Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

This is an amazing book about an even more amazing woman and I highly recommend getting it! 😊 The issues I do have though aren't with the actual book or author but with how Amazon handled it. FYI my five star rating is for the book and author NOT for Amazon they don't even deserve one star 🙃• For whatever stupid reason Amazon ALWAYS puts their barcode/product stickers DIRECTLY ONTO THE BOOK which means you're either stuck with an ugly sticker that makes the book look trashy or try to remove it and at worst damage the book in the process and at best remove the sticker but are left with sticky residue from the sticker. Amazon really needs to start storing books in an individual cheap plastic bag or wrap or some other clear material and put the barcode/product sticker on that instead of on the book so the book doesn't get damaged and look bad.• Even though this book was supposed to be "brand new" and I paid the brand new price it's all beat up and looks like it was handled roughly and not stored properly. Every corner of the book is damaged, lot's of tearing on the binding, the matte cover already has scratches and knicks on it, the part that connects the binding and paper feels really weak like it's already starting to come apart and will come apart with minimal use, lots of loose ripped small pieces of paper and binding all over the book, etc.• The actual making of this book was horrendous, low quality, lazy, half a**ed and shoddy. The printing is off inside the book, some pages the wording is almost cut off at the top, some pages the wording is almost cut off at the bottom, very rarely is the wording ever centered on a page, none of the pages are even, some pages lean more to the right, some pages lean more to the left, it's clear as day that the paper used for the book wasn't properly sized because whenever I close the book some pages stick out aren't even with others and instead of it being smooth when closed like other books it's really tough and uneven, etc.I love this book, I love the woman this book's about and I love the author of this book (huge fan of her work) but I hate the way Amazon made it, handled it and how they handle other books. It'd be one thing if I bought a used book and this happened but I didn't so there's NO excuse for this to happen to a brand new book that I paid brand new price for. Fix yourself Amazon 🤦🏻‍♀️

Allison Weir is a brilliant historian and very detailed writer! This book got a little annoying at times because there was so much about the big male players at the time and nothing about Eleanor, the focus of the book; HOWEVER, Allison prefaced with telling the reader that there are a lot of holes in what is known about Eleanor, so she filled in her story with giving you backstory and history on what was going on in her world during her lifetime. I totally understand and it's all great writing and fascinating history; it just got frustrating reading so much about events and things regarding her husband or her sons when if i had wanted to read about them as the focus, I would have chosen a different book. BUT, it's still really good and I recommend you to read it!

Here is a woman centuries (if not a millennium) ahead of her time. Read it as an adventure story, and you can't put it down. I'm sure it was wonderfully researched, but just consider the time and the plot. It is 1050 or so. An unknown minor nobility princess gets put down in her father's will as an afterthought when he goes out on a quest, never suspecting that he won't return. She in the meanwhile, has affairs with the men in court (including her uncle?) and then because of her sudden status as an heiress gets matched up with the crown prince of France. They get married in great pomp and circumstance, the king dies and now suddenly she is Queen of France. Well, that sounds great, but being Queen of France was sort of a second fiddle position because many of the French Estates were richer and more powerful than the King. The young king, however, wishes he was a monk and is somewhat slothful in his manly duties to his wife. She does manage to produce two heirs, but alas, they are female and what good is that? So, after an ill-fated trip on a Crusade (made ill fated by the incompetence of her Kingly husband), it is decided that it might be a good idea if her marriage is annulled based on consanguinity and of course, her inability, to produce a male heir.Next Chapter. Eleanor (now about age 30) meets a young Prince Henry (age 18) and they decide it will be a good idea if, after her pending "annulment", they get married to join their two kingdoms. As the dowager of Aquitane, Eleanor has the richest province in France. There are rumors (unfounded of course) that they even cemented their union a little early, notwithstanding that Eleanor was said to be one of the most beautiful and desirous women in Europe. As soon as the ink is dry on her divorce, Prince Henry and Ex-Queen Eleanor tie the knot. Prince Henry, meanwhile, through intrigue and outright skullduggery, becomes King of England. Eleanor now has been Queen of France and is Queen of England - are you following this? She produces four healthy sons and a few daughters (who cares about them?).Next Chapter. Despite their mutual attraction, things aren't going so well for the Royal Couple. For one thing, the King has an eye for younger women, one of whom he sets up housekeeping with. Not to mention the Royal out of wedlock offspring which need positions in court, but can't inherit the throne. Eleanor meanwhile, dotes on her sons. She sets up young Henry (the firstborn) as a sort of "King Elect" to be ready when the inevitable happens to Old King Henry. This doesn't seem to bother Old King Henry, until Eleanor and her sons foment a revolution to put the Young King on the throne. After all, this would mean Old King Henry might lose some of his land and girl friends. Battles naturally ensue with the Old King prevailing. The Old King forgives his son, but not his wife whom he sends off under house arrest to be exiled in one his distant castles. But Young King Henry dies, alas, leaving the succession again in question.Next Chapter. Queen Eleanor has a preponderant love for her now oldest son, Richard. There is a historical question, still unanswered, whether Richard liked boys or girls better. Richard does not mind being matched up with a woman for hierarchical purposes so there is the usual intrigue on how this will happen. Richard, howevepr, seems happier jousting and battling. These activities often take him away from the Castle. So when Old King Henry (he is still 12 years younger than Eleanor) dies, that creates the usual succession question.Next Chapter. Richard is declared the king, but true to form he can't resist leading battles away from the Kingdom. On one of his forays through Germanic territories, he is kidnapped by an ambitious Prince. England now comes up with an enormous ransom which doesn't sound like all that much until you realize that it was about 1 1/2 times the entire Annual GDP for England that year. On his return, Richard dies.Next Chapter. Now it's left to the youngest heir (the middle son has also died), John, to be King of England. He is unprepared, but not to worry, his Mom (Eleanor) has had plenty of experience leading the country and spends the next few years helping out. Eleanor tires of this and spends the rest of her days in a Nunnery in peaceful contemplation.The book does not follow up with John's rule, but trust me, it doesn't turn out so well for England. King John's contemporary nickname "John Lackland" sort of sums it up.I promise you, I didn't make this up! Try getting a story like this published on a non-historical basis.The book is well written and very comfortable to go through. It's a little long because of the content of its subject, but never dull. If you enjoy any part of history, spend some time with it.