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alsoannabanana's review against another edition
2.0
I read Weir's other two fiction novels (Lady Elizabeth and Innocent Traitor) previously and was prepared to enjoy Captive Queen just as much. However, this novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine dragged on for far too long and was rather dry. I could never fully get myself into it or relate to the character. Not Weir's best work. Hopefully she'll write something else soon and regain my good opinion.
goannelies's review against another edition
2.0
Eleanor, duchess of Aquitaine, is stuck in a loveless marriage with the French king. When she meets young and charismatic Henry Plantagenet, she falls in love instantly. After her divorce from Louis, she doesn’t hesitate to marry Henry. When he becomes king of England, the two of them together hold a realm from England all the way to the Spanish border. But Henry is no loyal husband and doesn’t want to share his power. Not with Eleanor, but neither with their sons. And when the cubs shall awake, rebellion looms around the corner.
I heard some rumours that a tv series about Eleanor was in the making based on this book. I’m usually no fan of Weir’s older historical fiction books (‘Innocent traitor‘ about Jane Grey being the exception) and I had heard that Captive queen wasn’t good. But I still wanted to see what kind of Eleanor is represented here, before watching the tv series.
I can already admit that I understand why people don’t like this portrayal. The book opens in the French court where Eleanor is trying to get a divorce since her husband the king doesn’t visit her bed too often, the result being only two daughters and no heir. She meets Henry Plantagenet, son of her former lover Geoffrey, count of Anjou, and instantly wants to bed him. In the first 150 pages there is sex everywhere.
Eleanor is portrayed as a sensual but also human woman. She makes mistakes, a lot of them. She’s too trustful and naively in love with her second husband. This is a refreshing take on her, but also far away from the strong and independent woman we know. We get an Eleanor making decisions based on her lust feelings rather than her wit.
Henry is at first a young and ambitious boy who adores his queen, but soon he grows into a forceful and short tempered man. The novel focuses on their relationship, with all their heights but also heavy arguments. The problem is that when at times Henry and Eleanor are not together, Weir struggles to write a story.
The writing is bad. There’s a lot of bad dialogue, too many sex scenes, strange changes in perspectives and almost no character development apart from the two main characters. During both the conflict with Becket and her imprisonment after the rebellion, Eleanor is too far away from the action and Weir has to turn to the ‘as you know Bob’ tactic.
I can’t help but compare this book to Chadwick excellent’s trilogy about Eleanor and come to the conclusion that ‘Captive queen‘ can’t live up to that. The only thing I did like is that there is no heavy focus on all of her pregnancies and births. Weir is more creative in handling all the children, although we don’t miss their conception ;).
But still, I enjoyed some parts of the story. This book is not as bad as some people say. I can handle some sex and detail. But I just couldn’t sympathize with this Eleanor as much as with Chadwick’s. Weir is not the best fiction writer. However, I did like her book about Catherine of Aragon enough, to continue the Six Tudor queens series.
Dutch review:
Eleanor is hertogin van Aquitanie en koningin van Frankrijk. Haar huwelijk is echter niet bepaald gelukkig en wanneer ze de charismatische Henry Plantagenet ontmoet, vraagt ze de scheiding aan. Niet veel later trouwt ze met Henry, die zich een jaar later koning van Engeland mag noemen. Maar Henry is allesbehalve loyaal en bereid om de macht te delen. En wanneer Eleanor's zonen ouder worden is de stap naar verraad snel gezet.
Alison Weir is het type auteur dat ik maar niet kan begrijpen. Ofwel zijn haar fictieboeken echt goed geschreven, ofwel is het gewoon slecht. Dit boek krijgt slechte reviews en ik begrijp dat wel. Al wil ik zelf minder streng zijn.
Eleanor is in dit boek wulps en verslaafd aan seks. Ze maakt heel wat fouten. Ze is daardoor heel menselijk, en minder de sterke koningin zoals we haar kennen. Maar ze is ook veel frivoler. Henry is een jonge ijdele knaap die uitgroeit tot een koppige man met een kort lontje. Dit boek focust op hun relatie en dat zit het er wel eens vaak tegenop. Maar soms zien ze elkaar maanden of jaren niet en dan was het niet echt duidelijk welk verhaal Weir wou vertellen.
Maar het is vooral de schrijfstijl die me stoorde. Het niveau was echt tenenkrullend. Heel veel slechte dialoog, seksscènes die er niet toe doen, rare perspectiefwisselingen... Op het einde als Eleanor gevangen zit, is het ook echt een beetje tell ipv show om alle feiten erdoor te krijgen.
Zonde om dit met zo'n sterke koningin te doen. Er zijn daarnaast echt wel een aantal interessante scènes en keuzes die Weir maakt. Maar daarmee is ook alles gezegd.
Benieuwd hoe ze de tv serie gaan aanpakken en stiekem hoop ik dat ze het boek niet te veel volgen qua karakters. Lees Chadwick's trilogie als je Eleanor interessant vindt, die is veel beter
I heard some rumours that a tv series about Eleanor was in the making based on this book. I’m usually no fan of Weir’s older historical fiction books (‘Innocent traitor‘ about Jane Grey being the exception) and I had heard that Captive queen wasn’t good. But I still wanted to see what kind of Eleanor is represented here, before watching the tv series.
I can already admit that I understand why people don’t like this portrayal. The book opens in the French court where Eleanor is trying to get a divorce since her husband the king doesn’t visit her bed too often, the result being only two daughters and no heir. She meets Henry Plantagenet, son of her former lover Geoffrey, count of Anjou, and instantly wants to bed him. In the first 150 pages there is sex everywhere.
Eleanor is portrayed as a sensual but also human woman. She makes mistakes, a lot of them. She’s too trustful and naively in love with her second husband. This is a refreshing take on her, but also far away from the strong and independent woman we know. We get an Eleanor making decisions based on her lust feelings rather than her wit.
Henry is at first a young and ambitious boy who adores his queen, but soon he grows into a forceful and short tempered man. The novel focuses on their relationship, with all their heights but also heavy arguments. The problem is that when at times Henry and Eleanor are not together, Weir struggles to write a story.
The writing is bad. There’s a lot of bad dialogue, too many sex scenes, strange changes in perspectives and almost no character development apart from the two main characters. During both the conflict with Becket and her imprisonment after the rebellion, Eleanor is too far away from the action and Weir has to turn to the ‘as you know Bob’ tactic.
I can’t help but compare this book to Chadwick excellent’s trilogy about Eleanor and come to the conclusion that ‘Captive queen‘ can’t live up to that. The only thing I did like is that there is no heavy focus on all of her pregnancies and births. Weir is more creative in handling all the children, although we don’t miss their conception ;).
But still, I enjoyed some parts of the story. This book is not as bad as some people say. I can handle some sex and detail. But I just couldn’t sympathize with this Eleanor as much as with Chadwick’s. Weir is not the best fiction writer. However, I did like her book about Catherine of Aragon enough, to continue the Six Tudor queens series.
Dutch review:
Eleanor is hertogin van Aquitanie en koningin van Frankrijk. Haar huwelijk is echter niet bepaald gelukkig en wanneer ze de charismatische Henry Plantagenet ontmoet, vraagt ze de scheiding aan. Niet veel later trouwt ze met Henry, die zich een jaar later koning van Engeland mag noemen. Maar Henry is allesbehalve loyaal en bereid om de macht te delen. En wanneer Eleanor's zonen ouder worden is de stap naar verraad snel gezet.
Alison Weir is het type auteur dat ik maar niet kan begrijpen. Ofwel zijn haar fictieboeken echt goed geschreven, ofwel is het gewoon slecht. Dit boek krijgt slechte reviews en ik begrijp dat wel. Al wil ik zelf minder streng zijn.
Eleanor is in dit boek wulps en verslaafd aan seks. Ze maakt heel wat fouten. Ze is daardoor heel menselijk, en minder de sterke koningin zoals we haar kennen. Maar ze is ook veel frivoler. Henry is een jonge ijdele knaap die uitgroeit tot een koppige man met een kort lontje. Dit boek focust op hun relatie en dat zit het er wel eens vaak tegenop. Maar soms zien ze elkaar maanden of jaren niet en dan was het niet echt duidelijk welk verhaal Weir wou vertellen.
Maar het is vooral de schrijfstijl die me stoorde. Het niveau was echt tenenkrullend. Heel veel slechte dialoog, seksscènes die er niet toe doen, rare perspectiefwisselingen... Op het einde als Eleanor gevangen zit, is het ook echt een beetje tell ipv show om alle feiten erdoor te krijgen.
Zonde om dit met zo'n sterke koningin te doen. Er zijn daarnaast echt wel een aantal interessante scènes en keuzes die Weir maakt. Maar daarmee is ook alles gezegd.
Benieuwd hoe ze de tv serie gaan aanpakken en stiekem hoop ik dat ze het boek niet te veel volgen qua karakters. Lees Chadwick's trilogie als je Eleanor interessant vindt, die is veel beter
empheliath's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book, but I was a little turned off by the fact that EVERY sex scandal surrounding the court of Henry II and Eleanor was included as fact in this telling. In the afterward, Weir mentions the influence on her of "The Lion in Winter", and that was definitely evident. I was surprised to find that somebody who's first vocation is as a historian relied so much on rumor and scandal in her fictionalized re-telling of Eleanor's story.
ashwise360's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sneakyfoxeh's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, a pretty awesome book. In the beginning, it was pretty slow start but then again, that was necessary to build up the back story between Eleanor and Henry. Towards the middle, it picked up dramatically and I was hooked.
I would definitely reccomend this book for anyone that loves historical novels and drama.
I would definitely reccomend this book for anyone that loves historical novels and drama.
theycallmev's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
shimauchiha's review against another edition
4.0
.چه داستان غم انگیزی و چه قدر تصور این که این اتفاقات حداقل با اندکی شباهت واقعا روزی اتفاقی افتاده اند شگفت انگیزه
با وجود حجم نسبتا زیادش به راحتی کتاب را در یک شب تمام کردم. متن روان و راحتی داشت که حس می کنم بیشتر مدیون مترجم بود تا نویسنده. احساس می کنم اگر این کتاب را به زبان اصلی خوانده بودم کم تر لذت می بردم چون به شیوه ی عجیبی نوشته شده بود. اطلاعات را بیشتر از این که به خواننده نشان دهد به او میگفت و به طرز کم و بیش ناشیانه ای زاویه دید ها را عوض می کرد. اما این ایرادات در متن ترجمه شده کم تر به چشم می آمدند و من را ازار ندادند
خواندن این کتاب را توصیه می کنم چون برای خودم حیرت انگیزه که تمام قطر این کتاب فقط به روایت یک دوره از زندگی این زن پرداخته بود و تازه با پرش های زیاد در زمان موفق شده بود داستان را روایت کند. تصور کنید این آدم چه زندگی ای داشته است که می شود از آن این همه داستان گفت. نمی دانم اگر قرار بود داستان کل زندگی اش گفته شود چند صفحه لازم بود! الینور لایق شناخته شدن است و به این خاطر هم که شده کتاب
را توصیه می کنم. قبلا از این نویسنده لیدی الیزابت را خوانده بودم که از خواندن آن هم خیلی لذت بردم ولی شاید این کتاب به مراتب برایم شگفت انگیز تر بود چرا که برخلاف ملکه الیزابت تا قبل از خواندن این کتاب اسمی از الینور داچس اکتین نشنیده بود و الان بی اندازه از این اشنایی خوشحالم
با وجود حجم نسبتا زیادش به راحتی کتاب را در یک شب تمام کردم. متن روان و راحتی داشت که حس می کنم بیشتر مدیون مترجم بود تا نویسنده. احساس می کنم اگر این کتاب را به زبان اصلی خوانده بودم کم تر لذت می بردم چون به شیوه ی عجیبی نوشته شده بود. اطلاعات را بیشتر از این که به خواننده نشان دهد به او میگفت و به طرز کم و بیش ناشیانه ای زاویه دید ها را عوض می کرد. اما این ایرادات در متن ترجمه شده کم تر به چشم می آمدند و من را ازار ندادند
خواندن این کتاب را توصیه می کنم چون برای خودم حیرت انگیزه که تمام قطر این کتاب فقط به روایت یک دوره از زندگی این زن پرداخته بود و تازه با پرش های زیاد در زمان موفق شده بود داستان را روایت کند. تصور کنید این آدم چه زندگی ای داشته است که می شود از آن این همه داستان گفت. نمی دانم اگر قرار بود داستان کل زندگی اش گفته شود چند صفحه لازم بود! الینور لایق شناخته شدن است و به این خاطر هم که شده کتاب
را توصیه می کنم. قبلا از این نویسنده لیدی الیزابت را خوانده بودم که از خواندن آن هم خیلی لذت بردم ولی شاید این کتاب به مراتب برایم شگفت انگیز تر بود چرا که برخلاف ملکه الیزابت تا قبل از خواندن این کتاب اسمی از الینور داچس اکتین نشنیده بود و الان بی اندازه از این اشنایی خوشحالم
nzoeller's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting take on Eleanor of Aquitaine, but with the usual flaw of imposing modern ideas about marriage and love onto the twelfth century.