She was perhaps the most powerful woman in 12thcentury europe. Alison weir is the new york times bestselling author of numerous historical biographies, including the lost tudor princess, elizabeth of york, mary boleyn, the lady in the tower, mistress of the monarchy, henry viii, eleanor of aquitaine, the life of more about alison weir. She was queen of france and then queen of england, the mother of two kings, and an active participant in european politics into her eighties. She is the author of numerous works of history and historical fiction, specialising in the medieval and tudor periods. Louis and eleanor were married in july 17, but had little time to get to know one another before louis father the king fell ill and died. At a time when women were regarded as little more than. As daughter of the duke of aquitaine, eleanor was one of the besteducated women in europe. See more ideas about eleanor of aquitaine, aquitaine and history. Combining the pace and descriptive quality of a novel with the authority of a textbook, alison weirs study of the revered and reviled eleanor of aquitaine should. She brought the province of aquitaine to england when she married henry ii of england.
Eleanor was born in 1122 in aquitaine a huge swath of southwestern, modernday france andwas the first daughter of william x, duke of aquitaine and his wife aenor. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read eleanor of aquitaine. It is the sixth bestselling historical biography of all time in the u. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable.
Shewolf of france, katherine swynford, queens of the conquest and a tudor christmas. With astonishing historical detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable. Eleanor of aquitaine 11221204, duchess of aquitaine in her own right and queen consort successively of france and england, was probably the most powerful woman in europe in the middle ages. Eleanor of aquitaine by alison weir overdrive rakuten.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Prices including delivery for by alison weir eleanor of aquitaine. She ostensibly chronicles the life of eleanor, though the book also provides a tableau of 12thcentury europe. By the wrath of god, queen of england paperback 10 jan. Her sons were kings of england and her daughters queens of castile and sicily, while her later descendants. Eleanor of aquitaine is represented by a fleurdelis, repeated on the front and back of her runner, as well as in the illuminated letter e at the beginning of her name. Alison weir is a british historian and author, and not the american journalist and activist alison weir. She was an important factor in the reign of four kings, lived to the ripe old age of 82, bore 10 children and outlived all but two of them. Eleanor of aquitaine by alison weir fantastic fiction. In this beautifully written biography, alison weir paints a v. As a novelist, her works include innocent traitor, the captive queen, a. Thats because the subject, eleanor of aquitaine, was a women, and thus, in the context of the time, not worth a lot of attention in the records kept then.
A very good book on eleanor and i will read weirs other books as a result. Evans, lecturer in medieval history at central michigan university. Deconstructing the story of eleanor of aquitaine the. The extraordinary life of eleanor of aquitaine is brilliantly recreated by alison weir in her winning biography. Not quite 5 stars as sometimes the passion fell a little flat, but easy to read and full of facts and immense research. Best historicalfiction about eleanor of aquitaine 24 books. The author of six previous books about english history, alison weir tackles familiar territory with eleanor of aquitaine. Her bestselling history books include the six wives of henry viii, eleanor of aquitaine, elizabeth of york and. 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. The medieval and postmedieval image of eleanor of aquitaine, he works to destroy the myths that surround the life of eleanor. The fleurdelis is a symbol of france and was commonly found in the art of the middle ages.
Eleanor of aquitaine 1122 1 april 1204 was queen consort of france 171152 and england 11541189 and duchess of aquitaine in her own right 171204. Eleanor was the daughter and heiress of william x, duke of aquitaine and count of poitiers, who possessed one of the largest domains in francelarger, in fact, than those held by the french king. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, weir recreates not only a remarkable personality but a magnificent past era. This land was over twice the size of the land owned by the french royal family, stretching from the loire river to modern day spain, which made her family wealthier and more powerful than even the king. This is inevitable, however, owing to scant records on this former queen of england and queen of france. Alison weirs biography of eleanor of aquitaine is thorough and wellresearched, from birth to death. 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 womanthe queenin all her glory. We use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads.
The plantagenet queens of england played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Published by ballantine books, a division of random house, inc. Eleanor of aquitaine, by the wrath of god, queen of englandeleanor of aquitaine. Eleanors a fascinating figure, and makes a great character in historical fiction, but its damned hard to write a biography about her. Eleanor of aquitaine by alison weir penguin books australia. Though the exact year and place of birth is unknown, it is speculated that she was born on either 1122 or 1124 in poitiers, bordeaux, or nieulsurlautise. Eleanor married in turn louis vii of france and henry ii of england, and was the mother of richard the lionheart and king john. Eleanor of aquitaine was one of the most powerful leaders in medieval europe.
Eleanor of aquitaine peoplecharacters librarything. Eleanor conceives a sudden in this novel on the life of the indomitable eleanor of aquitaine, alison weir tells the story of a queen with a strong sexual passion for her husband, henry, even as her marriage to him begins to disintegrate. Due to her fathers enormous wealth, eleanor was raised in one of europes most cultured courts and given an excellent education, the bbc reports. In this beautifully written biography, alison weir paints a vibrant portrait of a truly exceptional woman and provides new insights into. Eleanor of aquitaine was a complex, boldly original woman who transcended the mores of her society. Alison weir is a british writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about british royalty her first published work, 1989s britains royal families, was a genealogical overview of the british royal family. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened england with the romantic culture of southern europe these. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Theres a lot of dates and names, and weirs style doesnt really make that kind of detail absorbing, but theres plenty to interest a patient reader. Upon williams death in 17 she inherited the duchy of aquitaine and in july 17 married the heir to the french throne, who succeeded his father, louis vi, the following month. By the wrath of god, queen of england by weir, alison isbn.
Is kellys eleanor of aquataine and the four kings a reissue of the 1950 book, or did she rewrite it. He was also the heir to the throne of england as settlement of the conflicting claims of his mother empress matilda empress maud, daughter of henry i of england, and her cousin, stephen, who had seized the throne of england at. Eleanor of aquitaine by alison weir, paperback barnes. Eleanor of aquitaine, queen consort of france and england. Eleanor has exerted a fascination over writers and biographers for 800 years, but the prevailing myths and legends that attach to her name still tend to obscure the truth.
In this beautifully written biography, alison weir paints a vibrant portrait of a truly exceptional woman and provides new insights into her intimate world. She was sole heiress to the largest, wealthiest region of what is now france. Alison weir is one of britains topselling historians. In may 1152, eleanor of aquitaine married henry fitzempress. You can change region by clicking the flag in the toolbar. As others and the author herself acknowledge, much of this book is history of the late 12th century and a bit of the th. William x held one of the largest domains in franceeven larger than that held by the king of france himself. Eleanor of aquitaine by alison weir book cover, description, publication history.
A popular historian and novelist, british author alison weir is the author of nonfiction including richard iii and the princes in the tower, elizabeth the queen, eleanor of aquitaine. The next 15 years of eleanors life were split between england, normandy and her beloved aquitaine. During this time she produced another seven children, acted as regent when henry was away from england and played an active part in political negotiations. Combining the pace and descriptive quality of a novel with the authority of a textbook, alison weirs study of the revered and reviled eleanor of aquitaine should be valuable to anyone with an interest in medieval european history. By the wrath of god, queen of england reissue by alison weir. A life 1999 eleanor of aquitaine is my bestselling book to date. A novel of eleanor of aquitaine by alison weir online at alibris. She subsequently wrote biographies of eleanor of aquitaine, isabella of france, katherine swynford, elizabeth of york, and the princes in the. Eleanor of aquitaine and the four kings, by amy kelly eleanor of aquitaine. Descendants of eleanor of aquitaine genealogy wise.
Alison weir s biography of eleanor of aquitaine is thorough and wellresearched, from birth to death. A biography of eleanor of aquitaine, by polly schoyer brooks eleanor of aquitaine. Her sister, theordora, was retrieved from her monastery to rule beside her, though zoes throne being placed slightly further forward, at the joint coronation ceremony, was an obvious indication of which of the sisters was in charge. Henry was the duke of normandy through his mother, empress matilda, and count of anjou through his father. It was the winner of the good book guide award for the best biography of 1999, as voted for by readers in 100 countries. Eleanor of aquitaine, by the wrath of god, queen of england eleanor of aquitaine. Nor is alison weir to be confused with her sisterinlaw of the same name. Dive deep into desmond sewards biography of eleanor of aquitaine with a summary, extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. Eleanor of aquitaine simple english wikipedia, the free. Eleanor of aquitaine, queen consort of both louis vii of france 1752 and henry ii of england 11521204 and mother of richard i the lionheart and john of england. Marion meade has told the story of eleanor, wild, devious, from a thoroughly historical but different point of view. As a member of the ramnulfids house of poitiers rulers in southwestern france, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western europe during the high middle ages.
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 womanand the queenin all her glory. Her bestselling history books include the six wives of henry viii, eleanor of aquitaine, elizabeth of york and the lost tudor princess. Theres a lot of dates and names, and weir s style doesnt really make that kind of detail absorbing, but theres plenty to interest a patient reader. Everything you know about eleanor of aquitaine is wrong. Learn more about eleanor of aquitaine in this article. She had a younger sister called petronilla of aquitaine. Weir wrote historical novels while a teenager, 9 and her novel in the genre of historical fiction, innocent traitor, based on the life of lady jane grey, was published in 2006. A sister, aelith called the more pronounceable, petronilla and a brother, william, would follow in short order. The land of aquitaine gregory 178 eleanor grew up in the french duchy of aquitaine until the age of fifteen. 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. Wife of louis vii of france and subsequently of henry ii of england, and mother of richard the lionhearted, eleanor played a prominent part in the politics of.