Alison Weir
Paperback | Pages: 496 pages Rating: 3.98 | 13238 Users | 630 Reviews
Mention Books In Pursuance Of Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present )
| ISBN: | 0345434870 (ISBN13: 9780345434876) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/alison-weir/eleanor-of-aquitaine.htm |
| Series: | World Leaders Past & Present |
| Characters: | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
Description Conducive To Books Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present )
In this beautifully written biography, Alison Weir paints a vibrant portrait of a truly exceptional woman and provides new insights into her intimate world.Renowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in Europe, the wife of two kings and mother of three, Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the Middle Ages. At a time when women were regarded as little more than chattel, Eleanor managed to defy convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons.
Eleanor of Aquitaine lived a long life of many contrasts, of splendor and desolation, power and peril, and in this stunning narrative, Weir captures the woman--and the queen--in all her glory. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable personality but a magnificent past era.
Specify Of Books Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present )
| Title | : | Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present ) |
| Author | : | Alison Weir |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 496 pages |
| Published | : | April 3rd 2001 by Ballantine Books (first published 1999) |
| Categories | : | History. Biography. Nonfiction. Historical. Medieval. Cultural. France. European Literature. British Literature |
Rating Of Books Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present )
Ratings: 3.98 From 13238 Users | 630 ReviewsWeigh Up Of Books Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present )
Weir faces some interesting challenges as a historian here: sifting reliable sources about Eleanor from apocryphal stories and putting together a coherent picture of the powerful queen from the traces left in chronicles about the men she influenced. What emerges is a remarkably clear and compelling story of an intelligent and capable woman who married two kings, birthed ten children, marched in two Crusades, ran kingdoms in her husbands' and sons' absences, incited her sons to rebellion, arguedDespite the title and the author's stated ambition to write a balanced account of Eleanor - neither on the side lines nor a romantic heroine - this book is best read as a friendly, accessible history of the early Plantagenets. Something to read if you've enjoyed The Lion in Winter and fancy knowing a bit more about that quarrelsome, competitive family. Sadly Eleanor remains definitely on the sidelines. Weir doesn't discuss the source material, so as a reader you can't know if this was her choice
As if "Timeline" hadn't convinced me enough, life in the Middle Ages was damn hard! This biography was not so much about Eleanor of Aquitaine as about the events and the men that governed her life: feudal wars, countless treaties made and broken, provences switching hands, marriages made and then annulled because of "consanguinity," kings and bishops being crowned and excommunicated, and women being sold in marriage during their early years (earliest was three?) to make good on those treaties.
I've had a life-long and abiding interest in Eleanor of Aquitaine ever since I read a biography of her when I was 10 years old. I never realized, though, how little I actually knew about the Plantagenets...or how wrong what little I knew was...until I read Weir's book.My only complaint about this book has less to do with Weir's impeccable scholarship and gift for narrative than it does with the scant record left behind by women, even notable women like Eleanor. (As an aside, it seems like a vast
A historical, non-fiction accounting of Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of two kings (France's King Louis VII and England's King Henry II) and mother of three kings (England's Young King Henry, King Richard I and King John). She was born in 1122 and died at the age of 82....quite a phenomenal life span for that time period. Her influence, direct and indirect, helped to shape the history of France, England and quite a bit of the European continent. Eleanor's descendants include Kings and Queens of
This one was not as easy for me to get through as The Princes in the Tower, but I still enjoyed it. The reason it reads a little slower is just because of the exhaustive notes and the fact that she spends a lot more time on analysis of sources here. Which makes it feel more authoritative, but also a bit more like a textbook. However, Eleanor's life was sexy and interesting enough on its own. It really doesn't need that much help to be a page turner. I finished it and really liked it. Recommended
Alison Weir spends a lot of time in this book discusses common legends and misconceptions surrounding Eleanor, which was interesting for me because I hadn't heard any of them before. I really wasn't that familiar with Eleanor of Aquitaine before reading this - mostly I just knew that she went on crusade once, was Richard the Lionheart's mother, and was played by Katherine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter. From these three bits of information, we can at least deduce that she was kind of a badass.
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