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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Meade's history is full of color, but based on facts., April 9, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography (Paperback)
I first read this work some years ago, after it was first published. I have since re-read it several times. Marion Meade's flowing and colorful literary style helps to make this history an entertaining and educational read. Meade takes the reader on a textured journey, from the beginnings of Eleanor of Aquitaine's family history, through to her stay at Fountervault Abbey in France, where she died in the early 13th century. All along, the reader is given a solid glimpse of a long and eventful life of a woman who was clearly ahead of her time. Meade also infuses Eleanor's apparent sense of humor into the work, made factual from actual documents of the period. Meade shows Eleanor for who she was: Queen of two countries (and expert politician), wife of two kings, and mother of many children. It does not spare the reader Eleanor's human frailties, but does not pretend that Eleanor was a pawn among males during her life. In addition, Meade paints the reader a canvas of period life from the Queen's perspective, and colorfully illustrates the emotional, as well as the factual aspects of the life of this amazing woman.
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent biography ..., April 6, 2000
This review is from: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography (Paperback)
Although I have been acquainted with a turbulent life of this amasing woman in fits and starts by reading different other historical books (fiction and non-fiction), by far this book surpasses them in richness of detailes and thorough approach. Account of Eleanor's life starts with her ancestors, follows her happy cloudless childhood, sudden marriage to King Louis of France, her relations in this ill-matched union, participation in crusade, divorce, dazzling marriage to Henry II Plantagenet, her genious of administration and support of chivalry culture, birth of numerous "eaglets" and accounts of their lives, describes the cooling down of matrimonial passion, exile, return to glory with the rule of Richard the Lion Heart and disentegration of vast Plantagenet domains at John Lackland's rule after Eleanor's death. It is not a dry account of facts, but engrossing multicolored mosaic of names, feelings, deeds, customs and reasons. In her times a woman could be noted either by being a saint or too scandalous: Eleanor was neither, but worth while being remembered after 800 years. Although I must add that one can feel at once that the author is a woman and that the book was written in the 70s, when feministic movement was in its height and we just started to re-discover anew the role of women in history. However, now, 20 years later, after reading this book, no one would disagree, that the author overpraised her heroine - Eleanor of Aquitaine well deserves remembrance and admiration.
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29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written, February 6, 2002
This review is from: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography (Paperback)
Meade does an extremely good job in writing Eleanor's biography and is able to let her readers get to know Eleanor intimately. Eleanor of Acquitaine was an exceptional woman, in that she changed the course of history for both England and France when she divorced the King of France, Louis and eight weeks later, married the King of England, Henry II. When she was with Louis, she was unable to produce male heirs but when she married Henry, she was able to produce a few male heirs. Meade brought us back to when Eleanor was a child and how she grew up to be as powerful as she did. During the medieval period, women were powerless and they were only used to produce male heirs. Eleanor, however, was different. She was manipulative, cunning, intelligent, highly educated, cultured and ambitious. After her marriage to Henry, Meade examined her relationship with Henry and her sons. Henry, like most Kings, was extremely unfaithful and brought his mistress, Rosamund to replace Eleanor, unofficially. Eleanor, took her revenge on Henry by encouraging her sons to rebel against their father. That is the gist of the book but it consists a lot more dramas and turmoils than I am able to write here. This book is extremely readable.... Even if you don't have any previous knowledge on Europe medieval history. It's in a way very "soap opera" like and very exciting to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about medieval history and who is interested in Eleanor.
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