Duchess of Aquitaine: A Novel of Eleanor

by Margaret Ball, Kinuko Y. Craft (Illustrator)

"Love is for peasants," Eleanor said. "We make alliances. And I intend to make a very good one."

Beautiful and brilliant, Eleanor is the daughter of the duke of Aquitaine, whose glittering court is the twelfth-century birthplace of courtly love. For all of the duke's boasts that Eleanor has the brains of a man and the soul of a warrior, everyone knows that a girl of fifteen cannot possibly hold the richest dukedom in France. Everyone, that is, except for her dying father, who insists on leaving Eleanor his most valuable provinces--and making her prey to the first baron who rides in to kidnap her.
In order to safeguard her lands and her life, Eleanor devises a scheme to marry the heir to the throne of France. But she must learn to be careful what she wishes for. Eleanor's alliance to Louis VII may be a dazzling one, but her husband is a cautious man, originally intended for the priesthood, whose wit and courage do not always match Eleanor's own; and she ultimately finds herself seeking an even greater match with Henry II of England.
Sweeping from the courts of Paris to the perils of the Crusades, Duchess of Aquitaine gloriously illuminates the life of one of the most powerful, resourceful, and fascinating women in all of history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Medieval, France, 12th Century, Fantasy

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 13, 2006

About the author

Margaret Ball lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and near two grown children. She has a B.A. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas. After graduation, she taught briefly at UCLA, then spent several years honing her science fiction and fantasy writing skills by designing computer software and making inflated promises about its capabilities. She has written a number of science fiction/fantasy novels as well as two historical novels, and is currently working on a science fiction series to be released on Kindle and in paperback in the fall of 2017. She would love to be influenced by Connie Willis and the other authors listed but fears that is mainly wishful thinking.

Reviews

[Milliebot]

DNF at 50%

This wasn't a bad book, I just stopped caring. I like reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine, but there was too much other crap going on in this book that felt irrelevant. Probably Ball was trying to set the scene at the time, etc, but I couldn't get into it. It wasn't even that it was boring - I just suddenly realized I didn't care what happened during the last half of the book, so I gave up.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical fiction, but not great. That's the summarized version, but for those of you who want a little more I will go into detail...

I thought a novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine would be a powerful story pushed along by a powerful character. There really was no central conflict that the story flowed along so it was going to have to be the characters that made it interesting and unfortunately it fell flat a lot of the time. Eleanor was the most well-rounded of everyone and a couple of times even she came across two-demensional and the story line fell. It really felt that Margaret Ball was trying to highlight everything in Eleanor's early reign and that was just too much. In historical fiction you don't need to do that. It's why it's called historical fiction.

Despite all that it was still an interesting read. Eleanor is, like a said, a powerful and fascinating character. The fact that she constantly took control (or tried to take control) of her own life and future, really unheard of back then, is at least one reason you may enjoy this novel. Our dear Louis VII is another reason to keep reading, he's just so catty and evil, yet sweet and charming. A very bipolar character almost. You also have the cocky Henry II popping up randomly and lightening things up, along with a few other fun characters.

In the end it's a good historical fiction novel that comes across more historical than fiction which I think is what often times causes it to fall flat. Still give it a try though, and tell me what you think.

[Jessika Baskett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've long been fascinated by Eleanor of Aquitaine and looked forward to reading a book written on this particular period of her life.

I wanted to like this book, I truly did, but from the beginning it was a struggle to stick with it.

The first chapter seemed to be written from a metaphysical point of view and this theme was only very briefly and occasionally returned to, it could have been eliminated from the book and no one would have missed it, it added nothing to the story.

I realize that there isn't all that much known about Eleanor of Aquitane (in comparison to other historical figures) and she may be a difficult character to flesh out but I never felt she was fully realized. This Eleanor seemed to be a shallow vapid girl who only managed to accomplish what she did through selfish action and luck. The adult Eleanor at the end of the book does not seem to have matured away from the teenage Eleanor we met at the beginning of the book.

Perhaps, I simply have an idea of who Eleanor was and will not like anything that deviates from the person I've created in my mind.

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently it's possible to turn someone like Eleanor into a complete bore. Sad.

[Jules Larimore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Margaret Ball's writing style, an intersection of poetry, history, and a touch of mysticism. Her attention to detail and historical accuracy are excellent. The story covers the early days of Eleanor's (Alienor d'Aquitaine's) life, her father's death, her marriage to Louis VII and ultimate divorce, yet it does something I've not read elsewhere -- it takes us into the fascinating time while on Crusade. The author helps us step into Eleanor's shoes as she experiences the rigors and challenges of traveling through hostile and dangerous territory, as well as the exotic charms of the cultures that must have made a huge impact on Eleanor. I highly recommend the "Duchess of Aquitaine."

[Moira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have given this a 3.5.

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is full of spoilers if you don't know anything about Eleanor of Aquitaine.




This is (obviously) the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, from the time of her father's death to her divorce from whichever King Louis of France (that was never made clear). She plots to become Queen, goes on Crusade, and then divorces her weak, religious husband.

This book was okay. I've heard of Eleanor, of course, but I didn't know much about her. I did learn some things, but the pacing of the book was all wrong for me. The part where she's trying to choose a husband who will help her hold her father's lands was pretty quick. All of a sudden, she was a queen. Then she was an unhappy, bored, unappreciated queen. That part dragged on and on. Then she went on Crusade with her husband, on his orders. This was actually pretty interesting. She meets the Emperor of Constantinople, she sees fighting, she discusses strategy with the local leaders, and then her husband grows a backbone, tells her he's doing everything his way, and she'll be quiet and like it. Flash forward about three years. We've read what feels like her every waking thought for the previous ten or so years, but just when it gets interesting and she starts to show what she's capable of, we just flash forward. I was disappointed. Then she gets divorced from the mostly spineless King Louis and outwits him to marry Henry Plantagenet. And they lived happily ever after? Who knows? This is where the author just decided to stop. For me, there was way too much of the parts I didn't care about and very little of the parts that were interesting.

The character of Eleanor was very well-developed. I was interested in her and she felt real to me. Louis was developed enough for me to despise him. Everyone else was pretty flat.

I would say that there have got to be better books about Eleanor of Aquitaine out there. Read those instead.

[Jean Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book because I LOVE me some Eleanor. She was an amazing woman and most books about her tend to be pretty amazing. I also loved how this dealt with the less common area of her life: the beginning, when she became Duchess of Aquitaine, when she had to find a powerful husband that could protect her from other men who would try to take her duchy for themselves. From there it goes from her less than stellar marriage to the King of France who's too busy being more of a monk than a king which leads to the Crusade. Eleanor being Eleanor demands that she goes along and chaos ensues. It's very well written and the author adds in a bit of magic and mystery to the character of Eleanor.

[Savannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is anyone else finding this a dreadfully dull read? I just can't get into it. I dread even gearing myself up to read it. I've braved 242 pages so far (stopping in the middle to read other books--something I almost never do!) and I am wondering if it's even worth continuing. I loved the prologue so much, and expected more quality writing, but instead grew put-off by the weird jumps of perspective, the dry "this happened then this happened" writing, and the seeming lack of any major plot or emotion (other than sheer boredom). Anyone else?

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was great, and then it wasn't. It held so much promise and then pretty much deteriorated once we reached the Crusades.

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was absolutely wonderful! Eleanor of Aquitaine was already a magnetic figure for me, thanks to the original Lion in the Winter film starring the regal and fiery Katherine Hepburn as well the amazingly talented Peter O’Toole. I did think we would get some sense of their life together. I didn’t know much about Eleanor, but I had just automatically associated her with England’s monarchy, so naturally, I was confused and full of foreboding when I read that she had married herself off to that evil Louis of the Franks. I did not expect a novel of Young Eleanor. In fact, I’m older than her character was at the end of this book. I wish Margaret Ball would give us a sequel to this work! Whatever I did or did not expect, I absolutely adore this piece, and will be seeking out more of Ball’s work. When you read certain books, you discover if they are your friends. This book is now my friend. I highly recommend it!

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost didn't want to finish this book. It was so slow at the beginning with such a heavy dose of mysticism that my interest diminished rapidly. But, it's Eleanor and her life was exciting so I persevered. The odd elements of witchcraft and mysticism still popped up here and there but they became more sporadic as the story progressed. The story gave a lot of detail into Eleanor's life and another alternative into her amorous adventures on Crusade (an affair with the Byzantine emperor). Honestly the story got exciting just as it ended, with the introduction of Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor's flight from Louis' court. I've enjoyed other books about Eleanor more- Jean Plaidy's Courts of Love and Sharon Kay Penman's Plantagenet series, starting with When Christ and His Saints Slept.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

See Aaron's review.

I was not aware of Eleanor's marriage to Henry, at the end of this book, that resulted in the REST of her life, the life she is better known for. Good on her! THAT would have made a better book . . . However, this book wasn't bad, it was just TOO full of court intrigues and (interesting, to me), people who kept getting their head cut off or whacked to death; I suppose that's part of what the Middle Ages was all about. Good portraits of Abbot Sugar, and of (bi-polar) King Luis. I was unclear about the Crusade, whether they made it or not, despite re-reading the relevant passages, and she abruptly had a second daughter, despite spending PAGES on the birth of her first daughter. I suppose I could say it was unevenly good.

[Ema · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uuuugh this book DRAGGED.

I love history. Always have, always will. And I’ve wanted to know more about Eleanor if Aquitaine. This book wasn’t what I wanted. It was slow in places, infuriated me in others, and only briefly was entertaining. It also jumps around quite a bit with no warning, and expects the reader to keep up with its vague allusions to historical happenings and movements. I did greatly enjoy the first few chapter, however.

I wouldn’t recommend this to most, but if you like dull historical scene-setting, go for it.

[Patricia Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of my very favorite women in history. A brilliant mind, strong character, undaunted by whatever life threw at her. She was considered the most intelligent, lovely and captivating woman of her time. I've read a lot of books about her, and this one is very good...well researched and beautifully written. I only wish it covered her whole life, and not just the first half up until she married Henry. Of course, that would have made it incredibly long...or a couple of books. Otherwise, I enjoyed it very much.

[Ulana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good historical fiction novel about a real duchess in the 12th Century. She was intelligent and brave, but lived at a time where women were not listened to or respected. So her life was a challenge in spite of her position. As I read it, I struggled with her as she tried to make things work and be content. She married Louis for her country's position and had never met him before. He had wanted to be a monk, but became the king.

[Pamela Maring · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time putting this down. This was a piece of history that was fascinating and one with which I was not too familiar, so it was like having dessert first. I really thought the book ended too soon.

[Katrina Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book, but a little too heavy on the political details of the time. I found myself skimming a lot to get the story moving again. Also, I was kind of bummed the booked focused on her early life before she married Henry and nothing about England or her legacy there.

[Rachael Barbour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers the earlier life of Eleanor, up to her marriage to Henry. It's a novel, but the basic facts are correct.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of the magical realism element or number of POVs, especially for minor characters. Sometimes it felt like a modern viewpoint was being put on these Medieval characters.

[Pattie]

Unfinished

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad to say but I like others before me DNF...I maybe made it to about 15%. I really really wanted to like this book because historical fiction is normally right up my alley and like others have mentioned it isn't that it is poorly written book persay it is just that I just literally stopped caring at all. There seems to be too much fact and not enough girth behind the story. Like at no point in time do you get any sense of what ANYONE in the story cares about or feels. Of COURSE noone knows for sure what they felt or cared about, because none of us lived at that time, but why even write a fiction story if all you can give us is the historical account that everyone already knows?

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleanor of Aquitaine is probably best known for her time as the Queen of England, when she was married to Henry II and the mother of Richard the Lion-Heart. Before that, though, she was also the queen of France and the duchess of major holdings in the Frankish kingdoms on her own accord. This novel explores the earlier period.

The novel begins as her father is visiting the the cathedral in San Juan Capistrano in Barcelona. He has gone to beg forgiveness for the actions he has taken during times of war. Apparently, God is less than willing to accept his apologies because he stops for a fish dinner along the way and ends up dying at the cathedral from food poisoning. This leaves his 15-year-old daughter Eleanor in charge of Aquitaine and a few other small holdings.

Since this was the Middle Ages, few men expected that she would be able to control the lands, and Eleanor knows the she will be beset by no shortage of suitors who would hope to not only have her hand but her dowry. Eleanor, fortunately, is better suited for the role of leadership than she most would expect. She decides to make a preemptive strike and chose which man will be her husband in the hopes of maintaining control of her lands. She chooses, Louis, the dauphin and future King Louis VII the Pious. He is one of the two strongest options.

Unfortunately, her selection foes not go quite as well as she had hoped. Louis became the next in line for the throne when his older brother died, forcing him to leave the priesthood to take on a more political role. Even when he becomes king, he has little desire to leave his faith behind. This results in a fairly pale relationship, both romantically and as a couple in general.

Eleanor finds herself being pulled into the more staid French court of Paris and away from her more lively, if risque court, in Aquitaine. She is forced to give up her jongleur and take on the more traditional and prim role of a French lady.

When Louis decides to take up the Cross in order to regain the Frankish kingdoms in the Holy Land through his own Crusade, Eleanor joins him. It is a journey that will not only prove to be a military failure, but highlight the ultimate failure of their marriage. She has an opportunity to see what true romance can be before losing a child that could have been the male heir they have been seeking for years.

The resulting rift encourages Eleanor to look toward finding a way to annul her marriage and seek out another husband. This time she hopes it will be one that will allow her to be the strong woman that she is.

I have always found Eleanor of Aquitaine to be an incredibly interesting historical figure. She was very intelligent and had a strong grasp of strategy. In many ways, if Louis had listened to her and allowed her to be a partner in his ruling of France, he would have been a better leader. Of course, he was biased by his times, and she was forced to find a different path to follow.

Ball does a really great job of presenting for the reader the strengths as well as the inner doubts held by Eleanor. She becomes more than a historical figure, taking on the role of regular human being trying to make the most of a number of very trying situations.

The novel is rich with historical details and seems to do what it can to stick to historical accuracy. Readers will definitely want to be interested in that or they will feel a bit bogged down by it. Those looking for pure fact can find it in Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life by Alison Weir. With that said, this novel is just as good.

My only disappointment was in finding out that there wasn't a sequel that would continue her story as she becomes the wife of King Henry II of England.

[MaryKay Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a great read on Eleanor of the Aquitane. I had been fascinated with her as a child in my European History class and recently had a rekindling of my curiosity when I joined Ancestry.com and found her in my family tree.

The details the author provided were very indicative of the author's research abilities. I did not realize that Eleanor was only 15 when she became the Queen of France. That she was the instigator of aligning herself with France to keep her lands protected is amazing that a 15 year old woman was so politically astute. Such a strong woman to have followed her true heart which was to protect the people of her land and her father's trust that she would do so.

Of course the romantic side of my nature hoped she would have found love as well. When she finds an alliance that matches both of her desires I was again amazed that she had to be willing to let her two daughters go with the King of France to let herself out of such an undesirable realtionship with the King of France. A woman can live with chaos and many things she shouldn't as long as she is at a minimum desired...however...the King's inability to be spiritual and sexual when a woman this young would be coming into her own sexuality was cruel beyond description.

That any woman had this much tenacity, logical reasoning and was as strong as she was then to allow others to see her strength in such a male dominated culture, her cunning was beyond comprehension.

Great read. I couldn't put it down.

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

As anxious as I was to read about Eleanor of Aquitane, I felt a bit let down after reading this book. The author did spend years doing historical research, which, for me, is very important - but the character of Eleanor didn't seem to be as finely drawn as I would have preferred.

There was quite a bit of fantasy and the meaning of dreams, which I thought was distracting to the main story line. Eleanor is the only high-born woman to ever have gone on a Crusade, and I had hoped the author would provide more details of her experience. However, much of it was dreams and supposition. Perhaps historical detail is lacking and the author simply got creative, but I would have preferred it to be more realistic for that time period.

I didn't dislike the book, was just a little disappointed in it.

[Lauretta Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy historical fiction, and had been looking for a book about Eleanor of Aquitaine. The first one I picked up was more of a harlequin romance than historical fiction. Margaret Ball's book, however, was more of a look into the life or Eleanor from the time of her marriage to Louis VII until their divorce. It brings the reader through the early days of Louis' reign, including his struggle between his role as King and his passion for Christ, to the Second Crusade where Eleanor comes into her own, to the relatively peaceful dissolution of their marriage. Along the way, Ball develops compelling characters in whom the read becomes invested and begins to root for. And even though we know how the real story ends, Ball's path to the conclusion is entertaining. I hope she decides to write the about the next chapter of Eleanor's life.

[Cindy Toy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a severely disappointing look at the life of Eleanore of Aquitaine. The author took a historical queen known for her beauty, cunning, extreme intelligence, and independent character and made her into a soppy figure from a bad romance novel. The book actually began well and even had a bit of pagan magical realism that seemed to be heading in an interesting direction but this plot line was never developed and the bright, interesting child Eleanore became a boring trivial adult. ...and what was with the constant references to her "crackling' hair? I felt like she must have had a frizzy mass of static on her head! (Bonus point however for the gorgeous cover art by Kinuko Craft.)

[Mahala]

WHY has it taken me so long to get around to this? Margaret Ball has been on my reading list since my high school days of mass-market SF. It's a great story so far.

FINISHED: Definitely not a read for people looking for historical accuracy. A lot like Mary Renault, my favourite historical romance writer, including the slight supernatural elements. Much of it was also hard to get through--life was brutal for women back then, shocker--but it wasn't torture porn, and most of it felt genuine while still being readable. I really enjoyed the lush descriptions, too.

Final verdict: didn't blow me away, but very enjoyable as a romance, and of course the main character is wonderful.

[MyChienneLit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good historical fiction novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine's early years--from childhood until her divorce from Louis VII. Ball does a great job of portraying Eleanor's huge disappointment at the lack of sophistication and austerity of the French Court at the time of her politically expedient marriage, including her wish that Louis could at least appreciate chivalry and the arts if not embody them. But in my opinion, she portrays Eleanor as much more helpless than she really seemed to be. Overall, an interesting read, but it is from Eleanor's divorce forward that her life is most remarkable.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book- not sure if it's because I've been reading a lot of French stuff lately, or what. I could do without her light brown hair sparking all the time- but otherwise a fast-paced, interesting romp through medeival feudal france & europe. The details of her trip to Constantinople are great, and it really goes along quickly. Great fast read, and not thinly veiled porn like most romantic historical fiction! She co-wrote with Anne McCaffrey and I could tell, the storytelling is tight and fast-paced.