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jmdavis413's review against another edition
4.0
Really good historical fiction, except this one was a looooot heavier on the romance. Of course now I want to read the nonfiction "companion" to this one a whole lot more.
ljjohnson8's review against another edition
2.0
As my daughter Victoria would say: meh. Especially disappointing because I thought highly of Weir's novel of Lady Jane Grey, Innocent Traitor. The captive queen of the title is Eleanor of Acquitaine, one of the most fascinating women of all time, but Weir's portrait is surprisingly pedestrian and flat. It was well-written, however, and I liked the parts focusing on Eleanor and Henry's many children. The story of Henry and Thomas Becket was also interesting and well-told. So, it was mainly in Eleanor herself that Weir failed, and also in these terribly forced and awkward sex scenes. I'm as much a fan of a good sex scene as anyone, but these were just cringingly bad and graphic for no apparent reason. It was like some editor told Weir, "Good book, but you've got to spice it up," and this reputable historian wrote something with no skill and ease.
genius_koala's review against another edition
1.0
I'd had this no my to read list for a long time, however it was really disappointing when I finally got around to it. The writing style is awful; it almost reads like it's meant to make fun of romance writing, it's that cliché. That style of writing does not work, but particularly for a character like Eleanor of Aquitaine. Even if you want to take a fictional re-imagining of her life this book feels like has nothing to do with the woman.
charlotte_owl's review against another edition
3.0
When I started this book, I really wasn't enjoying it. There were numerous mentions of sex, and it seemed like all characters were motivated by sex and behaved very rashly. It also seemed like the book was rushing. However, as the book progressed, I started to enjoy it more. I liked learning about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and there were numerous times when I fumed over how horrid her husband was to her. I did become invested in the story, and read it relatively quickly. However, there were many times where I almost DNFed the book, which is very rare for me. Even know, after finishing the book, I feel conflicted on whether I enjoyed it or not. There are definitely parts that irritated me, but I also had a desire to see where the story went.
sianami's review against another edition
3.0
The life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her marriage to Henry II is an incredible and fascinating story. Alison Weir's reach somewhat exceeds her grasp however and I found there are issues with pacing and that her prose style is not great, though it has moments where it really rises above. However it remains a very enjoyable tale of a passionate, love/hate relationship, and mediaeval political intrigues.
(I must say I was rather shocked reading goodreads reviews where people stated they found the sex scenes unrealistic or detracting from the seriousness of Eleanor as a character. Eleanor divorced a monkish first husband to marry a much younger and more attractive man & had 8 children in 13 years. She probably enjoyed sex! And I am struck that no one criticised the numerous sex scenes Henry has as making them unable to take him seriously as a politician when he is constantly chasing women. Hmmm.)
(I must say I was rather shocked reading goodreads reviews where people stated they found the sex scenes unrealistic or detracting from the seriousness of Eleanor as a character. Eleanor divorced a monkish first husband to marry a much younger and more attractive man & had 8 children in 13 years. She probably enjoyed sex! And I am struck that no one criticised the numerous sex scenes Henry has as making them unable to take him seriously as a politician when he is constantly chasing women. Hmmm.)
_groovyginger_'s review against another edition
3.0
This was an exceptionally well-researched novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Instead of focusing on her entire life, this book focuses on Eleanor's marriage to Henry II, which at times was turbulent. I felt this novel was a little drawn out and oftentimes redundant. While reading, I thought the author could have used a little more fiction than history to enhance the story and break up the monotony. After reading her author's note explaining just exactly why she didn't do this, I understood but thought: at what point do you sacrifice entertainment for accuracy? Other historical novels stray from the truth or at least rearrange timelines, and it's something I don't have a lot of issue with, especially if sources are scarce.
Maybe I just had a few things going on in my life while I was trying to make my way through this book, but it was hard and I felt I was reading sluggishly trying to make it through to the end. Some scenes could have been cut to help the flow. I liked Eleanor and despised Henry. I liked the rich settings but after a time couldn't keep track of the constant location changes. There was good and bad in this book and overall, I didn't think it was overly special. Not that it's forgettable because I did learn a lot, but I was just not very entertained consistently throughout. Sure, there was romance at the beginning but it fizzled, just like the initial spark of this book.
Maybe I just had a few things going on in my life while I was trying to make my way through this book, but it was hard and I felt I was reading sluggishly trying to make it through to the end. Some scenes could have been cut to help the flow. I liked Eleanor and despised Henry. I liked the rich settings but after a time couldn't keep track of the constant location changes. There was good and bad in this book and overall, I didn't think it was overly special. Not that it's forgettable because I did learn a lot, but I was just not very entertained consistently throughout. Sure, there was romance at the beginning but it fizzled, just like the initial spark of this book.
liralen's review against another edition
2.0
So...I bought this at a £2 bookshop in London. Hauled it to Toronto, Oregon (and through six other states on the way), and Prague before finally getting around to finishing it on a flight to Lisbon. (I'd meant to read it in Prague, but I got 170 pages in before my motivation dried up.) Tucked it in my seat-back pocket on the plane before I disembarked...and then my seatmate, who'd spent 95% of the flight asleep and, I thought, paying zero attention, hunted me down on the airport bus shuttle to give it back. (Sigh.) So I left it somewhere he'd be unlikely to find it again—the women's bathroom. And now I am rid of the beast, finally.
This was just painful. I know Eleanor of Aquitaine has a reputation for having numerous affairs, but I loathe the habit of historical fiction about her turning everything into raunch and affairs and sexual desire. It's not a matter of prudishness (I get prudish about communal showers, but not about literary affairs)—it's that it's overdone. It's boring. And it misses the point: Eleanor of Aquitaine had a hell of a lot more to her history than who she did or didn't sleep with, and how her sexual relationship with Henry was or wasn't going. Pair that with clumsy writing (especially when it comes to dialogue tags), and I really only finished this because I'd hauled it through so many places already, and I didn't want all that effort to be for nothing.
Conceptually, there's some potentially interesting stuff here. Eleanor of Aquitaine is famed in part because, for a woman of the Middle Ages, she had an incredible amount of power. In The Captive Queen, however, that power is choked at every turn by Henry, whom she'd expected to be her equal partner. It grows old quickly, because he pretty much goes from 'I want you, I NEED you' to 'you're just a stupid woman, so go back to your childbearing' and...stays there for 400-odd pages. It ends up being a lot less compelling than it might be, because it's always clear what's going to happen: Henry's going to think A, Eleanor's going to think B, B will be the better plan, and Henry will get mad at Eleanor for daring to have an opinion and go with A. There are precious few side characters who get fully fledged personalities and character arcs, so the whole thing ends up feeling very predictable.
This was just painful. I know Eleanor of Aquitaine has a reputation for having numerous affairs, but I loathe the habit of historical fiction about her turning everything into raunch and affairs and sexual desire. It's not a matter of prudishness (I get prudish about communal showers, but not about literary affairs)—it's that it's overdone. It's boring. And it misses the point: Eleanor of Aquitaine had a hell of a lot more to her history than who she did or didn't sleep with, and how her sexual relationship with Henry was or wasn't going. Pair that with clumsy writing (especially when it comes to dialogue tags), and I really only finished this because I'd hauled it through so many places already, and I didn't want all that effort to be for nothing.
Conceptually, there's some potentially interesting stuff here. Eleanor of Aquitaine is famed in part because, for a woman of the Middle Ages, she had an incredible amount of power. In The Captive Queen, however, that power is choked at every turn by Henry, whom she'd expected to be her equal partner. It grows old quickly, because he pretty much goes from 'I want you, I NEED you' to 'you're just a stupid woman, so go back to your childbearing' and...stays there for 400-odd pages. It ends up being a lot less compelling than it might be, because it's always clear what's going to happen: Henry's going to think A, Eleanor's going to think B, B will be the better plan, and Henry will get mad at Eleanor for daring to have an opinion and go with A. There are precious few side characters who get fully fledged personalities and character arcs, so the whole thing ends up feeling very predictable.
shajila's review against another edition
3.0
The book is split into 6 parts. Once you get past the first part - shallow smut - you get into the real character and plot and there's so much! Really, really interesting! Sadly i won't reread this because of how poor (and long!) part 1 is.
But this goes really nice in hand with Devil's Consort by Anne O'Brien - that book ends (with her choosing henry as her new husband after divorcing the king of France) where this begins (with her divorce to the king of france) so together you get a much broader view of her life!
But this goes really nice in hand with Devil's Consort by Anne O'Brien - that book ends (with her choosing henry as her new husband after divorcing the king of France) where this begins (with her divorce to the king of france) so together you get a much broader view of her life!
shogins's review against another edition
3.0
Eleanor is obviously an interesting personage. I've had problems getting into historical fiction set in this era before, but this was compelling enough that I may try "A King's Ransom" by Sharon Kay Penman again.
Man all the Henrys were jerks though.
Man all the Henrys were jerks though.