Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir

Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of those rare queens in history. She has been both Queen of France and Queen of England. She divorced the King of France in order to marry the King of England. Already in her 30's she went on to have ten children, three of which would sit on England's throne. She stood in for her husband in his absence and looked after her own regions. Oh, and she helped her three sons rebel against her husband. After ten years of captivity she became more active in politics through helping her son keep his Kingdom together. She even lived to the ripe old age of 82 which is rather unusual in the 12th century.

I have been wanting to read more on Eleanor of Aquitaine ever since I read She-Wolves by Helen Castor. It was such a fantastic book but it was limited on the time it could spend on Eleanor because it was covering other powerful Queens. This one was a little disappointing at first. It lacked the passion behind Castor's work. As a result I found it difficult to engage with at first. I persevered with and the next minute I am half way through and finding it difficult to put down. Maybe passion would have been hard to keep up and so slow and methodical worked better.

The main thing is I learned lots of new facts about Eleanor. What I loved about Weir's book is that she didn't just include the facts. She included rumours and theories that have cropped up about Eleanor ever since her reign. Even well into the 19th century. She would then dispute why they might or might not be true. If left me feeling like I not only had a better idea of Eleanor but an idea of how her life has continued to influence people. In fact until recently she wasn't seen in a particularly good light. It's only now that people see beyond  the stories of her 'wicked' ways and see her as rather intelligent, strong and politically knowledgeable.

One of my favourite chapters was more about life in England than about Eleanor herself. At this point she had married King Henry and was about to arrive in England for the first time (she actually spent more of her life in France). At first I was a little frustrated by it as I wanted Weir to continue with Eleanor's story but I was soon caught up by the interest of it. Plus it made sense to show the differences that Eleanor would face. One example is that gang crime was a problem in London back then. To the extent that no one would leave their homes after curfew. I was intrigued by the reference to King Arthur. Even in those days the courts of Europe were fascinated by him. In Eleanors day the stories were seen more of as spoken history than myth.

Other than my interest in Royal history the whole point in reading this was for the Mixing it Up challenge. This was for the history category. History isn't exactly out of my comfort zone which is why I picked an author who is. I have a mental (book snobbery) block when it comes to Alison Weir. Years ago I had a friend who loved her books and despite enjoying history I was wary. I couldn't see how someone who produced so many books on so many different historical figures could be accurate. Then she began bringing out historical fiction which just added to my wariness (and yet people who cross fiction genres don't bother me). So this was my attempt to get over it and I am glad to say that it worked. It's not the best history book that I have ever read but I still enjoyed it. There were a few things I felt were missing and it focused almost too much on Henry II and their sons. I have to put that down to lack of information from that time though. I would definitely read more by this author though.

The Mixing it up challenge is organised by Ellie of Musings of a Bookshop Girl. You can see the other categories I am going to take part in and have covered already in my first post here.

She-Wolves - Helen Castor

This is a history book which describes the women who set the path that allowed Mary and then Elizabeth to take the thrown. In France the law was set so that women could not inherit the throne. However, four women in England set precedent so that the same law could not be enforced in England. Matilda, granddaughter of William the Conqueror, was the first female to fight for her right to rule as her father's only living heir. Eleanor of Aquitaine rose up against her husband and fought to rule on behalf of her sons. Isabella rose up to free England from the tyrannical rule of her husband. Margaret of Anjou fought to rule on behalf of a husband who could not. Then we get to Mary Tudor. She had to fight for her right to the throne too and for the first time being female did not go against her. This then led to Elizabeth taking her rightful place as Queen easily.

This is one of the best history books I have read in a long time. Also the best book about historical Royals. The book is only 450 pages long and yet so much is packed in. In each section I didn't feel like areas of these women's lives were being glossed over. We got to hear about what brought them to England's Royal house in the first place and then details of  how they fought to rule. It was all extremely interesting. Each section covered and era I knew very little of or absolutely nothing of. I am definitely going to go back and read more on most of these eras.

Eleanor of Aquitaine interested me in particular. I had heard of her but I knew absolutely nothing about her. She was a controversial figure even before she reached England. Once married to the King of France she managed to get him agree to divorce despite the fact that he loved her. Eight weeks later she was married to Matilda's son Henry II. I found it interesting too that the legend of Robin hood was a result of her younger son John. I am sure there are a few books on her which I will have to invest in at some point.

This isn't a book about feminism in history. It's simply a historical look at why Mary and Elizabeth were able to take the thrown when other countries wouldn't have allowed it. It doesn't portray these women as angels either. They have their good points and their bad. You just need to read the section on Isabella who was no saint. Ironically she became the embodiment of what she had been fighting against. Oh, and that section is good just to prove how inaccurate the film Braveheart actually is. Yes, she is that Isabella (sorry, pet peeve).

If you like history then I think you will like this. It covers several periods and isn't at all dry.