Rating: 
Summary: Judging Eleanor
Review: Ms. Wier does a very thorough job of researching her subject. One can see how she has taken the time to review all the contemporary material as well as later sources. For the most part, I feel she does a good job of bringing such a complex person to life. There are many biographies of Eleanor but few I feel really do her justice. Ms. Weir's biography is better at this than most. However, I do question why she says that Eleanor did have affairs with her uncle and with Geoffrey the Fair. She sites sources for this assumption that are every bit as unreliable or biased as any used for her assumptions that Richard the Lionhearted wasn't homosexual and that Elizabeth the First of England remained a virgin. It almost seems to me that she decided that Eleanor had to have had affairs and so she was going to take those sources that said so as true. In her biography of Elizabeth I, she decides that Elizabeth remained a virgin so she discounts the reports that Elizabeth had lovers. Other than that and a few other assumptions, it was a good biography.
Rating: 
Summary: Another success for Weir
Review: I have been awaiting the arrival of Alison Weir's new biography for over a year now! Weir is arguably the foremost authority on Tudor England, as she has displayed with previous books on the War of the Roses, Henry VIII, and his children. I was pleasantly surprised to see her new book depart from her "Tudor tradition" and delve into the extraordinary life of Queen Elaenor.Always clever, always insightful, Weir paints a riveting account of Eleanor: her life, her triumphs, her challenges, and her legacy. Weir's objective portrayal of Eleanor's attributes is notable. Particularly, Weir doesn't shield Eleanor's flaws, nor does she overexaggerate her virtues, leaving her readers with a truer sense of Eleanor's psyche. Readers will find this book an enjoyable read. Kudos to Weir -- I can't wait for you next one!
Rating:
Summary: Colorful and lively. But where's Eleanor?
Review: Alison Weir doesn't disappoint with another lively, colorful biography. It's a refreshing human portrait of a complicated and not always likeable woman who was neither the Rosamund-murdering shrew nor the romantic bare-breasted Amazon Crusader of myth. It's a shame that Weir had so little information in the contemporary chronicles to go on, and the book suffers from it. Eleanor disappears for great gaps in the historical record, and as a result, Weir must pad the book with the minutiae of medieval life and the political wranglings of her husbands: so much so that the book often reads like a bio of Henry II. Still, it's highly readable and told with Weir's usual verve.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Account of a Very Interesting Women
Review: Once again Alison Weir has produced another wonderful and exciting biography. In this book on Eleanor of Aquitaine she has told the story of this most interesting person in a manner that had me glued to the pages. I must state that I have not previously read any books on this subject, quite a few on Richard I but nothing on his mother. I usually enjoy military history but this was an excellent story, well researched and well presented with heaps of plots, fighting and treachery. The story may well be known to quite a few people out there but to me this book offered the first timer a grand and interesting panorama of this most interesting person during a most interesting period. The narrative was quick and exciting, moving along covering a vast period of time and people however I never got lost in the story. On a number of occasions points in dispute were threshed out and a common sense approach was adopted in trying to find the truth of the matter. Eleanor of Aquitaine had a number of detractors throughout history but I think the author tried to present her story in a non biased manner. This is a good book and I think that most people will enjoy the story and even those who know the whole story should gain something from this account.
Rating:
Summary: Another fascinating book from Alison Weir
Review: In my humble opinion, Alison Weir is the best writer of accessible English history. She manages to write in a simple, accessible style without compromising detail or historical accuracy. Her books are fun to read, but so packed full of information. Taking a break from her usual subject of Tudor and Medieval English history, this book examines the life of Eleanor of Aquataine. It is easy to succumb to hyperbole when writing reviews, but it is NO exageration to say that Eleanor is one of the most interesting people to have ever graced this planet. Hieress of what is now southern France, she left her husband, the French king, for the English king and took her tremendous land holdings with her, thus prompting the 100 years war and causing the great English/French rivalry that has existed ever since. She botched the 2nd crusade by tagging along with her friends as "Amazons." She brought "the art of courtly love" to Paris and London, thus encouraging the creation of chivalry and the Aurthurian legend, and sponsored some of the most important advances in the arts during the early Middle Ages. She fathered 2 kings, acted as regent for one while he was on a Crusade, and was imprisoned by her husband for a decade because she helped her sons plan a coup d'etat. Are you starting to believe that I'm not exagerating? Weir brings all of her skills as a historian and writer to this book, and it is a fascinating read. If I have one complaint, it is that simply not enough detail exists about Eleanor's life. It's pretty hard to miss the major events, but when writing about a subject who lived 800 years ago it is simply a fact that very few letters, diaries, or personal accounts exist. These are the things that let us glimpse into the minds of great people, and it is sometimes maddening that there is no way to understand WHY things happened the way they did. Despite this, Weir manages to use the little she has to go on to great effect, and this is the best biography of Eleanor out there (though the Marion Meade one is also pretty good).
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting book
Review: The greatest value in this book is the wide number of interesting characters from the time period that are introduced and brought to life by the author's endearing prose. Eleanor is a remarkable woman, having been queen to two different countries, but a power in her own right through her title in Aquitaine.
Interesting to see a woman with any power during this period of patriarchal control, but the strength of her personality contributed to era in remarkable ways.
Like all of Weir's books, there sometimes develop something bordering on personality cults with historical figures. Even so, the author gave a fair treatment of Eleanor's misbehavior on the crusade with her first husband King Louis.
As always, Weir's greatest contribution is her making historical figures accessible and personal. If her sympathetic writing may overstate a case here and there, her writing certainly helps spawn interest in people who have been gone for hundreds of years.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent....Mrs Weir does it again!
Review: Great work by a great author.This book is a must for Middle Ages fans and historians.Mrs Weir style and narrative is fantastic.I loved every chapter of this book not only because of Eleanor's amazing life but because Mrs Weir describes her life in light of what was happening around Eleanor.You get a great account of Henry II's life and every one of her sons with him.The book is so well researched and interesting that i finished in less than a week......Great book!!
Rating:
Summary: Run on, run on, run on, Aqutaine.
Review: A truly facinating account of the family, politics and times of Eleanor of Aquitaine. There seems to be a great shortage of information about Eleanor herself and most of the time I forgot it was a book about her until she is mentioned again. I dont not believe this is the fault of the writer as I believe there is precious little information available on her.
My only real complaint is the overwhelming ubiquitousness of run-on sentences. The sheer volume of them should have been an embarassment to the author.
All in all a very good book although the title mislead me to believe it would be a book about Eleanor. It is an excellent look at the times she lived in and the family that surrounded her.
If you are not interested in the time period then this book will be a disappointment. If you are, then you will enjoy this book as much as I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring book of most fascinating woman ever
Review: Ever since I read "A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver" when I was about 11, Eleanor of Aquitaine has been my most favoritest historical figure. So I was intrigued when I heard about this book. But it was the MOST BORING history book I have read. I don't know how Allison Weir managed to write such a boring book about such a fascinating person, but she did. I realize that there is not much historical documentation about Eleanor, but this book did nothing for me. What a disappointment!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent biography of the legendary queen
Review: You might know Eleanor of Aquitaine from that Katharine Hepburn/Peter O'Toole film "The Lion in Winter." That film is a dramatization of the famously tempestuous relationship between Eleanor, queen of both France and England, and her second husband Henry II. The story behind the movie is just as fascinating though. Alison Weir's fine scholarly account of this remarkable queen's life is both accessible for beginners and detailed enough for history buffs.
Weir is a stickler for details, so if she can't find much evidence for something in contemporary (for Eleanor) documents, she tends to disbelieve it. Thus medieval legends and modern lore are given short shrift here. For instance, it's commonly believed that Eleanor's son Richard the Lionhearted was gay. But Weir finds very little evidence for this and she dismisses the rumors. Weir is also (rightly) skeptical about the legend of Eleanor murdering Rosamond Clifford. On the other hand, Weir tends to lend credence to contemporary accounts -- thus, rumors that Eleanor was an unfaithful wife are given a lot of credit by Weir. Whether I agreed with these conclusions or not, this biography is remarkably well-researched and scholarly. Particularly helpful is a question and answer appendix with the author at the end of the book.
Eleanor and the players in her life (her husbands, her nine children) are all fascinating people, and it's almost a shame she lived so long ago and thus very few surviving documents survive from her era. How I'd like to see one of her letters! Or a portrait of her! However, this biography comes very close to bringing this legendary medieval queen to life.
|
