Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 (The Royal Diaries) [Hardcover]

Kristiana Gregory (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Author of the best-selling Royal Diaries title, CLEOPATRA VII, Kristiana Gregory now takes readers to twelfth-century France and introduces Eleanor of Aquitaine, who becomes queen at age 15.

Fourteen-year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine lives in a castle in Poitier, France, with her father Count William of Aquitaine (son of William the Conqueror), and her 12-year-old sister Petronilla. Their mother died several years earlier, so their grandmother and ladies-in-waiting raise the girls. Eleanor is extremely intelligent and literate, having been carefully educated by royal tutors. Spinning bores her, as does weaving, sewing, and other housewifery skills expected of her. She would rather be a knight and ride off to war. In fact, in 1136, when her father is invited to help invade Normandy,

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Eleanor's story begins in Poitiers, where she lives in a castle with her father, Duke William X of Aquitaine; her younger sister; and her grandmother. The 13-year-old's days are filled with lessons, court gossip and intrigue, and royal feasts. As a young lady approaching the marrying age, she and others are on the lookout for a suitable husband for her. Eleanor's diary is also the repository of some of the seamy details of life, including fleas in people's hair. When she marries the King of France's son, Louis the Younger, she goes to Paris to assume her new royal duties. With attention focused on the small details of life and her youthful dreams, Eleanor comes to life. At the same time, readers learn about this period and some of its inhabitants through her eyes. An epilogue, historical note, family tree, photographs, and glossary of characters round out the book. Fans of the series will devour this installment.
Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Gregory finds a near-perfect individual for the Royal Diaries series in Eleanor of Aquitaine and does her subject justice. The story begins in 1136, when Eleanor is a disobedient 13-year-old in her father's ducal palace, and ends in 1137, when she marries and becomes queen of France. In this fictional diary, Eleanor records a wide variety of events and displays myriad emotions while creating an informative backdrop of the social and religious customs of the twelfth century. The characterizations of the lively Eleanor, her protective grandmother, and her troubled father are all convincing within their time and place. The book ends with an epilogue, a historical note, a Capet-Plantagenet family tree, and a list of characters (some historical, some fictional). Illustrations, also grouped at the end, include black-and-white reproductions of period paintings and engravings, photos of places and artifacts, and a map. A rewarding addition to a popular series. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; First edition. edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439164842
• ISBN-13: 978-0439164849
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Europe
  • #96 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Royalty

More About the Author

Kristiana Gregory grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, two blocks from the ocean. She's always loved to make up stories [ask her family!], telling her younger siblings whoppers that would leave them wide-eyed and shivering. Her first rejection letter at age ten was for a poem she wrote in class when she was supposed to be doing a math assignment. She's had a myriad of odd jobs: telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer & columnist for the LA Times, and finally author.

"Jenny of the Tetons" [Harcourt] won the Golden Kite Award in 1989 and was the first of two-dozen historical novels for middle grade readers. "Bronte's Book Club" [Holiday House] is set in a town by the sea and is inspired by the girls' book club she led for several years. "My Darlin' Clementine" [HH] takes place in an Idaho mining camp of 1866, based on the song of that name.

Her popular "Cabin Creek Mysteries" are from stories she told her sons when they were little and needed a bribe to go to bed. All she needed to say was, "Do you guys want to hear a Jeff and David story?" and boom they were there. Kristiana's most recent title is "Cannons At Dawn" in Scholastic's Dear America series, a sequel to the best-selling "The Winter of Red Snow," which was made into a movie for the HBO Family Channel.

Kristiana and her husband have two adult sons, and live in Idaho with their two golden retrievers. In her spare time she loves to swim, walk, read, and hang out with friends. She's trying to learn to knit, but isn't yet having much success.

Check out Kristiana's blogs at http://notesfromthesunroom.blogspot.com/ for behind-the-scenes stories about her books, and with photos from her childhood.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Royal Diary ever!, October 15, 2002

By 

"royaldiaryfan2000" (Aston, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 (The Royal Diaries) (Hardcover)

I thought this book would be boring and bought it early at a September bookfair to complete my Royal Diaries collection, but when I read it-I found it too be better than Gregory's earlier Royal Diary-Cleopatra.Not only better thna Cleopatra, but better than any of the Royal Diaries! The story follows the teenage years of Eleanor, the oldest daughter of the duke of Aquitaine-a French duchy.As a teenage girl-Eleanor lives a life in her father's many castles-particularly Poitiers and Talmont-by-the-Sea under the education of her Grandmere (Grandmother) along with her dearest sister, Petronilla. Over the years we see the beautful and artistic court of Aquitaine-which is very genuine considering the courts of other countries are artless and dank places. Anyway, we hear stories of Eleanor's past-filled with tragic deaths-including her four-year-old brother's which is heartbreaking.We hear Eleanor's love interest over a knight-Clotaire the Stronger and we even get to experience her strong and fantasy like relationship with Petronilla.However, after her father's many careless and artistic years as Duke of Aquitaine, he begins to become a religious man and decides to take a religious pilgrimage to a cathedral in Spain.Taking his daughters only as far as Bordeaux, he dies only months later of food poisoning he contracted from uncooked fish. Eleanor is placed under the guardianship of the King of France-Louis VI.Since Eleanor now holds more land than the king-Louis marries Eleanor to his son-14 year old Louis VII.Eleanor instantly falls in love with him.Although she meets him in the most unexpected spot-she is in the lake having jumped in with so much excitement.A shirtless boy with golden hair and a tanned chest helps her out.Only thne doe sshe realize it's her teenage husband. We then begin to hear of her love for Louis and his for her and their secret meetings. The story ends only a few days after the marriage of the two teens-who travel on their wedding night to secure a castle that endsin a military tragedy.It's not the romance Eleanor imagines.The last entry is when Eleanor finds out Louis's father-the king-died of dysenterry and now she is the queen of France and Aquitaine with her husband at her side! This is a romantic and lively story that is well-written researched, full of great vocabulary, gives a great insight on Eleanor's later life, and shows the world of the wonderful court of the duchy of Aquitaine.This book is great and everyone should read it!-don't just buy it to finsih the collection.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Royal Diary so far., October 19, 2002

By 

hiphopgirl_1000 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 (The Royal Diaries) (Hardcover)

Thirteen-year-old Eleanor is the oldest daughter of Count William Aquitaine, and heir to her Father's powerful empire even since her younger brother died at the age of four. Being a teenage girl, Eleanor and her younger sister Petronilla, live in the many beautiful palaces of her father and are under the care of their Grandmere, who also gave Eleanor this diary to write in. Mischieveous Eleanor is always a constant struggle to her Grandmere and ladies-in-waiting. However, Eleanor's light, happy life takes a turn when her careless father, dies of food-poisoning, on their pilgrimage to Spain. All of a sudden Eleanor finds herself owning a bunch of land and bethrothed, for political reasons, to sixteen-year-old Prince Louis VII of France. Eleanor knows that her father's many lands, which is even bigger than King Louis's empire is very much the reason for the bethrol. Through this all Eleanor wonders if she can ever marry only for love and nothing else. Her perseptives change though when she finally meets her young teenage husband, and the sparks between them fly. This is definitely my favorite Royal Diary. I am quite the romantic and I loved Prince Louis and Eleanor's romance, it was brilliantly written. I can tell much research was made to write this book and I recommend all fans to read it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great addition to The Royal Diaries, October 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 (The Royal Diaries) (Hardcover)

After enjoying Cleopatra VII, I knew that Kristiana Gregory's second book in The Royal Diaries would be very detailed and well-written. Even though I expected this book to be excellent, it even outreached my expectations. The story begins when Eleanor receives a diary from Grandmere (her grandmother). She writes of daily activies with her sister Petronilla, events at the castle, people of the government, etc. When her father, the Duke of Aquitaine, plans to go on a pilgrimage and dies shortly after reaching his destination, Eleanor's life is completely changed. She is the Duchess of Aquitaine and must be held under severe security. Because she holds more land than the King of France, he marries her to his son, Louis the Younger. Eleanor is fond of him from the early beginning. As they venture to return home, both are informed that King Louis of France has died, and now they are both the new king and queen. This was a very excellent addition to The Royal Diaries. If you are looking to start off the series, I would recommend this as a beginning.