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Books : Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England
Rating: 
- A very well researched account
Overall I found that this book gives a very comprehensive and interesting insight into a period of history that is not well documented nor that well understood. It is clear that Ms Weir has conducted very detailed research into her subject and she brings to life characters and events long forgotten.
The book has it's dry patches but generally reads very well and it does keep the reader's attention.
This period was the formation of Europe as we now know it and the tortured route of how it evolved is a fascinating and remarkable story.
Rating:
- If you liked "The Lion in Winter" - this is for you!
When Henry II was 51 he declared that he was the oldest man he knew! Eleanor, his wife, lived until 82 years of age, and when she was 78 she made a progress of 1000 miles around her provinces in France....all this in an age where there were no roads, carts with wooden wheels, no medicine, no communications, and every important lord went about laying towns to waste and cutting off people's bits for their crimes. The youth of today would end up as living stumps if the same methods of justice prevailed today. Eleanor must have been a brilliant woman to have dealt with not only a difficult age and social structure and WIN! She had 10 children and was married to the kings of France and England. Her genes lay in all the royal families of Europe. And.....WOW! Did she have motivation, guts and commitment! Read it... and watch "Lion in Winter" again.
Rating: - Interesting period, quite well written, but little evidence
Weir's book covers a fascinating period, and the basic conceit of the book - that Eleanor connected all the main players by marriage or birth - is sound enough. The problem for Weir though is that her subject is a woman. In this regard, the author has very little with which to work, and occassionally the narative slips into a discussion of how much Eleanor was permitted to spend in a given period, or the places that she stayed. The paucity of the evidence is not the fault of the author, but the decission to grant an entire volume to such a body of evidence is.
The book is at its best when discussing the events surrounding the kings, who were detailed by contemporaries in far greater detail. It is a well written book, and overall I enjoyed it. It has inspired me to read more about the period, but it often left me a little let down as I had to read yet another dry account concerning the minutia of the subject's life.
Rating:
- Nicole from Australia, 6 January 2000
For a person who didn't know a great deal about Eleanor to begin with, after 464 pages, I wasn't much wiser. To be fair to the author, there is not a lot of information available about Eleanor and I did find what was written about Henry II and her sons very interesting.
My greatest criticism lies in the writing style. To write a book of such length one must keep the reader not only informed, but inspired. I felt the book was written more like a PhD paper than a fascinating insight into the goings on of a powerful woman in the 12th Century.
In short, I found the book dry and labourious.
Rating:
- At Last!
I have been waiting for this book to come out for a long time. I enjoy Alison Weir's writing and have read many of her books. Like the previous reviewer, I too became fascinated with Eleanor of Aquitaine after watching 'The Lion in Winter', but had not been able to find any decent books about her - until now. This book is well written and extremely interesting, even though there is truly not much known about Eleanor. Alison Weir has thoroughly researched her topic and, if that wasn't enough, there is a fine bibliography in the back if you wish to read further. Good job Ms. Weir
- A very well researched accountOverall I found that this book gives a very comprehensive and interesting insight into a period of history that is not well documented nor that well understood. It is clear that Ms Weir has conducted very detailed research into her subject and she brings to life characters and events long forgotten.
The book has it's dry patches but generally reads very well and it does keep the reader's attention.
This period was the formation of Europe as we now know it and the tortured route of how it evolved is a fascinating and remarkable story.
Rating:
- If you liked "The Lion in Winter" - this is for you!When Henry II was 51 he declared that he was the oldest man he knew! Eleanor, his wife, lived until 82 years of age, and when she was 78 she made a progress of 1000 miles around her provinces in France....all this in an age where there were no roads, carts with wooden wheels, no medicine, no communications, and every important lord went about laying towns to waste and cutting off people's bits for their crimes. The youth of today would end up as living stumps if the same methods of justice prevailed today. Eleanor must have been a brilliant woman to have dealt with not only a difficult age and social structure and WIN! She had 10 children and was married to the kings of France and England. Her genes lay in all the royal families of Europe. And.....WOW! Did she have motivation, guts and commitment! Read it... and watch "Lion in Winter" again.
Rating:
- Interesting period, quite well written, but little evidenceWeir's book covers a fascinating period, and the basic conceit of the book - that Eleanor connected all the main players by marriage or birth - is sound enough. The problem for Weir though is that her subject is a woman. In this regard, the author has very little with which to work, and occassionally the narative slips into a discussion of how much Eleanor was permitted to spend in a given period, or the places that she stayed. The paucity of the evidence is not the fault of the author, but the decission to grant an entire volume to such a body of evidence is.
The book is at its best when discussing the events surrounding the kings, who were detailed by contemporaries in far greater detail. It is a well written book, and overall I enjoyed it. It has inspired me to read more about the period, but it often left me a little let down as I had to read yet another dry account concerning the minutia of the subject's life.
Rating:
- Nicole from Australia, 6 January 2000For a person who didn't know a great deal about Eleanor to begin with, after 464 pages, I wasn't much wiser. To be fair to the author, there is not a lot of information available about Eleanor and I did find what was written about Henry II and her sons very interesting.
My greatest criticism lies in the writing style. To write a book of such length one must keep the reader not only informed, but inspired. I felt the book was written more like a PhD paper than a fascinating insight into the goings on of a powerful woman in the 12th Century.
In short, I found the book dry and labourious.
Rating:
- At Last!I have been waiting for this book to come out for a long time. I enjoy Alison Weir's writing and have read many of her books. Like the previous reviewer, I too became fascinated with Eleanor of Aquitaine after watching 'The Lion in Winter', but had not been able to find any decent books about her - until now. This book is well written and extremely interesting, even though there is truly not much known about Eleanor. Alison Weir has thoroughly researched her topic and, if that wasn't enough, there is a fine bibliography in the back if you wish to read further. Good job Ms. Weir