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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
2.0
I loved Eleanor of Aquitaine the first time I saw Katharine Hepburn portray her on the big screen. I also have enjoyed just about every Alison Weir book, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. However, I did not enjoy this portrayal of the queen. It was just an okay imagining of what her life was like.
gfmatt's review against another edition
2.0
The last third of the book slowed down a lot, but I suppose that is to be expected since the last third was mostly about Eleanor's imprisonment by Henry. The part of her life after her release upon Henry's death was skimmed over, then she dies and the book ends in just a few pages. Rather disappointing, but I was getting a bit bored with the book by then.
cathybruce208's review against another edition
4.0
So far, it is very interesting. Two larger than life characters in love with each other, but also pitted against each other. Already know the history, but it's easy to see this won't end well.
I finished the book and I really enjoyed it. It was satisfying. It really made a difference to me that this book is as historically accurate as Ms. Weir could make it. Henry's infidelity was unbelievable, but it really happened. Their family life made today's soap operas seem tame and uninspired.
Reading about Eleanor's life, with its ups and downs, allies and antagonists (often the same person at different times!) made me realize how artificial some fiction can be. Too much fiction wraps up all the loose ends by the last page and each character has a well-defined story arc. Let's face it. No one is right or wrong all of the time (even Henry), and sometimes good intentions are stymied by people or circumstances beyond our control.
We all like to think of ourselves as the hero of our own story, but of course life isn't that tidy. We do the best we can with the tools life gives us. Eleanor's life wasn't all triumph or all tragedy. I like the image of her near the end, older and wiser, honed by the experiences of her life, but finally at peace. We should all be so lucky.
I finished the book and I really enjoyed it. It was satisfying. It really made a difference to me that this book is as historically accurate as Ms. Weir could make it. Henry's infidelity was unbelievable, but it really happened. Their family life made today's soap operas seem tame and uninspired.
Reading about Eleanor's life, with its ups and downs, allies and antagonists (often the same person at different times!) made me realize how artificial some fiction can be. Too much fiction wraps up all the loose ends by the last page and each character has a well-defined story arc. Let's face it. No one is right or wrong all of the time (even Henry), and sometimes good intentions are stymied by people or circumstances beyond our control.
We all like to think of ourselves as the hero of our own story, but of course life isn't that tidy. We do the best we can with the tools life gives us. Eleanor's life wasn't all triumph or all tragedy. I like the image of her near the end, older and wiser, honed by the experiences of her life, but finally at peace. We should all be so lucky.
marissaofyork's review against another edition
5.0
Possibly Alison Weir’s best novel of this genre. Superb.
ameliajasmine24's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
neonandpearls's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
suzemo's review against another edition
2.0
Let's call this historical-ish.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was amazeballs, was made boring as hell for more than half of the book. This intelligent, strong, feisty twice-queen apparently spent a lot of time being sex crazed and thinking of only (tedious) sex with whatever man she could get near. Her motivations being squarely housed between her legs downplayed her accomplishments and abilities by quite a bit.
When she got tired of her philandering husband (and bearing his children), she got a little more interesting, but not by much. The book effectively ended with Henry's death, everything else in her life made into an epilogue.
The sex was explicit, and yet boring. And a chore to read through.
I was disappointed. I really liked Weir's Innocent Traitor and heard good things about The Lady Elizabeth. I expected this respected historian to put another good showing in for this book. Instead it was boring and tedious.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was amazeballs, was made boring as hell for more than half of the book. This intelligent, strong, feisty twice-queen apparently spent a lot of time being sex crazed and thinking of only (tedious) sex with whatever man she could get near. Her motivations being squarely housed between her legs downplayed her accomplishments and abilities by quite a bit.
When she got tired of her philandering husband (and bearing his children), she got a little more interesting, but not by much. The book effectively ended with Henry's death, everything else in her life made into an epilogue.
The sex was explicit, and yet boring. And a chore to read through.
I was disappointed. I really liked Weir's Innocent Traitor and heard good things about The Lady Elizabeth. I expected this respected historian to put another good showing in for this book. Instead it was boring and tedious.
jinny89's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars, rounded up!
This is my second Alison Weir book. I loved her first one, Innocent Traitor, on Lady Jane Grey and was very excited to read more of her works. Captive Queen is about Eleanor of Aquitaine, who, despite my limited knowledge on her, is a favourite Queen of mine from history. This book has its flaws, but I thought overall it was quite well done and I was pretty addicted to reading it. The book starts off a bit slow, but builds up increasingly. By the middle of the book, I couldn’t put it down at all.
Captive Queen begins when Eleanor is almost thirty years old, beginning with her failure of a marriage to King Louis of France. Eleanor is a beautiful, headstrong Queen with a high sex drive; unfortunately, her husband is so pious that Eleanor practically needs to beg him to come to bed with her, for the sake of an heir at least. When Eleanor lays her eyes on young Henry of Anjou (future King Henry of England), eleven years her junior, she is instantly attracted — and so is he. Daringly, Eleanor arranges for her marriage to Louis to become annulled and before anyone can say anything, she is wed to Henry. Their relationship is extremely passionate, as Henry shares the same sexual appetite as her and together, they eventually come to have eight children.
However, as the years go on, Eleanor and Henry’s relationship begins to break down. Though they can’t get enough of one another in the bedroom, outside they are butting heads politically over land and over their children. Finding out about Henry’s faithlessness also drives the wedge deeper between them. When Eleanor’s sons revolt against their father, Eleanor can’t help but side with her sons, a decision that will cost her her freedom.
As I mentioned earlier, the book begins a bit on the slow side. I still liked it, but it wasn’t anything too impressive. I read some reviews where people were unhappy with how much sex Eleanor and Henry had in the book, but that didn’t bother me one bit. I mean, they were both known to be quite into sex, it’s kind of hard to leave that out. However, I do agree that the beginning of the book seemed to be overly dominated with sex scenes and sexual-related scenes and the like. I guess it just drove home how much of Eleanor and Henry’s relationship was built upon pure, unrestrained lust — and unfortunately, lust doesn’t last.
What I loved was reading about Eleanor and Henry’s relationship dissolving. In some ways, this book isn’t really about just Eleanor, but rather, Eleanor and Henry. They couldn’t agree on so many things outside of the bedroom. Henry wanted things one way, Eleanor wanted things another way. Eleanor, who was quite an intelligent woman herself, resented the fact that Henry technically had control of her lands as her husband, even though none of her vassals liked Henry. She would try to persuade Henry to let her handle her own vassals since they like her more, but Henry is too prideful, too “manly” to let a woman handle his affairs. Then there was also Becket, Henry’s new BFF, who came between Eleanor and Henry’s relationship even more. She hated that she wasn’t the first person Henry would turn to for advice anymore. When their children grew older, she sided with her sons who felt their father was hogging all the power, which of course, drove Eleanor and Henry apart even more. As morbid as it sounds, I loved reading about their marriage and relationship falling apart. It was exciting! Dramatic!
I loved this book a lot! No, it’s not perfect — I do wish the author focused a bit more on Eleanor’s children, specifically her sons — but it’s a great book on its own. Whether you are knowledgeable about Eleanor’s life or not, I think many people will find this book quite exciting to read.
This is my second Alison Weir book. I loved her first one, Innocent Traitor, on Lady Jane Grey and was very excited to read more of her works. Captive Queen is about Eleanor of Aquitaine, who, despite my limited knowledge on her, is a favourite Queen of mine from history. This book has its flaws, but I thought overall it was quite well done and I was pretty addicted to reading it. The book starts off a bit slow, but builds up increasingly. By the middle of the book, I couldn’t put it down at all.
Captive Queen begins when Eleanor is almost thirty years old, beginning with her failure of a marriage to King Louis of France. Eleanor is a beautiful, headstrong Queen with a high sex drive; unfortunately, her husband is so pious that Eleanor practically needs to beg him to come to bed with her, for the sake of an heir at least. When Eleanor lays her eyes on young Henry of Anjou (future King Henry of England), eleven years her junior, she is instantly attracted — and so is he. Daringly, Eleanor arranges for her marriage to Louis to become annulled and before anyone can say anything, she is wed to Henry. Their relationship is extremely passionate, as Henry shares the same sexual appetite as her and together, they eventually come to have eight children.
However, as the years go on, Eleanor and Henry’s relationship begins to break down. Though they can’t get enough of one another in the bedroom, outside they are butting heads politically over land and over their children. Finding out about Henry’s faithlessness also drives the wedge deeper between them. When Eleanor’s sons revolt against their father, Eleanor can’t help but side with her sons, a decision that will cost her her freedom.
As I mentioned earlier, the book begins a bit on the slow side. I still liked it, but it wasn’t anything too impressive. I read some reviews where people were unhappy with how much sex Eleanor and Henry had in the book, but that didn’t bother me one bit. I mean, they were both known to be quite into sex, it’s kind of hard to leave that out. However, I do agree that the beginning of the book seemed to be overly dominated with sex scenes and sexual-related scenes and the like. I guess it just drove home how much of Eleanor and Henry’s relationship was built upon pure, unrestrained lust — and unfortunately, lust doesn’t last.
What I loved was reading about Eleanor and Henry’s relationship dissolving. In some ways, this book isn’t really about just Eleanor, but rather, Eleanor and Henry. They couldn’t agree on so many things outside of the bedroom. Henry wanted things one way, Eleanor wanted things another way. Eleanor, who was quite an intelligent woman herself, resented the fact that Henry technically had control of her lands as her husband, even though none of her vassals liked Henry. She would try to persuade Henry to let her handle her own vassals since they like her more, but Henry is too prideful, too “manly” to let a woman handle his affairs. Then there was also Becket, Henry’s new BFF, who came between Eleanor and Henry’s relationship even more. She hated that she wasn’t the first person Henry would turn to for advice anymore. When their children grew older, she sided with her sons who felt their father was hogging all the power, which of course, drove Eleanor and Henry apart even more. As morbid as it sounds, I loved reading about their marriage and relationship falling apart. It was exciting! Dramatic!
I loved this book a lot! No, it’s not perfect — I do wish the author focused a bit more on Eleanor’s children, specifically her sons — but it’s a great book on its own. Whether you are knowledgeable about Eleanor’s life or not, I think many people will find this book quite exciting to read.