The Summer Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine (edition 2014)

by Elizabeth Chadwick

Series: Eleanor of Aquitaine (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
489	18	50,175	(3.82)	18
Fiction. Literature. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: Scandal, politics, sex, triumphs, and tragedies abound in The Summer Queen, the first novel in this stunning trilogy, by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick Young Eleanor has everything to look forward to as the heiress to the wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father suddenly dies, childhood is over. Sent to Paris and forced to marry Prince Louis VII of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to King and Queen. The first in the Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy, The Summer Queen follows Eleanor through the Second Crusade to the end of her marriage to Louis VII. Faced with great scandals, trials, fraught relationships, and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor seeks the path that will make her queen of two countries and one of the most powerful women in the world. Chadwick's meticulous research portrays the Middle Ages and Eleanor with depth and vivid imagery unparalleled in historical fiction that will keep readers riveted and wanting more. Following the legendary life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, 12th Century Queen of France, and later Queen of England, this trilogy is medieval historical fiction at its most romantic, scandalous, and intriguing. The Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy: The Summer Queen (Book 1) The Winter Crown (Book 2) The Autumn Throne (Book 3) Praise for The Summer Queen: "A magnificent woman's story told by a brilliant historical novelist; realistic, emotional, vibrant, exciting and unputdownable."�??RT Book Reviews, July Top Pick "The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it."�??For Winter Nights: A bookish blo… (more)

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Member:	hailelib
Title:	The Summer Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Authors:	Elizabeth Chadwick
Info:	Sourcebooks Landmark (2014), Kindle Edition, 497 pages
Collections:	Your library, eBooks
Rating:
Tags:	fiction, historical, medieval

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The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick

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This novel was my first encounter with Eleanor of Aquitaine in anything other than some broad European history classes in high school and college and with Elizabeth Chadwick, an author whose attention to detail made these historical figures come to life for me. I devoured this 500-page book in less than two partial days: the storytelling was that compelling. Although I have long been a fan of historical novels, I have confined most of my reading in that genre to novels from the 18th century onward. It is only recently that I began to read novels from earlier eras. I was skeptical that a story set in medieval times would hold my interest, so I was pleasantly surprised at how effortlessly I was drawn into this 12th century world, due largely to Ms. Chadwick's meticulous research and plain, but rich, writing style. I am so looking forward to starting the second book in this trilogy, The Winger Crown. (

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bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |

Very easy to read, engaging historical fiction. (

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calenmarwen | May 29, 2023 |

Really enjoyed this first book in a trilogy on Eleanor of Aquitaine. (

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LisaBergin | Apr 12, 2023 |

Elizabeth Chadwick has become one of my favorite authors. She knows how to take dry historical facts and weave them into tantalizing historical fiction stories. The stories flow never becoming dry or boring and always wanting the reader to read just one more page. (

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jtsolakos | Mar 22, 2023 |

Whelp I managed to finish this first novel in the trilogy. It was not very good. I'm a huge Eleanor of Aquitaine fan but not of this authors writing style.
I felt the novel had too many romance elements and felt the characters didn't think, speak or behave in period appropriate ways. In the afterword I'm impressed at the research and author's sources, just wish she's referenced them a bit more in her writing. It also appears she uses some form of supernatural resources to research 'Akashic records'. I about died laughing at that.
I love supernatural elements as plotlines to stories but sorry Chadwick you are not reaching through some supernatural force to nake contact with the long dead. Good grief.
I'll probably finish the trilogy and not read another book by this author. (

)

LoisSusan | Dec 10, 2020 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Elizabeth Chadwick	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Bader, Nina	—	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Graves, Emma	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Il'yin, Yevgeniy	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Katerinov, Ilaria	Traduttore	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Owen, Mark	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Scarfe, Katie	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Eleanor of Aquitaine (1)

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Canonical title

The Summer Queen

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2013-06-20

People/Characters

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Louis VII, King of France

Adelaide of Maurienne, Queen of France (consort of Louis VI)

Petronilla of Aquitaine, Countess of Vermandois

William X, Duke of Aquitaine

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Alienor woke at dawn.

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Literature. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:

Scandal, politics, sex, triumphs, and tragedies abound in The Summer Queen, the first novel in this stunning trilogy, by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick

Young Eleanor has everything to look forward to as the heiress to the wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father suddenly dies, childhood is over. Sent to Paris and forced to marry Prince Louis VII of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to King and Queen.

The first in the Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy, The Summer Queen follows Eleanor through the Second Crusade to the end of her marriage to Louis VII. Faced with great scandals, trials, fraught relationships, and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor seeks the path that will make her queen of two countries and one of the most powerful women in the world.

Chadwick's meticulous research portrays the Middle Ages and Eleanor with depth and vivid imagery unparalleled in historical fiction that will keep readers riveted and wanting more.

Following the legendary life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, 12th Century Queen of France, and later Queen of England, this trilogy is medieval historical fiction at its most romantic, scandalous, and intriguing.

The Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy:
The Summer Queen (Book 1)
The Winter Crown (Book 2)
The Autumn Throne (Book 3)

Praise for The Summer Queen:
"A magnificent woman's story told by a brilliant historical novelist; realistic, emotional, vibrant, exciting and unputdownable."�??RT Book Reviews, July Top Pick
"The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it."�??For Winter Nights: A bookish blo

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Book description

Young, golden-haired and blue-eyed Eleanor has everything to look forward to as the heiress to wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father dies suddenly in the summer of 1137, her childhood is over. Forced to marry the young prince Louis of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to being crowned King and Queen of France. Leaving everything behind, Eleanor must face the complex and vivacious French court. She is only 13. Barely out of childhood, and forced to deal with great scandals, fraught relationships and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor finally sees what her future could hold if she could just seize the moment.

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