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ailsa_r's review against another edition
5.0
I have previous enjoyed Elizabeth Chadwick's writing and this book was no exception.
The pictures painted of Eleanor's life and of a woman who was powerful in her own right at a time when woman were considered to be their husbands property was fascinating.
I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
The pictures painted of Eleanor's life and of a woman who was powerful in her own right at a time when woman were considered to be their husbands property was fascinating.
I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
lucysmith13's review against another edition
5.0
Pop Sugar Challenge 2020 prompt: Your favourite prompt from a past Pop Sugar Challenge: A book about an interesting woman (2017)
philippafrederique's review against another edition
5.0
Review originally posted at http://eatreadexplore.wordpress.com
For me this was one of the most anticipated books of 2013. After having seen the play The Lion in Winter in London in January 2012 I became very interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine. Last year I also read Alison Weir’s non-fiction work on Eleanor, which awakened this interest even further, because for a woman of her time she lead a truly remarkable life. I only wanted to read more about her, which is why I was so excited when I found out that Elizabeth Chadwick hadn’t written just one book about her, but a trilogy dedicated to the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I’d never read anything by Elizabeth Chadwick before, so that was a first, and it was also my first fictional novel about Eleanor.
The book outlived all my expectations. At times I had to slow myself down while reading it because I didn’t want it to be over too quickly. I was savouring each and every page of the book and I just loved it from beginning to end. The story starts when Eleanor, called Alienor in the book because that’s what she would have been called, is 13 years old, just before she marries Louis of France and subsequently becomes Queen. Most of this book deals with her trials and tribulations as the wife of King Louis, and her crusade to the Holy Land. She faces a lot of difficulties in her first marriage, which isn’t a happy one: Alienor and Louis are unable to get a male heir and Louis much prefers to devote his time to his faith rather than rule his country properly. Their crusade to the Holy Land turns out to be a disaster, and not long after they return they finally get papal dispensation to get their marriage annulled.
Alienor is now a free woman and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, or so she thinks. Even before her marriage is officially annulled there are already multiple suitors for her hand, and there’s even an attempt to kidnap her and force her to marry. Alienor realises she can’t remain unmarried, and eventually marries Henry of Anjou, heir to the English throne.
The book ends during the early days of Alienor’s second marriage, and her story will continue in the sequels The Winter Crown and The Autumn Throne.
I really love the way how Alienor is portrayed in this novel. At the beginning she’s rather naïve, which is natural for a girl of only 13, but very soon after her marriage you can see how she’s beginning to change. She grows up very quickly, and she’s very strong-willed and opinionated. A lot of people have called her a woman “ahead of her time”, though Chadwick disagrees with this and calls her “a woman of her time” which I’m inclined to agree with. You can tell that Alienor was a strong, independent woman, and had she lived at a later date she would have been amazing. But as it stands she lived in the 12th century and, as much as it probably frustrated her, she was only a woman and therefore very restricted in what she could and couldn’t do.
The book often shows these moments of frustration when Alienor feels that she should be allowed to rule instead of her husband because he’s a very incompetent ruler, and also when she realises that she has to remarry because as long as she remains unmarried her life is in danger.
The Summer Queen really sucked me right in from the start, and refused to let me go until I had finished the last page. I can safely say that it’s one of my favourite reads of the year, and I may even go as far as to call it one of the best historical fiction novels I’ve ever read.
(And can I have the next book now please?)
For me this was one of the most anticipated books of 2013. After having seen the play The Lion in Winter in London in January 2012 I became very interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine. Last year I also read Alison Weir’s non-fiction work on Eleanor, which awakened this interest even further, because for a woman of her time she lead a truly remarkable life. I only wanted to read more about her, which is why I was so excited when I found out that Elizabeth Chadwick hadn’t written just one book about her, but a trilogy dedicated to the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I’d never read anything by Elizabeth Chadwick before, so that was a first, and it was also my first fictional novel about Eleanor.
The book outlived all my expectations. At times I had to slow myself down while reading it because I didn’t want it to be over too quickly. I was savouring each and every page of the book and I just loved it from beginning to end. The story starts when Eleanor, called Alienor in the book because that’s what she would have been called, is 13 years old, just before she marries Louis of France and subsequently becomes Queen. Most of this book deals with her trials and tribulations as the wife of King Louis, and her crusade to the Holy Land. She faces a lot of difficulties in her first marriage, which isn’t a happy one: Alienor and Louis are unable to get a male heir and Louis much prefers to devote his time to his faith rather than rule his country properly. Their crusade to the Holy Land turns out to be a disaster, and not long after they return they finally get papal dispensation to get their marriage annulled.
Alienor is now a free woman and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, or so she thinks. Even before her marriage is officially annulled there are already multiple suitors for her hand, and there’s even an attempt to kidnap her and force her to marry. Alienor realises she can’t remain unmarried, and eventually marries Henry of Anjou, heir to the English throne.
The book ends during the early days of Alienor’s second marriage, and her story will continue in the sequels The Winter Crown and The Autumn Throne.
I really love the way how Alienor is portrayed in this novel. At the beginning she’s rather naïve, which is natural for a girl of only 13, but very soon after her marriage you can see how she’s beginning to change. She grows up very quickly, and she’s very strong-willed and opinionated. A lot of people have called her a woman “ahead of her time”, though Chadwick disagrees with this and calls her “a woman of her time” which I’m inclined to agree with. You can tell that Alienor was a strong, independent woman, and had she lived at a later date she would have been amazing. But as it stands she lived in the 12th century and, as much as it probably frustrated her, she was only a woman and therefore very restricted in what she could and couldn’t do.
The book often shows these moments of frustration when Alienor feels that she should be allowed to rule instead of her husband because he’s a very incompetent ruler, and also when she realises that she has to remarry because as long as she remains unmarried her life is in danger.
The Summer Queen really sucked me right in from the start, and refused to let me go until I had finished the last page. I can safely say that it’s one of my favourite reads of the year, and I may even go as far as to call it one of the best historical fiction novels I’ve ever read.
(And can I have the next book now please?)
lecrockett's review against another edition
3.0
About two months ago I took a poll on IG and asked which medieval/Plantagenet-set novel I should read from a stack I provided. IG voted for The Summer Queen. This was for the librarian book club called Genre Study, whose theme for 2020 was historical fiction, and March's theme was medieval/Plantagenet/plague (...oh wait...). Though we couldn’t meet in person in March, and though our discussion is pushed to May (though that may also be pushed again), I still wanted to read my chosen book.
The Summer Queen is the first of a trilogy on Eleanor of Aquitaine, with this one following her marriage (Louis VII), annulment, and early part of her second marriage (Henry II) as Queen of France and then Queen of England. Biographical fiction is difficult to do, especially this far back in time, because you have to make the modern reader interested in the person, their life, and their situations. Thankfully Chadwick does an excellent job of writing historical fiction that’s engaging with the modern reader, rather than feeling like a slog.
That said, this modern feminist reader was so frustrated with Eleanor’s limitations and powers––she could scheme, plot, and plant ideas to make men think they came up with it, but the execution was so slow-going I know I'd personally run out of patience if I were in Eleanor's shoes––and so frustrated with the Church––the Crusades still baffle me––and I just...lost it with Louis. What a dick. And poor Eleanor was married to that man-child for so long. Henry was a relief, but not by much. The novel ends with them sailing to England to claim the throne. I guess, in short, Chadwick did an excellent job of expressing those frustrations to a modern reader without making Eleanor's character feel anachronistic.
There are, I’ve been told, better/more engaging narratives out there of Eleanor’s life (particularly by Alison Weir). I’m probably going to pick up the rest of this trilogy since I want to see her children rise up against Henry, but I’ll also try Weir too!
The Summer Queen is the first of a trilogy on Eleanor of Aquitaine, with this one following her marriage (Louis VII), annulment, and early part of her second marriage (Henry II) as Queen of France and then Queen of England. Biographical fiction is difficult to do, especially this far back in time, because you have to make the modern reader interested in the person, their life, and their situations. Thankfully Chadwick does an excellent job of writing historical fiction that’s engaging with the modern reader, rather than feeling like a slog.
That said, this modern feminist reader was so frustrated with Eleanor’s limitations and powers––she could scheme, plot, and plant ideas to make men think they came up with it, but the execution was so slow-going I know I'd personally run out of patience if I were in Eleanor's shoes––and so frustrated with the Church––the Crusades still baffle me––and I just...lost it with Louis. What a dick. And poor Eleanor was married to that man-child for so long. Henry was a relief, but not by much. The novel ends with them sailing to England to claim the throne. I guess, in short, Chadwick did an excellent job of expressing those frustrations to a modern reader without making Eleanor's character feel anachronistic.
There are, I’ve been told, better/more engaging narratives out there of Eleanor’s life (particularly by Alison Weir). I’m probably going to pick up the rest of this trilogy since I want to see her children rise up against Henry, but I’ll also try Weir too!
halkid2's review against another edition
4.0
I'd be embarrassed to admit how many historical novels I've read about Eleanor of Aquitaine. She intrigues me. And this is one of the best I've come across.
What sets Chadwick apart from other historical novelists is her imagination and ability to make her characters so believable, even contemporary. So much so that the historical events become secondary to the narrative. For example, she writes about a conversation between Eleanor and her second husband, Henry II of England as they walk about the grounds of Fontevrault Abbey, admiring how peaceful the setting is and how it would be a good place to be buried. Their dialog is ordinary, but it's the kind of conversation a husband and wife might have. And of course, that is where both of them wind up buried. It's how Chadwick helps me get lost in the history and feel as though I am getting to know these fascinating historical figures.
This is the first of a trilogy Chadwick is writing about Eleanor of Aquitaine. This one covers her childhood as the rich heiress to the Duke of Aquitaine, his early death which prompts Eleanor's marriage at 13 to the man who soon becomes King of France, the disintegration of that marriage, going on Crusade, and eventually meeting Henry, Duke of Normandy who soon becomes husband #2 and King of England. What a story! Which is why I'm eagerly looking forward to book #2, due out in the US in September 2015..
What sets Chadwick apart from other historical novelists is her imagination and ability to make her characters so believable, even contemporary. So much so that the historical events become secondary to the narrative. For example, she writes about a conversation between Eleanor and her second husband, Henry II of England as they walk about the grounds of Fontevrault Abbey, admiring how peaceful the setting is and how it would be a good place to be buried. Their dialog is ordinary, but it's the kind of conversation a husband and wife might have. And of course, that is where both of them wind up buried. It's how Chadwick helps me get lost in the history and feel as though I am getting to know these fascinating historical figures.
This is the first of a trilogy Chadwick is writing about Eleanor of Aquitaine. This one covers her childhood as the rich heiress to the Duke of Aquitaine, his early death which prompts Eleanor's marriage at 13 to the man who soon becomes King of France, the disintegration of that marriage, going on Crusade, and eventually meeting Henry, Duke of Normandy who soon becomes husband #2 and King of England. What a story! Which is why I'm eagerly looking forward to book #2, due out in the US in September 2015..
jacquihertz's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator was excellent, and the writing itself was moving and beautiful. I ended up buying the trilogy for my Kindle to enjoy in that format as well. Will definitely be continuing to listen to the next two books in the series. Everything I've read by Elizabeth Chadwick has been great so far, and this has been my favorite. She really knows how to bring this era to life in vivid detail!
difficultwomanreads's review against another edition
4.0
Eleanor of Aquitaine--here called by her proper name, Alienor--is a difficult figure to write. I think it's because we tend to believe that a strong woman of any era would be just like the "strong women" of our era. Authors either turn Eleanor/Alienor into a 21st century grrrl power heroine in medieval garb, or they go in the complete opposite direction. The second Alienor is a breathless, swooning object of desire, totally misunderstood and unfairly portrayed by historians and chroniclers.
"The Summer Queen" gives us what I think is the first halfway accurate depiction of Alienor's personality. She's strong, to be sure, and independent--for a woman of her time. She's a leader, but she's still a woman; and in a time when women were severely undervalued.
Another piece of ground Chadwick hits that's often overlooked in retellings of Alienor's life is her first marriage. Alienor is remembered so often as an English queen that we often forget she was not only a French native, but the one-time queen of France. The best part here is that Chadwick doesn't dismiss Alienor's marriage to King Louis as bad from the start. Despite his religious hangups, how could Louis not be attracted to the beautiful, fiery Alienor? It's only as he grows older and more fanatical that he turns against his wife, and she him. It was kind of refreshing to see the union portrayed as something that fell apart over time, rather than being doomed from the start.
The only thing I can really critique is that some Chadwick's decisions were a little... eh. She makes one major plotline happen on the basis of some historical guesswork on her part. Not only does it take away from what could have been an even juicier storyline--it just doesn't seem likely. But it doesn't detract from the book as a whole, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
"The Summer Queen" gives us what I think is the first halfway accurate depiction of Alienor's personality. She's strong, to be sure, and independent--for a woman of her time. She's a leader, but she's still a woman; and in a time when women were severely undervalued.
Another piece of ground Chadwick hits that's often overlooked in retellings of Alienor's life is her first marriage. Alienor is remembered so often as an English queen that we often forget she was not only a French native, but the one-time queen of France. The best part here is that Chadwick doesn't dismiss Alienor's marriage to King Louis as bad from the start. Despite his religious hangups, how could Louis not be attracted to the beautiful, fiery Alienor? It's only as he grows older and more fanatical that he turns against his wife, and she him. It was kind of refreshing to see the union portrayed as something that fell apart over time, rather than being doomed from the start.
The only thing I can really critique is that some Chadwick's decisions were a little... eh. She makes one major plotline happen on the basis of some historical guesswork on her part. Not only does it take away from what could have been an even juicier storyline--it just doesn't seem likely. But it doesn't detract from the book as a whole, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
loreofthebooks's review against another edition
4.0
I love historical fiction, but recently I've found a lot of it unbearable, such as anything by Phillipa Gregory. However, I do like Alison Weir.
I read this series last year, and because I couldn't remember if I liked it or not (apparently I didn't add a rating) I reread it this past week or so.
I loved this book, I enjoyed the compromise between history and known fact and how Chadwick manages to give Alienor a personality. And she did it deftly -- as much as I love strong women in history, I also like it accurate, so Chadwick found a great balance between the two. Especially since history can be light on what was actually going on.
Alienor was someone you felt for and rooted for, and no matter what you knew was going to happen you kept wanting her to win.
I read this series last year, and because I couldn't remember if I liked it or not (apparently I didn't add a rating) I reread it this past week or so.
I loved this book, I enjoyed the compromise between history and known fact and how Chadwick manages to give Alienor a personality. And she did it deftly -- as much as I love strong women in history, I also like it accurate, so Chadwick found a great balance between the two. Especially since history can be light on what was actually going on.
Alienor was someone you felt for and rooted for, and no matter what you knew was going to happen you kept wanting her to win.
yaelm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5