Eleanor's Daughter: A Novel of Marie de Champagne

by June Hall McCash

In a time when many agreed with Aristotle that women were incomplete males, Marie's birth was a bitter disappointment to her royal parents, French King Louis VII and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who desperately wanted a son. Yet, despite her parents' divorce and her separation from her mother when she was only seven, she clearly inherited Queen Eleanor's grit and determination, as well as her love of song and poetry. Today, the name of Marie, who became countess of Champagne, is associated with the medieval courts of love, and she is recognized as one of the greatest literary patrons of her day. As the crusades tore her life apart, she ruled over one of the largest domains in France for almost two decades. During that time, and well aware of the disadvantage of being a woman, she was compelled to defend her rights and those of her children--even to the point of going to war against her half-brother, Philip Augustus. Striving to meet the political demands of her fractured world, she became keenly aware of the competing needs of love, family, honor, and desire. Her story still resonates today.

An EDITOR'S CHOIC BOOK of the Historical Novel Association
A FINALIST for the CHAUCER BOOK AWARDS.

Genres: Historical Fiction, 12th Century

544 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2018

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a literary standpoint, this book is quite mediocre, tripping as it does against many of the pitfalls of bad historical fiction: anachronistic assumptions, romanticized characters, awkward sex scenes, etc. The author is no Hilary Mantel, but at least she is a scholar of medieval literature and hence brings some useful context into her story, in particular when it comes to Marie’s patronage of trouvères and writers. I’m interested in all things 12th-c. and this saved me from reading a biography of Marie, which might have been more tedious.

[Babylon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt more like a docudrama than a novel. I never really felt I knew Marie but she clearly had an interesting life and some strong opinions, which don't completely chime, so I suspect there was some medieval cultural nuance.
Interesting and informative.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story! Intriguing and well researched. I learned a lot and enjoyed the plot very much.