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Summary: Eleanor was quite a woman
Review: This is the third of Ms. Weir's books that I have read and probably my favorite so far. Although there was very little material for her to use, I feel she pieced together a very interesting narrative of Eleanor's life. This woman was married to two kings, gave birth to three more, went on crusade, held lands in her name, and stood up to the Pope. In this day and age she might be a role model. In her day, these things were extraordinary.
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Summary: A Fabulous Biography
Review: I've read several books by Ms. Weir, and this is by far my favorite. The content is well organized and clear. The detail of Eleanor of Acquitaine's life is incomparable; the reader gets a great idea of the subject as well as all the myths about her. I especially liked the numerous family trees provided in the book and found it necessary to review them often; it helped give a good reference of the time. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in English & French history or Middle Ages history.
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Summary: In Search of the Historic Eleanor
Review: Alison Weir has written a solid, workmanlike biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, a figure of controversy and legend in her own time, and an icon of romantic literature ever since. And small wonder! She inherited one of Europe's richest and most populous duchies, was the wife of two kings and mothered two kings and two queens, went on the second crusade dressed as an amazon, spent a decade imprisoned by her second husband, and at other times served as royal administrator of England and various portions of the Angevin continental empire. Not until Elizabeth did the western world see another women who played such a prominent role in world affairs. Weir casts herself as a revisionist, seeking to offer "...a credible and balanced account, stripped of the myths, suppositions, and misunderstandings that have obscured the real Eleanor of Aquitaine, in both the distant and recent past." Most of her targets, seem to me, to fall into the "distant" category -- writers of the 13th through the 19th century. However, in at least two important areas, Weir does depart from the consensus of contemporary historians and writers. One is in the matter of the "Court of Love" which Eleanor was supposed to have established at Poitiers after she separated from Henry II. Weir contends that although Eleanor may have "encouraged troubadours and poets to come to her court", the notion of a tribunal presided over by the queen and some of her noble kinswomen where young men and women brought disputes on matters of courtly love was "a literary conceit invented...by Andreas Capellanus...". The other distinctly revisionist position Weir stakes out is on Henry's affair with Rosamund de Clifford. She thinks Rosemund was not the very important figure in Henry's life than poets and other historians have made her. There is no evidence that Rosamund, only one of a string of Henry's mistresses, caused the split between Henry and Eleanor. Nor is it likely that Henry tried to have his marriage to Eleanor annulled in order to marry Rosamund, because she had entered a nunnery before he initiated the effort. And finally Weir states flatly that Eleanor could not have murdered Rosamund or ordered her murdered, for Eleanor was herself being held incommunicado by Henry at the time of Rosamund's death. The effect of Weir's rigorous stripping of myth and supposition is to emphasize how little we really know about Eleanor. Through the early years of both her marriages, the birth of children is the primary record of her existence. Many years pass with no contemporary mention of what she was doing or even where she was. We don't know, for example, exactly where she spent most of her years of confinement at the hand of Henry II. Only late in Henry's reign and in those of Richard I and John, when she was entrusted with administrative duties and delicate missions of diplomacy, does the historic Eleanor emerge from the shadows. One "myth" that Weir does give credence to is Eleanor's alleged adulteries -- with Geoffrey of Anjou (Henry's father)while married to Louis VII and with her uncle Raymond of Poitiers while married to Henry. Weir relies on Giraldus Cambrensis who claimed to have been told about the first by Bishop Hugh of Lincoln who heard it directly from Henry. At the time Giraldus wrote his slander, Henry was trying to get his marriage to Eleanor annulled and may have been spreading the story to provide legal support to his case. Weir says "It is unlikely that Henry would have lied about the affair to the respected Bishop Hugh". Yet elsewhere she quotes Giraldus as saying Henry "readily broke his word" when it suited him. The proof of the second adultery is even less substantial, inferred from a veiled contemporary reference to uncle and niece being "too close". In context, the comment could as likely refer to political affairs as to sexual. I have some other minor quibbles with Weir's pose as champion of credibility and debunker of legend. In describing Henry's ancestry, she says "The Angevins were a handsome race." In the first place, such language smacks more of Tennyson and Kipling than of a modern historian, and in the second place she tells us elsewhere that there are no realistic representations of any Roal visage prior to the 13th century. I also find it odd that she gives such prominence to predictions made by Bernard of Clairvaux (who was a veritable fount of maledictions) and other clerics about the dire fate that would befall those who did not heed their advice. Some, like the early demise of Geoffrey of Anjou came true immediately while another regarding the extinction of the Plantagenets was delayed for 300 years. One wonders if David McCullough would bother to mention the predictions of Jean Dixon in a biography of JFK.
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Summary: Who is Eleanor?
Review: It was disappointing, after having invested myself in Alison Weir's Eleanor of Aquitaine, not to have a better feel for who the queen was. Unlike Ms Weir's other books, Life of Elizabeth I, War of the Roses, and The Children of Henry VIII which vividly brough to life the main characters and period, Eleanor seemed to be missing. After having read several historic novels about her I was anticipating finding out the 'real' story. I now know that I know less about Eleanor than when I read the book ;)
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Summary: Debunks the scandals, rumors and lies about E. of A.
Review: This is a scholarly, yet highly readable account of the life and character of Eleanor of Aquitaine. It does not apologize for her, which is appropriate, since she likely would not have not apologized for her own decadence. Neither does Ms. Weir sensationalize Eleanor's much written of exploits. Instead, she crafts a masterful portrait of this extraordinary woman with a thorough understanding of the time, political and social climate in which she lived. I have read many books about Eleanor and the Plantagenets, and this one outshines them all in every respect.
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Summary: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Review: This is an excellent portrait of a famed woman. Alison Weir is a talanted writer, who, not only mixes fact and proves and disproves myths about Eleanor, paints a picture of life for everyone in that time. She doesn't just tell people what Eleanor did, she shows people by explaining the past and personality of almost everyone Eleanor encounters. This was the first book I've bought by Alison Weir, and I'm now sure that I will have to buy her other books. The writing was excellent and highly developed. I was never bored. Even my mom, who has no interest in history whatsoever, read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. We both learned a lot we never knew.
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Summary: Get to know the woman behind the legend.
Review: Excellent biography of this amazing historical figure. In spite of a few long winded passages, Weir expertly tells Eleanor's story and educates the reader about her long and fascinating life. Be sure to rent "Lion In Winter," after you've finished this!
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Summary: Eleanor without the myths
Review: This book is a refreshing an new view of Eleanor of Aquitaine's life. The author his prinicpally used sources contempary to Eleanor's lifetime and where possible double checked every rumor and story. As a result, quite a few of the previous 'assumptions' about her life has been blown away. This book can be said to be sort of dry, but it is honest. And the 'dryness' is only a reflection on the lack of documentation for the period - not on the author's ability to tell a story coherently. I've never read any of this author's books before, but I think I'm about to. She has provided fresh research instead of just rehashing old material - taking nothing forgranted, and that alone makes this book worth reading. For what is left of the REAL Eleanor I doubt this book can be beaten unless new documentation comes to life. Although, reading it I think her life would make a geat novel!
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Summary: Eleanor, by the Wrath of God, Queen of England
Review: I would like to note this: In England, the book was sold under the title "Eleanor, By the Wrath of God, Queen of England." Apparently this was considered inappropriate for American markets. It makes me wonder what else may have been deemed inappropriate and why. I bought this book in England right when it first came out, before the American release. In fact, it was one of the minor reasons for taking my holiday there when I did, because I respect Alison Weir's writing above all other tudor biographers and I was particularly pleased she was writing a book about Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is in my opinion one of the most interesting and romantic historical figures I have ever studied. The trouble is that Weir is an ethical Historian. She doesn't propagate rumours in her works, and this leads, in the case of Eleanor, to a somewhat dry work which concentrates more on the well-documented men in Eleanor's life rather than the rather undocumented Eleanor herself. This is a book for historical truth so far as it can be established. If you are looking for rumours, Marion Meade, whose biographies are more like gossip columns than historical record, has also written a biography of Eleanor. I reccomend that a reader purchase both - Weir for fact and Meade for unfounded but interesting speculation. I would also suggest the movie "A Lion in Winter," which is one of the most pleasing blends of historical accuracy and traditional rumours ever produced. Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar for her Eleanor portrayal. If you're looking for Weir at her best, from an era where there is enough documentation to make it juicy and accurate, try her "Life of Elizabeth I" and "The Six Wives of Henry VIII."
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Summary: Alison Weir never fails to interest me
Review: I love Alison Weir's books. She always makes history very entertaining. While this is not my favorite of her books, it still delivers. The problem is with the subject-Eleanor of Aquitaine-there's just not enough solid information available. Considering that the historical facts are scant and therefore conjecture is necessary, I still found this book informative and a very fast read.
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