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Eleanor of Aquitaine A Life Ballantine Reader Circle Alison Weir Books

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Eleanor of Aquitaine A Life Ballantine Reader Circle Alison Weir Books

As others - and the author herself - acknowledge, much of this book is history of the late 12th century (and a bit of the 13th). That's because the subject, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a women, and thus, in the context of the time, not worth a lot of attention in the records kept then. She lived a long time, she was queen (twice), and dowager queen for a time after that, so there are fiscal records that give some hints as to her life, which is far more than is available for most other women of the time.

But despite the scarcity of data on her life itself, this book was well worth my time reading it for two reasons: (1) the history of the era, which is a large part of my reason for reading biography in the first place, and (2) the care the author takes to distinguish known fact from speculation and myth.


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Eleanor of Aquitaine A Life Ballantine Reader Circle Alison Weir Books Reviews

I downloaded this biography after visiting the Abbey of Fontevrault in the Loire Valley in France. The Abbey has a 1,000- year history and was closely associated with Eleanor, her husband Henry II and Richard Lionheart, one of her sons. Ms. Weir did extensive research, and since so little was written about women in the 12th century, even a queen, the biography is a very well written history of Eleanor and the men in her life; King Louis of France, her first husband, and Henry II King of England, her second. These were ruthless men, and Eleanor must have been a woman to reckon with herself. She went on crusade with the first husband and in her seventies rode to the Pyrenees and across France and Italy to Sicily. What a woman! I found it fascinating and very well done. Eleanor lived the last years of her life at Fontevrault, and her effigy and those of Henry, Richard Lionheart and Isabelle, the wife of her son John are all in the abbey church.
What a thrill to follow Eleanor’s life trajectory in a time when women couldn’t be conceived to have leadership traits. Yet lead she did and she lived a life full of hardship and adventures, making it to a ripe old age by today’s standards. The author does an excellent job with objectivity, dismissing many of the fantastical fictions with facts and, yet, keeps the story interesting. Because the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine IS interesting and, even now, inspiring for the evident intelligence, resilience, and spirit she possessed. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history and looking for examples of early female leadership.
In an age of fluff and "magical" thinking, it is refreshing to find an author who searches out contemporary sources to the subject. An author who does a balanced and thoughtful treatment of Eleanor. She wasn't all good, she wasn't all bad but she was an amazing woman of her age. There is an amazing amount of history in this book that I found added tremendously to why Eleanor did what she did.
Katherine Hepburn was one of my ultimate favorite actresses, from Hollywood's Golden Years. Her portrail of Eleanor of Aquitaine, in the movie version of The Lion in Winter, was masterful & earn her yet another Oscar! This book, & this writer, brings Eleanor, & her family to life! The few illustrations & photos are of poor quality. This is not a book for children, but for people that love history. Weir takes a long complicated story, & makes it easy for the reader to understand & follow all the twists & turns. By now, I have a low opinion of Human Nature, & you can see in this book the best & worst of Human Nature!The more things change, the more they stay the same! A family saga, worth reading!!!👍🏻
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Allison Weir is a brilliant historian and very detailed writer! This book got a little annoying at times because there was so much about the big male players at the time and nothing about Eleanor, the focus of the book; HOWEVER, Allison prefaced with telling the reader that there are a lot of holes in what is known about Eleanor, so she filled in her story with giving you backstory and history on what was going on in her world during her lifetime. I totally understand and it's all great writing and fascinating history; it just got frustrating reading so much about events and things regarding her husband or her sons when if i had wanted to read about them as the focus, I would have chosen a different book. BUT, it's still really good and I recommend you to read it!
Outstanding! A pleasure to read this well researched and well written work, wherein most of the myths, legends and plain nonsense of this historical figure are addressed. This is not a book for those more interested in "stories" rather than researched historical fact. Eleanor was an accomplished figure for her time and outlived husbands, children (8 in all) and many others, dying at the ripe age at of 82. Understanding this was the thirteenth century, these were not nice people. Her surviving son, King John (Lackland) was a tyrant and cruel individual, widely hated by his own countrymen and probably responsible for the murder of Arthur a possible successor to the throne.

(King John himself is widely quoted in myth and legend, as well as being "the" King John of Magna Carta importance as well as Robin Hood stories. He died possibly around 1216 from complications of dysentery and could be regarded by many to be a mad and failed monarch).

Eleanor was a powerful figure in her day with allies and enemies alike and before she entered a nunnery to live out her last days was responsible for drawing up governing laws of maritime trade, considered the basis of all French sea laws (quoted from this book). Eleanor was probably as conniving as any of the monarchs, plotting even against her husband/s and children. There was not very much written about Eleanor and history leaves many blank pages on this amazing person and gaps in dates and times. Which makes all the research that goes into works such as this one all the more wonderful.

I've read other books on this historical figure, but consider this one to be easily among the best. She lived a remarkable life and era, coming into contact with individuals such as Thomas Becket and Rosamund of whom much nonsense has been written and fabricated. A strong and outstanding work.
As others - and the author herself - acknowledge, much of this book is history of the late 12th century (and a bit of the 13th). That's because the subject, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a women, and thus, in the context of the time, not worth a lot of attention in the records kept then. She lived a long time, she was queen (twice), and dowager queen for a time after that, so there are fiscal records that give some hints as to her life, which is far more than is available for most other women of the time.

But despite the scarcity of data on her life itself, this book was well worth my time reading it for two reasons (1) the history of the era, which is a large part of my reason for reading biography in the first place, and (2) the care the author takes to distinguish known fact from speculation and myth.