Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir

Written by Alison Weir
Read by Rosalyn Landor
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Release date: July 13, 2010
Duration: 19:21:38

Nearing her thirtieth birthday, Eleanor of Aquitaine has spent the past dozen frustrating years as wife to the pious King Louis VII of France. But when Henry of Anjou, the young and dynamic future king of England, arrives at the French court, he and the seductive Eleanor experience a mutual passion powerful enough to ignite the world. Indeed, after the annulment of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis and her remarriage to the much younger Henry, the union of this royal couple creates a vast empire that stretches from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees—

Weir offers a vivid history of Eleanor’s second marriage, In a relationship based on lust and a mutual desire for great power, Henry II and Eleanor took over the English throne in 1154, thus beginning one of the most influential reigns and tumultuous royal marriages in all of history. Henry and Eleanor’s marriage, charged with physical heat, begins a fiery downward spiral marred by power struggles and bitter betrayals.

The novel highlights Henry’s fiery temper, unflagging energy, and obsession with loyalty. Weir’s portrait of Eleanor reveals a mother devoted to her children, even as they grow up to rebel; a queen dedicated to her native land, even when governed by husband or son; and a woman yearning for love.

Weir gives a credible account of an encounter between Eleanor and the girl reputed to have replaced her in Henry’s affections, and a convincing explanation of how Henry and Thomas Becket became mortal enemies. Although her style is more studied and sedate than Philippa Gregory’s, Weir doesn’t skimp on the sex-obsessed court, and her weaving of personal and political narratives with minor details, social trends, and history-defining events creates a surprisingly modern-feeling romance. Rosalyn Landor narrates with a regal tone. Her careful, well-paced delivery allows listeners to immerse themselves in this epic tale of love, lust, conspiracy, and cunning as it weaves history and imagination into a seamless tapestry. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine