Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (Ballantine Reader's Circle) | 
 enlarge | Author: Alison Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 19087
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0345434870
Dewey Decimal Number: 942.031092
EAN: 9780345434876
ASIN: 0345434870
Publication Date: April 3, 2001
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Amazon.com
Combining the pace and descriptive quality of a novel with the authority of a textbook, Alison Weir's study of the revered and reviled Eleanor of Aquitaine should be valuable to anyone with an interest in medieval European history. Wife of Louis VII of France and subsequently of Henry II of England, and mother of Richard "the Lion-Hearted," Eleanor played a prominent part in the politics of the 12th century. The author of a number of other books on the medieval period (Life of Elizabeth I, The Children of Henry VIII), Weir brings all the color and ever-present dangers of Eleanor's world to life, filling the text with absorbing background detail and revelatory contemporary anecdotes. She is concerned throughout to make critical analysis of the primary sources, the later myths about Eleanor, and other modern biographies. This results in a fresh and thoughtful perspective on the energetic life of a determined and ambitious woman living with the sexism, excesses, and violence of a society in which the word of a single man could condemn thousands to death. Eleanor of Aquitaine is a vivacious but scholarly book with extensive notes and references, giving an objective and rich account of the staunch Eleanor, her feuding family and her complex and unstable world. --Karen Tiley, Amazon.co.uk
Product Description
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. In this beautifully written biography, Alison Weir paints a vibrant portrait of this truly exceptional woman, and provides new insights into her intimate world. 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 79 more reviews...
 A Dozen Ways Home Schoolers Can Use This Biography July 22, 2008
Alison Weir's book *Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life,* which places Eleanor in the context of her times, provides a microcosm for the medieval world and can be used in a variety of ways to study European culture and history in the Middle Ages. Here are a dozen ways this book can be used: (1) the use of Chapter 7, "All the Business of the Kingdom," as a stand-alone piece, laying out all aspects of medieval culture: kingship, the Church, knighthood, political geography, crime and punishment, art, architecture, music, towns, economy, diet, and science; (2) the conflict between Church and State that so dominated the High Middle Ages, including Henry II's infamous murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury; (3) a study of the Crusades that focuses on the territorial ambitions of the European nobility; (4) the role of marriage as political alliance, including the near arrangement of a marriage between Eleanor's daughter and the Muslim leader Saladin; (5) the importance of genealogy to the study of history, including eight genealogical tables that help the reader understand the relationships of the many individuals in Eleanor's story; (6) the importance of geography to the study of history for which three maps are included; (7) a refutation of the idealistic image of Richard the Lionhearted as portrayed in the Robin Hood legend; (8) a study of the ways that the Arthurian legend served as an influence on the lives of the French and English nobility; (9) an insight into the way historians evaluate and use primary sources of history; (10) a reality check for the usual Hilary-esque treatment of Eleanor of Aquitataine; (11) an insight into the way the foibles of an individual can influence world events; and (12) a heightened awareness of the ways in which medieval women in the Church and the State influenced and even directed history through both beauty and intellect. Weir has given a highly readable, solidly researched, footnoted account of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of two kings and mother of three, which is both entertaining and educational.
 Somewhat Deceiving "Biography". June 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book purports to be a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and in that respect it is deceptive. As the author states several times throughout the work, there is virtually no source material on the subject. How then to fill almost 400 pages on a subject for which there is no reliable history beyond the obvious?
First, the author fills the book with general 12th century history and facts. There is every bit as much, if not more written about Henry II, the second husband of Eleanor than there is about Eleanor herself. In truth, the book should have been entitled "12th Century European History." The author writes extensively about the Second Crusade, undertaken by Eleanor's then husband, Louis of France, but has virtually nothing to say about Eleanor's role. Understandable, since there are no sources that speak of it. The book deals primarily with the political and martial dealings between the various Kings, Dukes, Earls and Counts of Europe and England.
Second, the author writes generally about the role of women in 12th century Europe and tries to compare and contrast Eleanor's activities in an attempt to paint her as a much more politically savvy and active member of society than most women of the age.
Finally, the author takes very flimsy historical information and tries to expand it to fill the historical gaps and flesh out the subject of the "biography". To her credit, she uses this technique very sparingly and avoids wholesale fiction.
With respect to the author's writing style, I found it to be very dry and at times, merely a recitation of historical facts running for pages at a time. The plethora of names and titles were at times confusing, a situation that was compounded by the style utilized by the author.
We know about Eleanor's family, her titles and estates and and the rough timeline of her marriages, divorce, children and death. Beyond that, with respect to Eleanor herself, we know very little. We do not even have a reliable likeness of her appearance. To sell this work as a "biography" is to give the word a definition with which I am unfamiliar.
Treachery and plotting...... June 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A woman ahead of her time. Compelling biography that sheds light on both Eleanor of Acquitaine, as well as much information about the age in which she lived.
Who needs soap operas - the lives of royals are always intriguing - scheming, treachery, and plots abound within the royal family and amongst friends and neighbors. A good read, well researched, a fascinating character with a plot line that spans the reaches of both France and England for 80 years - with a Crusade in between.
 Too long June 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a very interesting bit of history but it is wrtten like a textbook. And, the last third of the book was poorly written. Editing seemed to be forgotten. It was just a bit wordy and too long.
Interesting yet boring at the same time May 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the first book by Weir that I've read.
I picked up the book thinking it would be cool to read about a powerful woman in a time where women were considered unworthy of attention. I guess I had assumed that there would be much more accurate information about her life & times than there acutally is. I find the book to be more about the realm and kingdom in general and Henry II, Louis VII & other powerful men in particular. I found that I was reading entire chapters devoted to Henry or Louis with no mention at all of Eleanor. It's understandable that there's not a lot of evidence or extant documentation about her life; I almost think Weir wastes her time writing about a subject that has so little documented evidence. I am enjoying the historical aspect of the book, but I'm a little disappointed in her "story" (or lack thereof). I'll certainly read more of Weir's works, but my expectation will be much lower.
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