The Akamai Reader

Review – Captive Queen September 7, 2012

Title: Captive Queen

Author: Alison Weir

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: July 13, 2010

ISBN-13: 978-0099534587

Available at: Amazon – Kindle – Barnes and Noble

From Goodreads:

Nearing her thirtieth birthday, Eleanor has spent the past dozen frustrating years as consort to the pious King Louis VII of France. For all its political advantages, the marriage has brought Eleanor only increasing unhappiness—and daughters instead of the hoped-for male heir. But when the young and dynamic Henry of Anjou arrives at the French court, Eleanor sees a way out of her discontent. For even as their eyes meet for the first time, the seductive Eleanor and the virile Henry know that theirs is a passion that could ignite the world.

Returning to her duchy of Aquitaine after the annulment of her marriage to Louis, Eleanor immediately sends for Henry, the future King of England, to come and marry her. The union of this royal couple will create a vast empire that stretches from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, and marks the beginning of the celebrated Plantagenet dynasty.

But Henry and Eleanor’s marriage, charged with physical heat, begins a fiery downward spiral marred by power struggles, betrayals, bitter rivalries, and a devil’s brood of young Plantagenets—including Richard the Lionheart and the future King John. Early on, Eleanor must endure Henry’s formidable mother, the Empress Matilda, as well as his infidelities, while in later years, Henry’s friendship with Thomas Becket will lead to a deadly rivalry. Eventually, as the couple’s rebellious sons grow impatient for power, the scene is set for a vicious and tragic conflict that will engulf both Eleanor and Henry.

Review:

I got this novel on sale and I thought it would be a fun read. If you read the reviews on Amazon, you’ll understand that this book isn’t for historical novel buffs. I’m not a historical novel buff by any means and I don’t mind discrepancies in research, so I went ahead and read it anyway. I actually enjoyed it too. It’s a fun trashy historical novel.

In this book Eleanor of Aquitane is a sensual woman who is deeply attracted to Heny of Anjou. She beds him early in their relationship and often throughout the course of it. She’s an intelligent woman yet at the same time Weir portrays her as being a bit naive in the sense that she believes Henry remains faithful to her despite their long separations. Sometimes they separate for nearly a year. How can she expect a lusty fellow like Henry to go without for that length of time?

Yet throughout the book, Eleanor exudes a sense of indomitable strength that I admired. She suffered great hardships. Despite Weir’s stumbling prose, the message of what she went through was still clear. There were other times that Weir’s style of writing really struggled to convey the harsh circumstances of Eleanor’s circumstances. It’s definitely not her strongest work to date.

If you’re looking for a book to escape the hours with and just enjoy the romance, then this is for you. If you’re in it for the history, then I would pass on this.