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Title: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life by Alison Weir ISBN: 0-345-43487-0 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.19 (54 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Accurate, readable biography of legendary Queen
Comment: Ever since I saw Katherine Hepburn play Eleanor of Aquitaine in the film Lion in Winter, I have read everything available on this fascinating 12th century woman - and this book was, by far, the most readable, and probably the most accurate. Though Allison Weir avoids over romanticizing the story by passing along legends as facts (that Eleanor murdered her husband's mistress or the many tales surrounding her Court of Love), she still weaves a fascinating tale. Because Weir is such a stickler for researched facts, there are long sections where she admits that very little is known about what exactly Eleanor was doing at the time (most notably during the murder of Thomas Becket), but I still never lost interest - and she provides enough balanced background on the many characters that you develop a true understanding for their complicated motives. After reading Weir's other books (especially the definitive "Six Wives of Henry VIII"), I was positive that this would be another enjoyable history lesson - and Ms. Weir, as usual, did not disappoint!
Rating: 5
Summary: A truly extraordinary book
Comment: She was the wife of two kings (Louis VII of France and Henry II of England) and a fascinating and controversial woman in her own right. Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, was one of the most important and influential personalities of the Middle Ages and she truly comes alive in Alison Weir's masterful biography. After a short introduction on the history and culture of Southern France, Ms. Weir describes Eleanor's life in wonderful detail, examining contemporary sources, modern historical investigations, myth and reality. Everything you ever heard about Eleanor is here: her marriage to King Louis, her journey to Constantinople and Jerusalem during the Second Crusade, her marriage to King Henry, her emotional and political relations with her sons (two of them were also kings of England: Richard the Lionheart and King John), her role as Queen Regent, the legendary Courts of Love, and her imprisonment and eventual release are all told in Alison Weir's wonderful style. The author also includes a lot of information about other fascinating personalities of the time, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Becket and William the Marshall, and she always manages to evoke the feeling of the period. This is a very well researched and brilliantly written biography that reads like a historical novel.
Rating: 5
Summary: Another great one by Weir.....
Comment: Well, I think I read enough praises of this book from reading all the past reviews written prior to this one. I supposed another one probably won't hurt. And I am sure that some other person will come along after me to say the same thing.
So having got that off my chest, I would say without a doubt that this book is probably the most readable biography on Eleanor of Aquitaine you will probably ever read. Its not only the most readable but its probably one of the best (although I enjoyed Amy Kelly's book just as much). The book was well written and with honesty, without much bias although it was pretty clear that Weir admired her subject. I liked that Weir tries to cut through many of the mediveal bias against Eleanor, especially on the Rosamund la Clifford affair. Only real complaint I would have is that its need more maps - for the casual readers whose knowledge of mediveal European geography may be lacking.
But no one can go wrong reading this book and enjoying it at the same time.
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Title: The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir, Phebe Kirkham ISBN: 0345404335 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir ISBN: 0345425502 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 06 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir ISBN: 0345391780 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir ISBN: 0345407865 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir ISBN: 0802136834 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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