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A review by liralen
To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Christy English
3.0
So that was a fun read.
I don't read much historical fiction, and I knew absolutely nothing about Eleanor of Aquitaine prior to reading this book (so I learned a lot, especially since I kept going "Really?" and pulling up Wikipedia), so I didn't really know what to expect. It was great, though, to read about a strong -- and ambitious -- woman who is willing to do what it takes to achieve her goals.
Two quibbles: first, the romance. Frankly, I have no idea whether or not the real Eleanor of Aquitaine had affairs, although it's certainly possible. Obviously she had a thing going on with Henry at some point prior to her annulment, but her other affairs in this book felt a little forced in for the sake of having sex in the book. I suppose the romance qualifies the book as a historical romance, so it may have been written in with an eye to marketing, but it didn't feel entirely true to the story. ()
The other quibble is just that I wished the book had covered her marriage to Henry as well -- so perhaps not much of a complaint, because I would happily have kept reading! From the things I read online while/after reading this book, it looks like she continued to lead a seriously impressive -- by those standards or today's standards -- life with all sorts of book-worthy drama. (I mean, come on now. Is that not kind of fantastic?)
Edited to add: Yes, eventually I realised that this is book 2, and that English has written another book about the later years. Whoops.
I don't read much historical fiction, and I knew absolutely nothing about Eleanor of Aquitaine prior to reading this book (so I learned a lot, especially since I kept going "Really?" and pulling up Wikipedia), so I didn't really know what to expect. It was great, though, to read about a strong -- and ambitious -- woman who is willing to do what it takes to achieve her goals.
Two quibbles: first, the romance. Frankly, I have no idea whether or not the real Eleanor of Aquitaine had affairs, although it's certainly possible. Obviously she had a thing going on with Henry at some point prior to her annulment, but her other affairs in this book felt a little forced in for the sake of having sex in the book. I suppose the romance qualifies the book as a historical romance, so it may have been written in with an eye to marketing, but it didn't feel entirely true to the story. (
Spoiler
The thing with Geoffrey de Rancon? She knows that their entire camp, including people who really don't like her, will find out, and not only does she not care -- stupid, when you're married to a man with a whole lot of power -- nothing ever comes of it, which seems a bit unlikely.The other quibble is just that I wished the book had covered her marriage to Henry as well -- so perhaps not much of a complaint, because I would happily have kept reading! From the things I read online while/after reading this book, it looks like she continued to lead a seriously impressive -- by those standards or today's standards -- life with all sorts of book-worthy drama. (I mean, come on now.
Spoiler
Two men tried to kidnap and marry her; she married Henry against his family's wishes; Henry became King of England and she became Queen; Henry was entirely unfaithful; Eleanor was imprisoned for supporting her son's rebellion against her husband...Edited to add: Yes, eventually I realised that this is book 2, and that English has written another book about the later years. Whoops.