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The Royal Diaries
Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136
Author of the best-selling Royal Diaries title, CLEOPATRA VII, Kristiana Gregory now takes readers to twelfth-century France and introduces Eleanor of Aquitaine, who becomes queen at age 15.
Fourteen-year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine lives in a castle in Poitier, France, with her father Count William of Aquitaine (son of William the Conqueror), and her 12-year-old sister Petronilla. Their mother died several years earlier, so their grandmother and ladies-in-waiting raise the girls. Eleanor is extremely intelligent and literate, having been carefully educated by royal tutors. Spinning bores her, as does weaving, sewing, and other housewifery skills expected of her. She would rather be a knight and ride off to war. In fact, in 1136, when her father is invited to help invade Normandy,
Fourteen-year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine lives in a castle in Poitier, France, with her father Count William of Aquitaine (son of William the Conqueror), and her 12-year-old sister Petronilla. Their mother died several years earlier, so their grandmother and ladies-in-waiting raise the girls. Eleanor is extremely intelligent and literate, having been carefully educated by royal tutors. Spinning bores her, as does weaving, sewing, and other housewifery skills expected of her. She would rather be a knight and ride off to war. In fact, in 1136, when her father is invited to help invade Normandy,
188 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2002
61 people are currently reading
3058 people want to read
About the author
Kristiana Gregory
73 books339 followersKristiana Gregory grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, two blocks from the ocean. She's always loved to make up stories [ask her family!], telling her younger siblings whoppers that would leave them wide-eyed and shivering. Her first rejection letter at age ten was for a poem she wrote in class when she was supposed to be doing a math assignment. She's had a myriad of odd jobs: telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer & columnist for the LA Times, and finally author.
Her award-winning books include STALKED, which earned the 2012 Gold Medal for Young Adult Mystery from Literary Classics and is hailed as "historical fiction with a thrilling twist." KIRKUS calls it "an atmospheric confection that will thrill YA readers ... Gregory achieves a realistic, rich atmosphere with insightful details about the immigration process and New York tenements in the early 1900s." Now available on Kindle and in paperback.
JENNY OF THE TETONS [Harcourt] won the Golden Kite Award in 1989 and was the first of two-dozen historical novels for middle grade readers. Several of Kristiana's titles are now available on Kindle including "Curiously Odd Stories: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" with the celebrated 'Paper Monument', a futuristic book-banning with horrific consequences.
BRONTE'S BOOK CLUB [Holiday House] is set in a town by the sea and is inspired by the girls' book club Kristiana led for several years.
Her most recent title with Scholastic's Dear America series is CANNONS AT DAWN, a sequel to the best-selling THE WINTER OF RED SNOW, which was made into a movie for the HBO Family Channel.
New re-releases in ebooks and paperback on Amazon:
**PRAIRIE RIVER SERIES #1-4
**ORPHAN RUNAWAYS: THE PERILOUS ESCAPE TO BODIE
**CABIN CREEK MYSTERIES #7: THE PHANTOM OF HIDDEN HORSE RANCH
**THE WAITING LIGHT: CLEMENTINE'S STORY -- originally titled "My Darlin' Clementine" [Holiday House] this riveting historical mystery takes place in an Idaho mining camp of 1866, and was Idaho's representative for the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Library of Congress.
Kristiana and her husband have two adult sons, and live in Idaho with their two golden retrievers. In her spare time she loves to swim, walk, hike, read, and hang out with friends. She's trying to learn to knit, but isn't yet having much success.
Check out Kristiana's blogs at http://notesfromthesunroom.blogspot.com/ for behind-the-scenes stories about her books, and with photos from her childhood.
Her award-winning books include STALKED, which earned the 2012 Gold Medal for Young Adult Mystery from Literary Classics and is hailed as "historical fiction with a thrilling twist." KIRKUS calls it "an atmospheric confection that will thrill YA readers ... Gregory achieves a realistic, rich atmosphere with insightful details about the immigration process and New York tenements in the early 1900s." Now available on Kindle and in paperback.
JENNY OF THE TETONS [Harcourt] won the Golden Kite Award in 1989 and was the first of two-dozen historical novels for middle grade readers. Several of Kristiana's titles are now available on Kindle including "Curiously Odd Stories: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" with the celebrated 'Paper Monument', a futuristic book-banning with horrific consequences.
BRONTE'S BOOK CLUB [Holiday House] is set in a town by the sea and is inspired by the girls' book club Kristiana led for several years.
Her most recent title with Scholastic's Dear America series is CANNONS AT DAWN, a sequel to the best-selling THE WINTER OF RED SNOW, which was made into a movie for the HBO Family Channel.
New re-releases in ebooks and paperback on Amazon:
**PRAIRIE RIVER SERIES #1-4
**ORPHAN RUNAWAYS: THE PERILOUS ESCAPE TO BODIE
**CABIN CREEK MYSTERIES #7: THE PHANTOM OF HIDDEN HORSE RANCH
**THE WAITING LIGHT: CLEMENTINE'S STORY -- originally titled "My Darlin' Clementine" [Holiday House] this riveting historical mystery takes place in an Idaho mining camp of 1866, and was Idaho's representative for the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Library of Congress.
Kristiana and her husband have two adult sons, and live in Idaho with their two golden retrievers. In her spare time she loves to swim, walk, hike, read, and hang out with friends. She's trying to learn to knit, but isn't yet having much success.
Check out Kristiana's blogs at http://notesfromthesunroom.blogspot.com/ for behind-the-scenes stories about her books, and with photos from her childhood.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
April 30, 2024
{March 2024 Reread}
Thrilled to announce that we’ve officially hit the milestone of the first Age-Appropriate Marriage™ in the series. *fires a confetti cannon*
I remember that this book had me all heart-eyed over Eleanor of Aquitaine when I read it as a kid, and though I never took the time to learn that much more about her afterwards, my interest in Ye Olde Boss Babe has recently been rekindled thanks to Katherine Hepburn’s tour-de-force portrayal in The Lion in Winter. So, this was a fun reread.
As the second Kristiana Gregory offering in the series, it also reinforced the hunch I developed while rereading Cleopatra that Gregory is probably a Christian. Obviously, medieval England is a more organically “Christianized” setting than Ptolemaic Egypt, but even so, there are a couple of moments in this installment (i.e. when Petra and Eleanor are discussing the nomenclature of Good Friday) that seem fairly transparently to have been included in the interests of evangelism, not merely historical realism. (As a Christian myself, I’m not necessarily complaining about this; it’s just interesting to consider.)
P.S. That tapeworm incident still makes me want to crawl right on out of my skin. *shudders*
<< fifth book read for my Royal Diaries 2024 self-challenge >>
🎧 “Seven” by Taylor Swift
Thrilled to announce that we’ve officially hit the milestone of the first Age-Appropriate Marriage™ in the series. *fires a confetti cannon*
I remember that this book had me all heart-eyed over Eleanor of Aquitaine when I read it as a kid, and though I never took the time to learn that much more about her afterwards, my interest in Ye Olde Boss Babe has recently been rekindled thanks to Katherine Hepburn’s tour-de-force portrayal in The Lion in Winter. So, this was a fun reread.
As the second Kristiana Gregory offering in the series, it also reinforced the hunch I developed while rereading Cleopatra that Gregory is probably a Christian. Obviously, medieval England is a more organically “Christianized” setting than Ptolemaic Egypt, but even so, there are a couple of moments in this installment (i.e. when Petra and Eleanor are discussing the nomenclature of Good Friday) that seem fairly transparently to have been included in the interests of evangelism, not merely historical realism. (As a Christian myself, I’m not necessarily complaining about this; it’s just interesting to consider.)
P.S. That tapeworm incident still makes me want to crawl right on out of my skin. *shudders*
<< fifth book read for my Royal Diaries 2024 self-challenge >>
🎧 “Seven” by Taylor Swift
March 2, 2010
I'm writing part of my term paper for Young Adult Literature on this book this semester, so I decided to review it here. It's not the best book of the series (although I remember liking it enough to own it), but it applies because my paper is about the Middle Ages as presented in young adult literature. Expect reviews of most of the other Royal Diaries books to follow, assuming I get around to it.
Through about 5th to 8th grade I was completely addicted to these books, and I'm pretty sure I read all of them except the ones that came out later in the series. So, these are sort of like the Dear America series - introducing kids to historic fiction by writing fake journals of various people from various periods - but here each diary is "written" by a famous woman (always royals, either by birth or eventual marriage) when she was a teenager. Simply put, these books were the shit when I was twelve. They're about princesses, which is awesome in itself, but these aren't Disney princesses. These bitches are seriously badass, and I wanted to be each and every one of them at some point.
Through about 5th to 8th grade I was completely addicted to these books, and I'm pretty sure I read all of them except the ones that came out later in the series. So, these are sort of like the Dear America series - introducing kids to historic fiction by writing fake journals of various people from various periods - but here each diary is "written" by a famous woman (always royals, either by birth or eventual marriage) when she was a teenager. Simply put, these books were the shit when I was twelve. They're about princesses, which is awesome in itself, but these aren't Disney princesses. These bitches are seriously badass, and I wanted to be each and every one of them at some point.
March 1, 2008
Eleanor is the daughter of Duke William X. Her mother and brother died only when she was eight. And so until her father dies, Eleanor is next in line to be the Duchess of Aquitaine.
During her father's reign, she writes in her diary, her thoughts,feelings,desires and longings as well as her adventures.
I liked this book a lot. There was a lot of grief and joy but it shows how you can be strong through the greatest of sorrows.
And how you can take control of your life when others try to.
During her father's reign, she writes in her diary, her thoughts,feelings,desires and longings as well as her adventures.
I liked this book a lot. There was a lot of grief and joy but it shows how you can be strong through the greatest of sorrows.
And how you can take control of your life when others try to.
April 23, 2015
3.5 stars really: 3 stars from an adult perspective, probably 4 for the target audience (which I'd say is pre-teens).
I saw the series at the library and picked up this one first, as I'm relatively familiar with Eleanor of Aquitaine and wanted to see how it held up. This book covers about a year of her life when she was 13-14, the last year before her marriage to Louis Capet.
While Eleanor herself seems to obsess about trivial things - as do many people that age - there is a good amount of historical detail woven in, making their lives more approachable: the drawbacks of armor in hot sun and jewels on dancing shoes, the dangers of being an unmarried heiress or pilgrim, and even bathroom arrangements.
It is Eleanor's diary, but I would have liked Petronilla to have a little more character - she just passed through, like a minor character in a play whose sole purpose is background - and Eleanor was able to dispose of her crush on a knight with not a thought after her engagement and marriage. None of it showed what a keen and shrewd mind she had, or talked about her famed beauty (or even the promise of it).
I was glad to see the family tree, photos and epilogue in the back which gave more details of Eleanor's life, but they barely scratched the surface: her marriage to Henry was mentioned but not the political upheaval it caused, while Louis was portrayed as a normal youth for the time, not the monk he almost was. Her own Crusade went unmentioned, implying she was just accompanying Louis (and with no clarification of how unusual that was). But... it's a good start and a good way to get children reading about real historical figures and understanding the concerns and issues of their daily lives.
I saw the series at the library and picked up this one first, as I'm relatively familiar with Eleanor of Aquitaine and wanted to see how it held up. This book covers about a year of her life when she was 13-14, the last year before her marriage to Louis Capet.
While Eleanor herself seems to obsess about trivial things - as do many people that age - there is a good amount of historical detail woven in, making their lives more approachable: the drawbacks of armor in hot sun and jewels on dancing shoes, the dangers of being an unmarried heiress or pilgrim, and even bathroom arrangements.
It is Eleanor's diary, but I would have liked Petronilla to have a little more character - she just passed through, like a minor character in a play whose sole purpose is background - and Eleanor was able to dispose of her crush on a knight with not a thought after her engagement and marriage. None of it showed what a keen and shrewd mind she had, or talked about her famed beauty (or even the promise of it).
I was glad to see the family tree, photos and epilogue in the back which gave more details of Eleanor's life, but they barely scratched the surface: her marriage to Henry was mentioned but not the political upheaval it caused, while Louis was portrayed as a normal youth for the time, not the monk he almost was. Her own Crusade went unmentioned, implying she was just accompanying Louis (and with no clarification of how unusual that was). But... it's a good start and a good way to get children reading about real historical figures and understanding the concerns and issues of their daily lives.
July 6, 2018
I really really really enjoyed this book. Really well written in a way that it flowed and didn’t feel interrupted in the diary format. I was also constantly interested in finding out what would happen next. It is such an interesting time that I can’t even really imagine it seems like tales of legends. But there are people who come about from these historical people that are well known if you ever watched Robin Hood as a kid. Kind Richard and John for sure. I love seeing how it’s all connected. I read this as a kid but don’t remember it at all. I liked that there was some romance thrown in there. Makes the characters relatable even though it’s a time I can barely imagine. I also like how Eleanor had real and believable opinions on what was happening to her and didn’t just take everything lying down. The last royal diary I read, the Mayan one, gave me the impression that people of the time were like robots. Just did what they were meant to do. No original thoughts. But maybe the book was just badly written. Either way it makes this one so much better.
September 6, 2020
Interesting, easy read that will be a part of our homeschooling curriculum this year for our study on the Renaissance.
February 23, 2011
Eleanor, Jewel of Aquitaine / 0-439-16484-2
Since my memorized history seems to gain larger gaps every year, I started this book with no real recollection of who, precisely, Eleanor was and I finally had to check the back of the book to find that - among other things - she was the mother of the famous Richard the Lionhearted and the infamous Prince John from the Robin Hood legends.
"Eleanor" does not, as a Royal Diary, disappoint. A princess with vast lands and holdings, she lives her life in relative leisure, craving romance and passion in her daily life. Longing to model her life after the King Arthur legends, she flirts gently with her chosen knight and begs the castle minstrel to compose songs to their chivalric (and chaste) "love". When her father dies unexpectedly, leaving no male heir, Eleanor and her sister are confined as much as possible to the inner castle, as the local lords and barons plot to kidnap the two girls and take them as unwilling wives, in order to claim their lands as their own. Eleanor dreams of a dashing prince who will arrive to save her from the fear of being kidnapped and from the monotony of being a lonely princess.
As far as the Royal Diaries go, this one is a quick, light read and very pleasant. The history here is interesting and provides a nice contrast to some of the later diaries - it is something of a shock to see the princesses living in relative isolation and danger after having read of the palatial estates of, say, Catherine the Great or Marie Antoinette. Parents of sensitive children should be aware that there is a brief incident with an ill child vomiting worms from his stomach, and Eleanor fears that worms will exit her eyes or stomach, but this fear passes quickly.
~ Ana Mardoll
Since my memorized history seems to gain larger gaps every year, I started this book with no real recollection of who, precisely, Eleanor was and I finally had to check the back of the book to find that - among other things - she was the mother of the famous Richard the Lionhearted and the infamous Prince John from the Robin Hood legends.
"Eleanor" does not, as a Royal Diary, disappoint. A princess with vast lands and holdings, she lives her life in relative leisure, craving romance and passion in her daily life. Longing to model her life after the King Arthur legends, she flirts gently with her chosen knight and begs the castle minstrel to compose songs to their chivalric (and chaste) "love". When her father dies unexpectedly, leaving no male heir, Eleanor and her sister are confined as much as possible to the inner castle, as the local lords and barons plot to kidnap the two girls and take them as unwilling wives, in order to claim their lands as their own. Eleanor dreams of a dashing prince who will arrive to save her from the fear of being kidnapped and from the monotony of being a lonely princess.
As far as the Royal Diaries go, this one is a quick, light read and very pleasant. The history here is interesting and provides a nice contrast to some of the later diaries - it is something of a shock to see the princesses living in relative isolation and danger after having read of the palatial estates of, say, Catherine the Great or Marie Antoinette. Parents of sensitive children should be aware that there is a brief incident with an ill child vomiting worms from his stomach, and Eleanor fears that worms will exit her eyes or stomach, but this fear passes quickly.
~ Ana Mardoll
July 28, 2010
I've been wanting to read this one for awhile. While Eleanor is not my favorite historical figure she is still very interesting. I usually find her to be exceedingly spoiled and selfish. These are not qualities I enjoy in my main characters but I liked the way Gregory wrote Eleanor wrote this book. I'm not sure how true to history it is because this is one of the first books I've read where Eleanor wasn't portrayed as being completely self-involved. I really liked that, it made her seem human and like the girls I grew up with only she is high-end aristocrat/royalty. I liked imagining her as a young girl prior to her first marriage to Henri II of France. Most of the time you only hear about her life in England but this story is set almost exclusively in Aquitaine. I love reading about her and the relationship she had with her sister Petronilla. I feel a kinship with them because my sister and I are the same way. Were weren't when we were younger but since we've gotten older she is pretty much my best friend so I know how sad Eleanor felt when she thought that Petra was going to be going to Paris with her. I feel the same when I think about moving to the coast to go to school while my sister stays here. This book gave me an entirely new outlook on Eleanor and I'm looking forward to reading more about her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2014
I’ve heard quite a bit about Eleanor of Aquitaine, but never actually knew much about her life and the times she lived in. Well, finally Kristiana Gregory has remedied that in a book aimed at kids 8-13. The early years of Eleanor are not quite as exciting as her later years, as we learn in the Historical Note, but it was nice to see things from her perspective.
I personally would have liked a little more description of daily life at the castle, but I can understand why Kristiana Gregory did not include more (it would have turned into a lecture). In Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine we don’t really see Eleanor’s love of books and literature, even though she was a huge patron of the arts later in life. Still, I loved seeing the strong relationship between her and her sister that lasted into adulthood. Sadly, the book ended just when things were getting interesting, what with her marriage to Prince Louis and all.
Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine is well written and entertaining, but it’s certainly one of the shorter books in the Royal Diaries series. Still, overall it’s a pretty good book and it’s a great one to get kids interested in history.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
I personally would have liked a little more description of daily life at the castle, but I can understand why Kristiana Gregory did not include more (it would have turned into a lecture). In Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine we don’t really see Eleanor’s love of books and literature, even though she was a huge patron of the arts later in life. Still, I loved seeing the strong relationship between her and her sister that lasted into adulthood. Sadly, the book ended just when things were getting interesting, what with her marriage to Prince Louis and all.
Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine is well written and entertaining, but it’s certainly one of the shorter books in the Royal Diaries series. Still, overall it’s a pretty good book and it’s a great one to get kids interested in history.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
February 28, 2016
Kristiana Gregory was able to bring Eleanor of Aquintaine to life similar to a typical teenager. Taking note of the historical significance during that period, and how a young girl of her prestige and circumstance was able to cope with all the events that she must regrettably undergo without warning. Not only that but also taking into account of her love of parties, jewelries, expensive and extravagant clothes, reading and her spoiled but strong characteristics.
Who says that women are fragile creatures? She was a predominantly a force to be reckoned with in a world where men are the most in number during the 12th century. It was a joy to read however she, the author, just decided abruptly that she was going to end the story between Clotaire the Strong and Eleanor. I feel like she just totally erased the romance between the two characters without a sign of struggle.
Who says that women are fragile creatures? She was a predominantly a force to be reckoned with in a world where men are the most in number during the 12th century. It was a joy to read however she, the author, just decided abruptly that she was going to end the story between Clotaire the Strong and Eleanor. I feel like she just totally erased the romance between the two characters without a sign of struggle.
December 13, 2015
This one ranks somewhere in the middle for me as far as Royal Diaries go. It was interesting enough and Eleanor of Aquitaine is a very intriguing historical figure. She was educated, politically minded and bold in a time when women weren't allowed to be. She was given a lot of responsibility early on, but I feel like most of influential choices came after she was married. I think the book would have been more interesting if it would have started where the book ended.
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January 22, 2015Graded By: Maria
Cover Story: Once Upon a Time
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 5 + 5 = 10??
Talky Talk: Alas! Earwax
Bonus Factors: Sisters, Age of Chivalry
Relationship Status: Courtly Love
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Once Upon a Time
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 5 + 5 = 10??
Talky Talk: Alas! Earwax
Bonus Factors: Sisters, Age of Chivalry
Relationship Status: Courtly Love
Read the full book report here.
March 22, 2017
It wasn't quite as terrible as what I thought when I read the first bits, but there was still a lot of the typical "I'm a totally modern type girl stuck living this crappy medieval life" sort of thing. At least they didn't make Louis into a total monster, and it was rather cute how he and Eleanor met. Her constant "I know better than my father" was annoying though.
January 25, 2008
Eleanor : Crown Jewel of Aquitaine written by Kristiana Gregory is about the life of Eleanor during 1136 to 1137. It covers the death of her father, her marrige to Louis the Younger,and her crowning as Queen of France. Elenor was very rich and very spoiled.
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July 5, 2015I loved this book when I was younger. It's so good!
November 23, 2025
Royal Diaries books are what got me interested in various historical figures as a teen. It’s weird doing this in reverse …
Reading one of these for the first time after becoming interested in the central character (although I guess I did just that with the Jodhaa book earlier in the summer.)
Anyway this is … fine? Kinda goes back and forth between being dry and surprisingly gruesome. I think I wish Louis was portrayed more as the monk-like guy he was, because it clearly was behind a lot of the tension in their marriage. But if I remember correctly these books always end on a positive note so … why not linger on hope for their marriage, I guess
Reading one of these for the first time after becoming interested in the central character (although I guess I did just that with the Jodhaa book earlier in the summer.)
Anyway this is … fine? Kinda goes back and forth between being dry and surprisingly gruesome. I think I wish Louis was portrayed more as the monk-like guy he was, because it clearly was behind a lot of the tension in their marriage. But if I remember correctly these books always end on a positive note so … why not linger on hope for their marriage, I guess
August 13, 2021
I found that it dragged quite a bit, especially in the beginning. Hard to get through at points - some parts just seemed very bleak.
I did like (as always, with this series), the history after the epilogue! Also enjoyed the descriptions of the time period (normally I'd say "world building" but that doesn't seem quite right, considering it's... Well, based on actual history).
It just needed a little bit more in terms of the actual storytelling, for me.
I did like (as always, with this series), the history after the epilogue! Also enjoyed the descriptions of the time period (normally I'd say "world building" but that doesn't seem quite right, considering it's... Well, based on actual history).
It just needed a little bit more in terms of the actual storytelling, for me.
June 24, 2021
This was a pick for my royal-themed book club, and I was reminded of how much I loved the Royal Diaries series!
June 12, 2022
3.75?
September 30, 2023
I know this is a real diary and everything but still disliked the ending.
September 28, 2025
Part 2 of bookshelf clean out series: Keep or McKays
This is going to be a keep for me! This book series was the gateway drug into my love for historical fiction and I am nostalgic to a fault :)
This is going to be a keep for me! This book series was the gateway drug into my love for historical fiction and I am nostalgic to a fault :)
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December 13, 2022childhood reread⚡️ I like that the Royal Diaries are quick reads that can be done in a sitting. ⚡️ My partner and I also just watched season 5 of The Crown and, fun fact, Queen Lizzie is a direct descendant from both of Eleanor’s marriages.
Biased rate is 5/5 for the nostalgia.
Biased rate is 5/5 for the nostalgia.
July 2, 2012
Continuing my Royal Diaries nostalgic re-readathon, I have just finished this one on Eleanor. I actually don’t even remember if I read this particular one as a kid, though as an adult now, I find myself fascinated with Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life.
I think this book is a great way for kids to be introduced to this princess/queen. This book focuses on Eleanor’s life as a pre-teen. In this story, she is living happily with her father, the Duke of Aquitaine, and her younger sister Petra. The Duke of Aquitaine holds even more land than the King of France himself, and as the Duke has no male heirs, the lands will pass to Eleanor one day. Eleanor worries about how a lot of people seem to despise her father, especially when he decides to help Count Geoffrey of Anjou invade Normandy. When her father returns, he is a changed man, becoming more kind and spiritual, although many doubt this is a sincere change. When the Duke unexpectantly dies, Eleanor realizes she has become the most eligible bride in the country, since she is in control of so much land, and is soon to be married to Prince Louis the Younger of France.
This portrayal of Eleanor is mostly made up, I think, since even the historical note at the end said the real Eleanor was said to be extravagant and spoiled, which is not really shown in this book. However, she was also said to be headstrong and carefree, which this book Eleanor certainly was. Book Eleanor was also very much a family person and adored her father and younger sister, as well as a person who was quite kind to her servants. So basically, she was portrayed in the most positive light possible, which is how all the other royalty in this book series are portrayed too. Not that that’s a bad thing, exactly, but the princesses all kind of blend together since they are not really made to be unique. I guess they want to set a good example for the middle schoolers reading this book, which is understandable, and I suppose one would not notice unless one actually plans to read more than few books from this series.
Characterization is basically my only complaint with this book. Other than that, I enjoyed reading this quite a bit. You get to learn the circumstances that brought Eleanor to become Queen of France, and there is also quite a lot about what life was like back in the medieval times. I knew the medieval times was a “dirtier” time, with ticks and bugs crawling in people’s hair being a regular thing, but I was really horrified at the scene where Eleanor sees one of her servant boys throw up a mass of white worms, and a physician pulling out a long white worm the length of an arm from a girl’s head! Poor medieval people, I thought!
All in all, this was a pretty good book, I think a middle schooler would enjoy reading this one. It ended off at a good spot too, right when Eleanor becomes Queen, so that kids who are interested in what happened after she became Queen have a good place to start.
I think this book is a great way for kids to be introduced to this princess/queen. This book focuses on Eleanor’s life as a pre-teen. In this story, she is living happily with her father, the Duke of Aquitaine, and her younger sister Petra. The Duke of Aquitaine holds even more land than the King of France himself, and as the Duke has no male heirs, the lands will pass to Eleanor one day. Eleanor worries about how a lot of people seem to despise her father, especially when he decides to help Count Geoffrey of Anjou invade Normandy. When her father returns, he is a changed man, becoming more kind and spiritual, although many doubt this is a sincere change. When the Duke unexpectantly dies, Eleanor realizes she has become the most eligible bride in the country, since she is in control of so much land, and is soon to be married to Prince Louis the Younger of France.
This portrayal of Eleanor is mostly made up, I think, since even the historical note at the end said the real Eleanor was said to be extravagant and spoiled, which is not really shown in this book. However, she was also said to be headstrong and carefree, which this book Eleanor certainly was. Book Eleanor was also very much a family person and adored her father and younger sister, as well as a person who was quite kind to her servants. So basically, she was portrayed in the most positive light possible, which is how all the other royalty in this book series are portrayed too. Not that that’s a bad thing, exactly, but the princesses all kind of blend together since they are not really made to be unique. I guess they want to set a good example for the middle schoolers reading this book, which is understandable, and I suppose one would not notice unless one actually plans to read more than few books from this series.
Characterization is basically my only complaint with this book. Other than that, I enjoyed reading this quite a bit. You get to learn the circumstances that brought Eleanor to become Queen of France, and there is also quite a lot about what life was like back in the medieval times. I knew the medieval times was a “dirtier” time, with ticks and bugs crawling in people’s hair being a regular thing, but I was really horrified at the scene where Eleanor sees one of her servant boys throw up a mass of white worms, and a physician pulling out a long white worm the length of an arm from a girl’s head! Poor medieval people, I thought!
All in all, this was a pretty good book, I think a middle schooler would enjoy reading this one. It ended off at a good spot too, right when Eleanor becomes Queen, so that kids who are interested in what happened after she became Queen have a good place to start.
August 8, 2016
Originally posted on Small Review blog
3.5 stars.
This book is gross.
You know how sometimes you can read a historical fiction book and not really feel like you're IN the time period? Yeah, not this book.
Hats off to Kristiana Gregory because this lady nails the historical time period despite the thoroughly modern middle grade voice used for Eleanor (complete with groan-inducing "diary I must hide you in a clever place!" thoughts scattered throughout the book. I swear these diary book heroines spend 1/4 of the pages talking about hiding their diary).
Mostly Kristiana Gregory accomplishes this sense of "place" by throwing in every random bit of disgusting 12th century detail from parasitic worms to bathroom accommodations. You can also play a rousing game of 1000 Ways to Die in Old Timey Europe! because, holy cow, red shirts abounded in this book.
On the plus side, all these bits of barf-inducing gore totally made me spend at least three hours on Wikipedia looking up all the historical bits Kristiana Gregory threw in (Wikipedia confirms them, btw, though I still haven't found that eye worm thing described in quite that way. Oh, and that reminds me, Ms. Gregory, mind explaining to my students why I was gagging in the library?).
But, hey, what do I expect from a book set in the 1100s? Those were gross times and life was definitely cheap. So points to Kristiana Gregory for keeping it real and packing in a ton of historical details between covert diary stashings (and even managing to combine the two! Flea ridden diaries, yay!).
And, ya know, I know it was a total diary gimmick, but I SO wanted Eleanor to snoop in her sister's diary. Which is to say, I was getting pretty into these characters and I'll be the first to say I'm shocked because they weren't written with that much depth, but I was still totally invested.
Of course, like all these Royal Diaries books, this one ended right before the good stuff really started. But that's necessary because all the good stuff is hardly fodder for middle grade books. Still, these books serve their purpose better than I would have ever expected.
Bottom line
Packed with historical detail, the Royal Diaries series is an excellent way to read about the early years of great historical figures (years often skipped over in adult books).
Don't expect great depth of characterization or to know the real Eleanor (or any of the historical protagonists in this series) because she's written with the voice of a modern middle grade girl (albeit one expected to do needlepoint and marry for political gain).
But that's ok, because as an introduction to Eleanor's childhood and her world, this book definitely serves its purpose.
Originally posted on Small Review blog
3.5 stars.
This book is gross.
You know how sometimes you can read a historical fiction book and not really feel like you're IN the time period? Yeah, not this book.
Hats off to Kristiana Gregory because this lady nails the historical time period despite the thoroughly modern middle grade voice used for Eleanor (complete with groan-inducing "diary I must hide you in a clever place!" thoughts scattered throughout the book. I swear these diary book heroines spend 1/4 of the pages talking about hiding their diary).
Mostly Kristiana Gregory accomplishes this sense of "place" by throwing in every random bit of disgusting 12th century detail from parasitic worms to bathroom accommodations. You can also play a rousing game of 1000 Ways to Die in Old Timey Europe! because, holy cow, red shirts abounded in this book.
On the plus side, all these bits of barf-inducing gore totally made me spend at least three hours on Wikipedia looking up all the historical bits Kristiana Gregory threw in (Wikipedia confirms them, btw, though I still haven't found that eye worm thing described in quite that way. Oh, and that reminds me, Ms. Gregory, mind explaining to my students why I was gagging in the library?).
But, hey, what do I expect from a book set in the 1100s? Those were gross times and life was definitely cheap. So points to Kristiana Gregory for keeping it real and packing in a ton of historical details between covert diary stashings (and even managing to combine the two! Flea ridden diaries, yay!).
And, ya know, I know it was a total diary gimmick, but I SO wanted Eleanor to snoop in her sister's diary. Which is to say, I was getting pretty into these characters and I'll be the first to say I'm shocked because they weren't written with that much depth, but I was still totally invested.
Of course, like all these Royal Diaries books, this one ended right before the good stuff really started. But that's necessary because all the good stuff is hardly fodder for middle grade books. Still, these books serve their purpose better than I would have ever expected.
Bottom line
Packed with historical detail, the Royal Diaries series is an excellent way to read about the early years of great historical figures (years often skipped over in adult books).
Don't expect great depth of characterization or to know the real Eleanor (or any of the historical protagonists in this series) because she's written with the voice of a modern middle grade girl (albeit one expected to do needlepoint and marry for political gain).
But that's ok, because as an introduction to Eleanor's childhood and her world, this book definitely serves its purpose.
Originally posted on Small Review blog
November 14, 2021
Once of the most disappointing books I have ever read. Eleanor of Aquitaine had one of the most astonishing lives ever lived. Reading the first 3 paragraphs of her Wikipedia page will tell you about her landed, aristocratic father, her first marriage to the prince of France, her ascension to the queen of France, her divorce from the King of France and her marriage to the King of England, becoming Queen of the Angevin empire, her involvement in the second and third crusades and her imprisonment by her husband for supporting the revolt of their eldest son, Henry, against him. She was released only upon the death of her husband and the ascension of their third son, Richard I (think Richard the Lionhearted of Robin Hood fame) to the throne. And she had ten children over her lifetime; five daughters and five sons. Wow. The book covers little of this. It covers a privileged daughter coming of age. The book ends after her rapid engagement to the prince upon her father's death, their marriage and her father-in-law's death. There was some additional information in an afterward and reference section which I did find engaging because it included maps and family trees. But there was little about the full life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The pampered life of a young girl becoming groomed for marriage is of little interest to me.
November 2, 2012
For my book review of this semester I read a book by Kristiana Gregory which is known as Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine. My thought on this book was that it is an awesome book to read as adventure and view of culture of her time. This story followed Joseph Campbell’s hero journey and of which three out of twelve steps which are steps are one: hero’s introduction into world, two: call to adventure, and six: tests, allies, and enemies.
Step one of the hero journey is the introduction of the hero into the world. In this case the main character is Eleanor, daughter of the duke of Aquitaine. The type of world that she’s in is the 1100’s medieval time period. Eleanor’s introduction also includes what her role was which is to take over the area of land her father rules over when it is time.
Step two of the hero journey is the call to adventure. The problems Eleanor has in that time are numerous. At the beginning, her dad has fought with the pope over something and was still fighting. As time went on though, for some reason the dad apologizes to the pope after he clearly has major issues with him. Eleanor’s only reason for her to rule after her dad relieves his position by death or something else was because her four year old brother died years ago a couple of months after her mom died from the sound of it either a stroke or a heart attack. Plus, she falls in love with a knight known as Clotaire the Strong. Back then the knights were born to peasants and a person of higher position is forbidden to marry any lower than they are.
Step six of the hero journey is the tests, allies, and enemies. A test that Eleanor had in this story was bearing the burden of her dad going into an invasion of Normandy. Her dad was gone a lot for collecting things from the peasants from around the area that he owned and afterwards had to go help with the invasion of Normandy. Some of the allies she had were her younger sister Petronilla (Petra), her favorite knight Clotaire the Strong, and the maidens she had. Lastly, the number one enemy she had in the story was named Baron William of Lezay. He was greatly trusted by her dad to look after everything when he was gone to Normandy but he kept on messing with the maidens in inappropriate ways and even tried that on Eleanor herself. His reward for that was a hard slap on the face.
Inside this story was an awesome adventure of life for a daughter of a duke in medieval time full of interesting views of culture and society.
Step one of the hero journey is the introduction of the hero into the world. In this case the main character is Eleanor, daughter of the duke of Aquitaine. The type of world that she’s in is the 1100’s medieval time period. Eleanor’s introduction also includes what her role was which is to take over the area of land her father rules over when it is time.
Step two of the hero journey is the call to adventure. The problems Eleanor has in that time are numerous. At the beginning, her dad has fought with the pope over something and was still fighting. As time went on though, for some reason the dad apologizes to the pope after he clearly has major issues with him. Eleanor’s only reason for her to rule after her dad relieves his position by death or something else was because her four year old brother died years ago a couple of months after her mom died from the sound of it either a stroke or a heart attack. Plus, she falls in love with a knight known as Clotaire the Strong. Back then the knights were born to peasants and a person of higher position is forbidden to marry any lower than they are.
Step six of the hero journey is the tests, allies, and enemies. A test that Eleanor had in this story was bearing the burden of her dad going into an invasion of Normandy. Her dad was gone a lot for collecting things from the peasants from around the area that he owned and afterwards had to go help with the invasion of Normandy. Some of the allies she had were her younger sister Petronilla (Petra), her favorite knight Clotaire the Strong, and the maidens she had. Lastly, the number one enemy she had in the story was named Baron William of Lezay. He was greatly trusted by her dad to look after everything when he was gone to Normandy but he kept on messing with the maidens in inappropriate ways and even tried that on Eleanor herself. His reward for that was a hard slap on the face.
Inside this story was an awesome adventure of life for a daughter of a duke in medieval time full of interesting views of culture and society.
January 13, 2016
I discovered a whole slew of these at the library the other day -- bringing back memories! I was much more into the Dear America books than the Royal Diaries books when I was in the target age range, but I remember loving the books about Elizabeth I and Cleopatra VII.
This one interested me because, although I am waaay out of the age range for the series, I think Eleanor of Aquitaine was basically a BAMF (erm, excuse my language). I wanted to see what they'd done with her story here.
Unfortunately, the answer is 'not much'. Part of this, I expect, is due to the target audience and the general branding of this series: it wouldn't fit to put Eleanor at even eighteen or twenty, since these books tend to be both narrated by and aimed at a younger age range. It would be similarly impractical to get into Eleanor's difficulties with Louis (and vice versa), given that they wanted a happy ending.
But it's like all the interesting parts were stripped out. One of the things that makes Eleanor so interesting is that, for a woman in that time period, she had an incredible amount of power. She was, at different times, queen of France and England; she accompanied Louis VII on the Crusades; she supported her son in a rebellion against her (second) husband and was subsequently imprisoned for sixteen years, until her husband died and her son installed her as his regent. You don't achieve all that by accident. You do it by good advisors and good luck and a death grip on your wits and intelligence and calculation (and a healthy dose of ambition).
The Eleanor presented here is inoffensive, and occasionally strong in her way, but she shows no real initiative or drive. In many ways she's just an average teenager mooning over this boy or that one. That may well have been true for the real-life Eleanor, but on its own it doesn't make for a terribly interesting story.
My first pick for 'which two historical figures, dead or alive, would you ask to dinner?' is always Eleanor of Aquitaine -- but not this version of her.
This one interested me because, although I am waaay out of the age range for the series, I think Eleanor of Aquitaine was basically a BAMF (erm, excuse my language). I wanted to see what they'd done with her story here.
Unfortunately, the answer is 'not much'. Part of this, I expect, is due to the target audience and the general branding of this series: it wouldn't fit to put Eleanor at even eighteen or twenty, since these books tend to be both narrated by and aimed at a younger age range. It would be similarly impractical to get into Eleanor's difficulties with Louis (and vice versa), given that they wanted a happy ending.
But it's like all the interesting parts were stripped out. One of the things that makes Eleanor so interesting is that, for a woman in that time period, she had an incredible amount of power. She was, at different times, queen of France and England; she accompanied Louis VII on the Crusades; she supported her son in a rebellion against her (second) husband and was subsequently imprisoned for sixteen years, until her husband died and her son installed her as his regent. You don't achieve all that by accident. You do it by good advisors and good luck and a death grip on your wits and intelligence and calculation (and a healthy dose of ambition).
The Eleanor presented here is inoffensive, and occasionally strong in her way, but she shows no real initiative or drive. In many ways she's just an average teenager mooning over this boy or that one. That may well have been true for the real-life Eleanor, but on its own it doesn't make for a terribly interesting story.
My first pick for 'which two historical figures, dead or alive, would you ask to dinner?' is always Eleanor of Aquitaine -- but not this version of her.
January 19, 2015
The reading challenge I'm taking on. Join me!
This book fulfills the challenge: "A book set in a different country" (France).
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
This is a sub-par entry in the otherwise excellent The Royal Diaries Series. Written by various authors, the series imagines a fictional diary of a real female figure of royalty as a child or preteen throughout history. In this book, Kristiana Gregory writes from the perspective of a 14 year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine.
The Pros: The experience of living in 12th century France is accurately depicted. Also, Eleanor's anxiety and concern for her father's well-being helps to make her character easier to sympathize with.
The Cons: Eleanor can, at times, come across as shallow and selfish. The writing also seems a bit stilted and awkward, and sometimes doesn't flow very well.
Despite this less than stellar book, I would definitely recommend the rest of the series. Two of my favorites are: Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889 and Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553.
One of the thing this series does best is help its readers, especially the target audience of preteen girls, more easily relate to history in fun, quick reads. For those real history buffs, in the back of every book, there's a section containing a family tree, a who's who and an epilogue documenting what occurs after the events of the journal.
In short, I don't particularly recommend the book, but the rest of the series is definitely worth a look.
This book fulfills the challenge: "A book set in a different country" (France).
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
This is a sub-par entry in the otherwise excellent The Royal Diaries Series. Written by various authors, the series imagines a fictional diary of a real female figure of royalty as a child or preteen throughout history. In this book, Kristiana Gregory writes from the perspective of a 14 year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine.
The Pros: The experience of living in 12th century France is accurately depicted. Also, Eleanor's anxiety and concern for her father's well-being helps to make her character easier to sympathize with.
The Cons: Eleanor can, at times, come across as shallow and selfish. The writing also seems a bit stilted and awkward, and sometimes doesn't flow very well.
Despite this less than stellar book, I would definitely recommend the rest of the series. Two of my favorites are: Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889 and Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553.
One of the thing this series does best is help its readers, especially the target audience of preteen girls, more easily relate to history in fun, quick reads. For those real history buffs, in the back of every book, there's a section containing a family tree, a who's who and an epilogue documenting what occurs after the events of the journal.
In short, I don't particularly recommend the book, but the rest of the series is definitely worth a look.
November 25, 2013
The Scholastic Royal Diary series are fictional diaries of ancient royal women when they were teenagers at an exciting point in their lives. Eleanor of Aquitaine was a real person who lived in France from 1122-1204. She was the Queen of France from 1137-1152 and later became Queen of England from 1154-1204. Eleanor was the mother of King Richard I who was also known as Richard the lionheart who is connected with the Robin Hood legend.
Eleanor was the daughter of Duke William X who owned more French land than the King. When Eleanor’s father died he left all his property and riches to Eleanor as he had no sons and she was his oldest child. Eleanor suddenly becomes the most eligible woman in Europe. Many men want to marry her and are even willing to kidnap her. It is a lot for a fifteen year old to handle but in the novel Eleanor is an intelligent and outspoken girl.
In the novel, Eleanor spends her time in the castle longing to be free. There is a bit of intrigue and romance though which makes the novel exciting. What I liked about novel is the insight into medieval life, such as what they did for fun and daily life. I could relate to Eleanor as she was just a regular teenager. In the novel, she talks about clothes, loves to go out and have fun just in a medieval way. She also has a grandmother who forever reminds her to be a lady. The grandmother reminds me of the mother from Brave.
The royal diary series includes an epilogue of what really happened to the noble woman after the story ends. I think Eleanor had an interesting life, she had two husbands, was queen of two different countries, had ten children and lived to her eighties. She had a happy life compared to some of the women featured in the royal diaries series.
I enjoyed reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Who knows what the real Eleanor thought or felt but I think Kristiana Gregory’s imaginings were top notch.
Eleanor was the daughter of Duke William X who owned more French land than the King. When Eleanor’s father died he left all his property and riches to Eleanor as he had no sons and she was his oldest child. Eleanor suddenly becomes the most eligible woman in Europe. Many men want to marry her and are even willing to kidnap her. It is a lot for a fifteen year old to handle but in the novel Eleanor is an intelligent and outspoken girl.
In the novel, Eleanor spends her time in the castle longing to be free. There is a bit of intrigue and romance though which makes the novel exciting. What I liked about novel is the insight into medieval life, such as what they did for fun and daily life. I could relate to Eleanor as she was just a regular teenager. In the novel, she talks about clothes, loves to go out and have fun just in a medieval way. She also has a grandmother who forever reminds her to be a lady. The grandmother reminds me of the mother from Brave.
The royal diary series includes an epilogue of what really happened to the noble woman after the story ends. I think Eleanor had an interesting life, she had two husbands, was queen of two different countries, had ten children and lived to her eighties. She had a happy life compared to some of the women featured in the royal diaries series.
I enjoyed reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Who knows what the real Eleanor thought or felt but I think Kristiana Gregory’s imaginings were top notch.
June 8, 2024
Wow, what a huge disappointment this was. I mean, coming off the heels of Lady of Palenque, being able to understand what I was reading was a welcome relief. But I had the same issue I had with Cleopatra VII: nothing really happened.
This is the second Kristiana Gregory book I’ve read in this series, and I’m noticing a pattern with her stories. She’s a very talented writer and her style is very flowing and easy to follow. But so far she’s written about two princesses who have very shallow personalities and, ultimately, are not very likable people. I didn’t mind reading this book but I never really cared about Eleanor or her sister, or anyone for that matter. The characters I sort of liked weren’t in the story enough to really get attached to, and Eleanor herself could be unbearable at times.
This is a nitpick, but the descriptions of children getting sick and a kitten drowning were unnecessary. If they had any bearing on the plot I would have understood, but as is they felt superfluous and just there to gross out readers. There had to have been some way to incorporate the deadliness of illnesses at the time without being needlessly disgusting in the process.
I’m very wary to read The Winter of Red Snow when I get to it. It’s supposed to be one of the best Dear America books in the series, but so far Gregory hasn’t impressed me much with her work. Maybe she writes better with fictional characters?
This is the second Kristiana Gregory book I’ve read in this series, and I’m noticing a pattern with her stories. She’s a very talented writer and her style is very flowing and easy to follow. But so far she’s written about two princesses who have very shallow personalities and, ultimately, are not very likable people. I didn’t mind reading this book but I never really cared about Eleanor or her sister, or anyone for that matter. The characters I sort of liked weren’t in the story enough to really get attached to, and Eleanor herself could be unbearable at times.
This is a nitpick, but the descriptions of children getting sick and a kitten drowning were unnecessary. If they had any bearing on the plot I would have understood, but as is they felt superfluous and just there to gross out readers. There had to have been some way to incorporate the deadliness of illnesses at the time without being needlessly disgusting in the process.
I’m very wary to read The Winter of Red Snow when I get to it. It’s supposed to be one of the best Dear America books in the series, but so far Gregory hasn’t impressed me much with her work. Maybe she writes better with fictional characters?
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