Queen Eleanor: Independent Spirit of the Medieval World – A YA Biography of the Powerful Queen of France and England

by Polly Schoyer Brooks

Accused of being a demon by those who could not tolerate her independence, Eleanor of Aquitaine made her mark as one of the most dynamic and extraordinary figures of the Middle Ages. Born in 1122, Eleanor refused to be confined by the traditional gender roles of her time. She became well educated, gaining political and governing know-how from her father, William X, duke of Aquitaine, and armed herself with the skills necessary to become an influential queen-first of France, and later, England. With an impact that reached beyond politics, Eleanor shaped the future of the arts and humanities. And in a time when women were viewed as inferior to men, the virtues of chivalry and courtly love were born. Once described by a contemporary as "a woman beyond compare," Eleanor of Aquitaine is a figure who will remain controversial, powerful, and enchanting in the twenty-first century.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval, France, Biography Memoir, Read For School

183 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1983

About the author

Polly Schoyer Brooks lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, where she enjoys her four children, ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never heard of Queen Eleanor until we started studying the Middle Ages for homeschool. Fascinating person with an incredible amount of drama in her life. It's always a little unsettling to think about life as a royal, being married off for political reasons, to distantly related relatives but she made the most of her position regardless of where she ended up. It's amazing that she really did all those things and had all these things happen to her. It really felt like a soap opera character's life! Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Anyway, at times I felt like she was spoiled, self-centered, and unlikeable and other times I sympathized with her. She certainly matured over the years and made an impact on her world, in many good ways, but also in some bad ways.

[Anne Cordelia]

I really liked this one. It flowed well kind of like historical fiction. Eleanor was such a fascinating and unpredictable gal. She is a very influential historical figure I hadn’t heard much about before.
This book brought her character to life in all her excitement and beauty. She was far from perfect, but that only makes her all the more interesting.


Good quotes:

“The pure, ideal love that Eleanor and her ladies longed for was not just the satisfaction of sexual lust but something more precious and enduring, something more beautiful—a goal for which a lover must prove himself worthy through good behavior, loyalty, and respect for the woman he loved.” (Page 110)

“even the most hardened sinners became humble and contrite when faced with death.” (Page 125)

“Her life as a prisoner had somehow taught her compassion for the underprivileged, the poor, and the sick. From a queen of the troubadours who had inspired romance and poetry, she became a queen with as much authority as a king. Her decisions were respected, her concern for her subjects won their affection.
Henry had been admired and feared; Eleanor was admired and loved.” (Page 132)

“So many things had changed in Eleanor's long life, even warfare. War seemed more deadly now, less glorious.” (Page 149)

“free citizens would take more pride in improving and defending their towns, in maintaining order and increasing trade.” (Page 155)

“But the nuns who knew her best in her last days wrote, ‘She enhanced the grandeur of her birth by the honesty of her life.... She surpassed almost all the queens of the world.’” (Page 164)

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across this book while helping my 6th grader find a biography for school and just had to grab it for myself. See I’m reading this wonderful series “The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion” and the main character is given the nickname of Eleanor of Aquitaine (quickly shortened to E of A). So while reading that series, I kept thinking I have heard of E of A but I don’t really know who she was.

Enter Brooks slim volume. I really enjoyed reading about this remarkable woman who lived almost a thousand years ago. I realize this book was written for young readers and I’m sure there were a lot of suppositions made, but I still found this book fascinating and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about Queen Eleanor.

[Chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I found out in December through family history that I'm a descendent of Queen Eleanor. I had a daughter last month and named her Eleanor, after Queen Eleanor, our ancestor.

I read this book to know more about who she was and wow! I picked a great lady to name my daughter after!!!

Great read!

[stardustreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for class

[Maria Arechiga · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning the book seemed very boring to me. However there were parts that I founded interesting. One of those parts were that Queen Eleanor and her husband King Henry viii married their 3 year old son to a 5 year old princess so they could gain more land. It seems very interesting that Eleanor married Henry and Louis and they were her third cousins.

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how so many books manage to turn Eleanor of Aquitaine into either a simpering romantic or a woman made reckless by her sexual desires. This book manages to avoid both of those, happily, although the first half is a pretty dry read.

Some funny moments. Take this: For the occasion Eleanor wore a gown of pure silk with tight-fitting sleeves, designed to show off her delicate wrists—as important as a slim ankle is today (26). That had me scrambling to find the publication date, and indeed, this was written in the early 80s. Or this: With all the skill of a marriage counselor, the Pope tried to heal the breach between the couple (50). This was in the context of the Pope denying Eleanor a divorce and leaving her 'in despair' (50), which makes me wonder just what Brooks thinks of marriage counselors.

A certain amount of authorial liberty is probably to be expected in a biography written for a MG/YA audience. There's a limited amount of information available on Eleanor of Aquitaine, and extensive explanation of sources, etc., doesn't make for a super accessible read. That said, as an adult reader, my hackles go up when I read things like Eleanor couldn't help thinking how political marriages...united such unsuitable husbands and wives (39). She couldn't help thinking that? Did she leave a diary? If she did, good grief, I want to know about it. If not...well, then while it's a valid point about political marriages for the author to bring up, we aren't privy to what Eleanor 'couldn't help thinking'. (To be fair: This would have bothered me a great deal less as a younger reader—I think it might have been more these small liberties in the context of the pretty dry tone that bothered me.) And...I've spent an excessive amount of thought on this sentence: Of those left behind, many died of sickness or starvation; others became Moslems in exchange for bread and disappeared from history (43). What does it mean for somebody to disappear from history? Why do the ones who die on the Crusades not disappear from history?

Anyway, anyway. The book picked up considerably in the second half, covering Eleanor's later years in more detail than a lot of books allow. This woman lived—she was determined to use her considerable advantages to the utmost, and to not let being female limit her in a world where women were often powerless. There's a moment, too, when the author mentions Eleanor going to Castile to choose a granddaughter to marry a French prince...and that she hadn't seen her daughter in thirty years (157). Part of this, of course, was due to her decade-plus under house arrest, but part of it was just a mark of the times (even though Eleanor was incredibly mobile and well-travelled for the day and age). Those long stretches still happen to day, of course, especially when somebody immigrates...but that sort of detail still brought the period into sharper relief for me. It's not, all told, a bad introduction to Eleanor of Aquitaine.

[Sarah Bruno · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought reading this book would be very interesting and helpful to me since I love history instead it turned out to be one of my least favorite historical non fiction books. I think the reason for that is because it was more a fact book about the important events in her life instead of a memoir where she discusses how she felt in doing these events. And honestly I would think of this book as a reference for a history report instead of a story. One thing I did enjoy about this book was looking at all the sexism. Both of Eleanor's husbands were outright rude to her and thought of women as just property to obtain power much like we think of dogs. It highly offended me but Queen Eleanor was way more than a piece of property and did more for her country than her husbands combined. And who is more memorable in history, yes the men who practically tore France down. I found that I could connect Eleanor's life to many other powerful women such as Rosa Parks, Sible Lovington and Harriet Tubman. All these women did so much for our world and fought for justice and liberty, even when there was sexism and they all knew how important justice is. In conclusion, I would not recommend this book to a middle school student because it's not a story that flows and interests you.

[Christopher Newton]

Eleanor of Aquitaine for the Nancy Drew set. Looking for a quick read in my daughter's bookshelves, I spotted this and had a look. The first thing I noticed was that it was suitable for "ages 11 and up." I am well over eleven so I started reading and, surprisingly, found that I quite enjoyed it. Fast and fun. Good lord, I hope I'm not entering my second childhood already.

[Jennifer Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't realize this was a book for young people when I grabbed it, so I'm judging it as that. I think this would be a good introduction to Eleanor of Aqitaine, and would entice someone new to the subject to read more.

[KatjaReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it was very informative, a quick read, and enjoyable the author dropped the ball on a few points; very crucial ones.

Crucial point #1: Queen Eleanor got an Annulment NOT a divorce.

Why is this so important?

Because it's dishonest and misleading.

Brooks repeatedly states the word "Divorce" multiple times and the word "Annulment" only once. She writes as if that is exactly what an Annulment is. It's not. Queen Eleanor NEVER had a divorce. Brooks either knew the difference as she wrote this historical account, but chose bad wording or she DID NOT know the difference.

Honestly, I don't know what's worse.😐 Either way, she is misleading readers.

If she did understand the difference, it's her duty to clarify especially when writing a history book. There are many people who don't know the difference between a divorce and an annulment. She could've wrote a brief one or two sentences explaining what's an annulment. Or a small paragraph because one or two sentences might not cover it, but it doesn't matter. This book is about Queen Eleanor and doesn't need to take a great deal of time to explain an annulment. If a reader is curious enough to learn more about an annulment, he/she can go find another book about it.

If Brooks truly did not understand the difference between divorce and annulment, what does that say about her? Why did she even bother to write a history book if she won't do the work? You know...RESEARCH? It doesn't look good at all.

Yes, yes, I know it appears I am over exaggerating or too critical about the difference between divorce and annulment, but I actually understand it. I DO KNOW exactly how important this seemingly small thing is.

It's truly A HUGE MISTAKE. In a history book.😑 That some students are reading for some classes according to at least one good reads review I read. Let that sink in.

There was one other point I had a problem with, but I'm gonna drop it. I did enough already. Overall, I really did like the book. I love the cover, and MIGHT recommend it to others if they want a brief introduction before reading something heavier. I'm not certain I will recommend it because even though I liked it, I caught a few skewed points (you already know the biggest point), and I don't fully trust this author.

[Terri Durling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is almost like a Readers Digest or Queen Eleanor 101 version of the story of this mighty queen of the medieval world in the 12th century. She was queen of France, married to king Louis VII and later, after divorcing him, Queen of England, married to king Henry II. She gave birth to a rural of 10 children: two daughters with Louis and three with Henry as well as five sons with Henry. I learned a lot about this fascinating woman who lived to the age of 32 and was active for most of this years. She introduced poetry and chivalry into the court and "ladies first" was a result of her influence at the time. She had favorites amongst her children and she was very close and devoted to her first born son, Richard the Lion Hearted, going to great length to raise his ramsom when he was taken prisoner after fighting in the crusade for most of his reign. It's a short read but jam packed with facts and drama to leave tie wanting more. She was an amazing woman fir her time - ambitious, strong, adventurous, firstly and the people loved her.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biography; 5 stars

Have you ever heard of Eleanor of Aquitaine? If your answer is no, then you MUST read this book. This woman...wow.

Eleanor was a young woman, heiress to the duchy of Aquitaine (in what is now southern France). In a strategic marriage, Eleanor marries the next King of France, Louis. France is much duller than Aquitaine, and Eleanor, who was hoping for a knight in shining armor husband she could love, is disappointed both with her new home, and her new husband. Louis is a pious man, more of a monk than a King. Eleanor wanted a strong man for a husband, and she feels Louis is weak and wishy-washy. Besides that, he is a terrible military commander. Louis follows the call to battle as a crusader, and Eleanor and all her colorful court (which she brought from Aquitaine to Paris) go along. But the crusade ends in disaster. Eleanor wants to get a divorce, and eventually she does. Almost immediately after getting divorced, she remarries. Her next husband is Henry, who is Duke of Normandy. But pretty soon, Henry becomes King of England, and Eleanor is Queen. Although she has found her strong, chivalrous, knightly husband, her story is far from over. Eleanor had a lot of children, and her life (eighty plus years) was full of intrigue, suspense, adventure, betrayal...

This book is written with a younger audience in mind, which was nice because you don't have to worry about the "questionable stuff" in Eleanor's life being talked about in the book. Also, it made it a short, easy read. Eleanor is such an interesting character in history...I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about this woman.

[Megan Shipp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noah (age 10): Good book because there was a lot of adventure, but I like more comedy and this book didn’t have a lot. I never knew Eleanor had 10 children.

Jackie (age 10): it was a great book, but it didn’t have enough excited parts. I learned that Eleanor DID meet Robin Hood and that’s she never divorced King Henry.

Juliette(age 7): I thought the book was good because Eleanor had two husbands and had a lot of adventures. I liked the Authors note at the end talking about what she might have looked like.

[JoAnna Studer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the perfect primer on Eleanore of Aquitaine. It is older nonfiction, but it reads like a story from one end of her life to the other. The feats Eleanor accomplished in her lifetime were remarkable especially as a Queen in Medieval times. Read this if you would like to begin to understand a great and complex woman who was one of the most interesting figures in all of history.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so I’m not fully sure why I keep re-reading this book. I’ve liked it since I was really little and for some reason it just draws me back in every time. Who knows maybe it’s nostalgia?

Anyways, Queen Eleanor is such an interesting historical figure. She is such an interesting woman to learn about and her backstory is just heartbreaking because of all the turmoil and troubles she went through.

[Mateu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written biography of the Duchess of Aquitaine, who became Queen of France, divorced the King to be able to marry the Duke of Normandy and become kings of England. 82 years of adventures, going to the crussades, 15 years of prison, mother of ten, including Richard Lionheart, ...

[Michelle Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not greatly written, but Eleanor has such an interesting life I wanted to learn more. I wouldn’t really recommend this biography though. I’m sure there must be something better written about her. This was short and concise.

[Juliana Munguia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, I found that the natation was amazing and that it made the story interesting. But I wouldn’t recommend this for an accurate portrayal of medieval times, because although it gives a lot of descriptions about that time, it is very biased. But besides that it’s a great story!

[Elaina Goodnough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah, it's an AMAZING book, and stuff, YOU HAVE TO READ IT!

[Syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Instructive, and great writing.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this young adult biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I had no idea of anything really about her and it was short but detailed and very readable and interesting.

[Rick Chollett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It is a great example that we can achieve greatness even when society is not in our favor. Eleanor was woman to be admired.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides a good basic/surface-level introduction to Eleanor of Aquitaine.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good biography - informative and entertaining.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and my mom read it together switching off for history. Ima homeschooled kid and it was a good book

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was this book for kids and I didn't know that when I picked it up? Yes. Was it also a succinct, well-written account of the long and adventure-filled life of an extraordinary queen? Also yes.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never read or cared to read about ancient European history. I quite enjoyed this and will look for her book about Joan of Arc.

[Kristy Berends · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit on the dry side at times, but certainly a book about a fascinating and powerful woman in brutal times!

[Avonlea Gal · Rating 2 out of 5]

everyone in this book was unreasonably annoying

read for school