Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine

This novel begins when she was Queen of France, shortly before she meets Henry, soon to be Henry II. It encompasses their marriage, and the history which occurred.Even though I knew how it would end with Becket, I loved the run-up to it.

The family of Henry 2 and Eleanor was completely messed up. I didn't know much about them but this book has been so well researched and written, you get a clear picture. It was a lot of info and hard to keep some of it straight, Ms Weir covers so much in depth. Henry emerges as a horrible person and their sons don't look so good either. I always knew King John was the awful king, and that Richard 1 was an honorable man, but no, this book paints his real character. Eleanor was long suffering and caught between husband and sons, earning her nothing but misery in prison. Rather different reading than any of Ms Weir's other books, but I trust her to write truth in history. Sad read of power, control and poor character.

I read this historical novel a few years ago. But since I am re-reading the actual biography that Alison Weir had written about Eleanor of Aquitaine I am reminded of what I had really enjoyed in the novel itself. Eleanor is a character that easily lends itself to drama as she had such a strong personality and her life encapsulated the extremes of experience a human being can go through in life. What comes out particularly strongly is the strong sexuality that emanates from her and which provides such a spark in her relationship with her second husband, Henry II. I remember Alison saying that she had received some criticism for highlighting this but speaking for myself I found it an energizing part of the story and personality of Eleanor. There is high emotion throughout and even when Eleanor gets older she is depicted as full of energy and enthusiasm for living life to the full. It is a novel brimming with interest and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a highly strung story and wishes to get an overall impression of one of the most exciting royal personalities of the Middle Ages.

What a great read. Historical fiction at its best. This was my first look at the life of Eleanor. Really enjoyed it.

great book, I loved it

Alison Weir’s fiction and her non-fiction is normally exceptional—this book didn’t quite hit the mark her work normally reaches. It was good, just not great.I think Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the most interesting women in history. She was married to two different kings, and the mother of more. She quite likely had an affair with the father of her second husband before meeting and falling in love with his son. She almost certainly had other extramarital affairs. She inherited and ruled a huge amount of land. She felt betrayed by her second husband Henry, and in turn betrayed him in favor of her children—and was imprisoned by him for years and years. Despite being 11 years older than Henry, she outlived him by 15 years (and outlived most of her children—she had either 10 or 11 children in total). She was passionate and outgoing, an equestrienne and a patron of the arts, and both loyal and scheming.Alison Weir’s version starts when Eleanor’s marriage to King Louis of France is crumbling. Eleanor has wanted to annul it for some time, and after becoming lovestruck by Henry, she convinces Abbot Bernard that Louis needs to annul the union so he can remarry and have sons. She claims that she and Louis are too closely related, and this is why they have only 2 daughters and no sons. She immediately remarries Henry, despite him being even more closely related, lol. Most of the book covers the period of their tempestuous marriage.I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning and middle of this book, but it dragged a bit after Henry starts clashing with Eleanor and their sons, and while Eleanor is imprisoned. But maybe I just don’t find that part of Eleanor’s life as exciting as some of the others…I recommend to anyone who is a fan of Eleanor of Aquitaine, or anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or who liked Weir’s non-fiction books about Eleanor.

I'm wondering if the first reviewer "in my opinion" was having a bad day or was taken aback by the more than usual graphic descriptions of the sexually oriented text. If that was the problem, why didn't you just say so? The book IS (didn't notice any drivel in my copy) very good and the fact is, the court was a sexually charged environment and that kind of teasing, play and conquest by both male and female was part of the day. The book was historically accurate with fiction intertwined as usual but the content in question was "IMO" needed to convey the overpowering love purported to have been Henry and Eleanor in the early days. Had the first reviewer read the entire text I think the need for the contrast would have been evident in the end. Once again "IMO" the book was very good, a very enjoyable read but admittedly wasn't in Ms Weirs usual historical chronicle type format. But that's all good. Thanks for another good piece of work Allison. God Speed be yours

These early women heroines are my favorite reads, and Alison Weir is one of my favorite authors in that genre. I prefer to read an historic book that reads like a novel rather than an historic romance or something that may play with historic facts and people. Alison does not do that, and yet, her books definitely read like an enjoyable novel. Eleanor of Aquitaine is my favorite woman of history, and she definitely comes alive in Captive Queen. It was a real pleasure to read it.

I gave this to a friend who enjoys historical fiction founded on fact which permeates this thrilling novel by a respected historian with great imagination. Tells of the remarkable women who was first, the queen of France, and next the queen of England, and who gave birth to sons, including Richard the Lionheart and and King John. Almost as full of incident as Game of Thrones -- and true!

The product was not to my satisfaction

Intéressant, livre très complet sur Aliénor d'Aquitaine et tout le règne d'Henri II. Intéressante aussi l'écriture: des épisodes légers au début sur la relation du couple, mais Alison Weir retrouve un ton plus sérieux pour analyser l'évolution dramatique de leur relation et celle du roi et de Thomas Becket par exemple. Cette capacité d'adaptation et les analyses par ailleurs profondes rendent le livre d'autant plus attrayant.

After reading The Captive Queen I found out that I didn't know half what I thought I did about her. She was a very resilient woman and a very great help to Henry 11. he gave her a very bad life but she still carried on none the less.It is a very great love story and the historical content was also greatly informative. I recommend it and will be looking for more books by Alison Weir. Thanks for the hours of entertainment.

Alison Weir has proved once again that she is excellent at writing a historical 'novel'. Having read 'Innocent Traitor' and 'Elizabeth' both written about periods in history with which I am very familiar, I was a little circumspect about this novel as the Plantagenet period is a period in history I know very little about. However, I was not disappointed. The book had me mesmerised after the first few pages. It centres around Eleanor of Aquitaine and her marriage to Henry Plantagenet which at first seems an 'ideal' marriage but cracks do begin to appear quite early on, namely with his relationship with Thomas Becket which ended tragically in Becket's murder at Canterbury along with Henry's affairs including the 'fair' Rosamund de Clifford. As the book progresses we get an insight into Henry's relationships with his children which are in contrast to those of Eleanor - all making for a very interesting and extremely enjoyable novel.I have given this novel 5 stars which I feel are richly deserved and would recommend it to anyone, like myself, who is a 'historical fiction fanatic'. Read and enjoy!!