intermarried this was impossible to avoid. Louis wanted a pious, compliant wife to give him sons, Alienor was too passionate and quite probably his intellectual superior. Whilst much of this book is complete fiction it is backed up by strong research therefore the known facts are not messed with and the day to day life of Alienor is pretty accurate. It is only the emotional parts and the dialogue that are pure fiction. Whilst Chadwick is a writer who does play to the very romanticised end of historical fiction she is a strong writer with a good ear for dialogue and that is what makes this a very readable book.
slb80's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nextfavoritebook's review against another edition
This book was really well written, but SO LONG. I just never could finish it.
mum2m1l2c3p4's review against another edition
5.0
Really fascinating. I love learning about earlier monarchs, and Ms Chadwick's take on Eleanor's story is quite realized with her research.
zipperhead's review against another edition
3.0
An ok book. It would drag along for a bit then pick up with some fast pace. Only to revert back to dragging along.
giovannadevito00's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kimberwood's review against another edition
5.0
I love a good historical fiction, especially one focused on a strong queen! I didn't know anything about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and obviously this is a fictitious account of her life, but it was a great read nonetheless. It's been a while since I dove into a good series on royal history (my all time favorite wheelhouse,) and so I'm excited to continue with the next book and keep learning about this incredible woman of history.
mellanclear's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
dani_sherlock's review against another edition
3.0
I had high hopes for this book and sadly it did not live up to expectations. The book was well researched and I also appreciated that the author explained in the afterword where she had deviated from historical facts and for what reasons. I enjoyed the pacing of this book. These two aspects meant that I did enjoy the book overall however...
I felt that the writing was full of clichés which really detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Phrases such as "made her feel bright inside her heart" were jarring. This also made the characters lack authenticity. I found the characters were also caricatured; they also didn't much over the course of the story.
I was looking for a new historical novelist to read and might give one more a try but this one wasn't for me.
I felt that the writing was full of clichés which really detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Phrases such as "made her feel bright inside her heart" were jarring. This also made the characters lack authenticity. I found the characters were also caricatured; they also didn't much over the course of the story.
I was looking for a new historical novelist to read and might give one more a try but this one wasn't for me.