To me, as someone who is not an historian, the task of trying to resaerch a woman who lived 800 years ago, would seem an impossible one. In her Preface to this book Alison Weir explains how difficult it was to find relieable sources, and how others had warned her it would be impossible to bring Eleanor of Aqitaine to life. Therefore it should not be a surprise that after reading this remarkable book - Eleanor does remain largely a figure shrouded in the mists and mystery of time. I have read some reviews from people disappointed by this. Alison Weir has used what is known and can be researched more easily about the lives of Eleanor's husband's and son's, other poltical and royal figures of the time to tell her story. In the telling of these fascinating and wholly engrossing stories, we are given some glimpses of Eleanor. She was a remarkable woman, to have been chronicled at all, at a time when women were mere chattals is some proof of that. I found this historical biography absolutly fascinating and can't wait to read more by this writer. I have infact 2 more Alison Weir TBR - 1 fiction and 1 non fiction, which I am sure I will be reading fairly soon. ( )

This was another solid Alison Weir history. I would have liked it more except that I hate, hate, hate Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a spoiled brat. I don't think I'll read any more books about her; they just make me hate her more. But if you don't dislike her and you like other Weir biographies, you'll like this book. ( )

I really enjoyed this biography of the fascinating Eleanor of Acquitaine. Although there is little source material or contemporary documentation on Eleanor's life, Alison Weir has written an account that really illuminates Eleanor's life, and that of her husbands and children. Where part of the story is conjecture rather than being based on actual evidence it is made clear, and although there were a couple of places where I felt that the conjecture seemed to be stretching it a bit, they were clearly identified and explained so that we can form our own opinion. Eleanor was a fascinating woman, whose life and actions has had such an impact on our history. ( )

This book purports to be a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and in that respect it is deceptive. As the author states several times throughout the work, there is virtually no source material on the subject. How then to fill almost 400 pages on a subject for which there is no reliable history beyond the obvious?

First, the author fills the book with general 12th century history and facts. There is every bit as much, if not more written about Henry II, the second husband of Eleanor than there is about Eleanor herself. In truth, the book should have been entitled "12th Century European History." The author writes extensively about the Second Crusade, undertaken by Eleanor's then husband, Louis of France, but has virtually nothing to say about Eleanor's role. Understandable, since there are no sources that speak of it. The book deals primarily with the political and martial dealings between the various Kings, Dukes, Earls and Counts of Europe and England.

Second, the author writes generally about the role of women in 12th century Europe and tries to compare and contrast Eleanor's activities in an attempt to paint her as a much more politically savvy and active member of society than most women of the age.

Finally, the author takes very flimsy historical information and tries to expand it to fill the historical gaps and flesh out the subject of the "biography". To her credit, she uses this technique very sparingly and avoids wholesale fiction.

With respect to the author's writing style, I found it to be very dry and at times, merely a recitation of historical facts running for pages at a time. The plethora of names and titles were at times confusing, a situation that was compounded by the style utilized by the author.

We know about Eleanor's family, her titles and estates and and the rough timeline of her marriages, divorce, children and death. Beyond that, with respect to Eleanor herself, we know very little. We do not even have a reliable likeness of her appearance. To sell this work as a "biography" is to give the word a definition with which I am unfamiliar. ( )

Terribly interesting bio of Eleanor of Aquitaine. We learn about courtly life in France, with its troubadours and amours, go on a horrible Crusade with a lousy French king, and learn that there is really very little that can be definitely said about this woman.

Maybe she had an affair with Henry II while she was married to the king of France, maybe she didn't.
Maybe she had an affair with Henry's FATHER, maybe she didn't.
Maybe she rode to Jerusalem dressed as an Amazon, maybe she didn't.

The problem is that the chroniclers of that era were biased against women to start with, and a strong woman like Eleanor tended to elicit strong feelings on either side of the debate. As queen, she didn't get much mention at all unless she 1) Gave Birth 2) Rebelled Against the King 3) Had an affair. Also, it's rare to have more than one source on any given event, so there's no way to know what was rumor and what was fact.

Consequently, Weir tends to focus on those closest to Eleanor, i.e., the men in her life, and fortunately she was not one for hanging around with dullards. Henry II was one of the greatest English kings of all time, and there is no really great bio of him out there, so it was great to read about his constant on-the-go lifestyle (he conquered or married into all of England and most of France, so he had a lot to do). And Eleanor's kids! Richard the Lionhearted, who spent almost his entire rule mucking about in the Holy Land (and perhaps mucking about with his fellow Crusaders). Then there's King John, Worst...King...Ever. His father wanted to make him heir to a kingdom that stretched from the Scottish border to the French Alps, but John felt that betraying his father was much more worthwhile (this tradition of good ideas would continue when he was king and decided he could boss the nobles around. On the plus side it did give us the Magna Carta). Anyway, great read for anyone interested in the era of castles and kings, or who has seen the great 60's movie The Lion in Winter and wondered if Katherine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Peter O'Toole and Timothy Dalton were doing an accurate job. ( )