Captive Queen
This epic novel tells the story of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, beginning when she first meets the future King Henry II. For the most part, it is concerned with their marriage – presented as a love-hate relationship definitely not made in heaven. An epilogue summarizes the final years of Eleanor’s life.
Twelfth-century women were supposed to be submissive and pious. Eleanor, who ruled in her own right over the Duchy of Aquitaine, was neither. She was strong and power-oriented and not devout in any conventional sense. At the age of 29, she managed to extricate herself from her marriage to the king of France in order to marry 18-year-old Henry. She evidently expected a degree of power and autonomy Henry was not disposed to allow her. Their conflict eventually embroiled their sons, most notably Richard the Lionhearted, and Eleanor spent long years locked away in captivity by her husband.
I enjoyed this book, with its drama and rich, authentic historical detail. However, Eleanor never captured my sympathy as a reader, despite her hardships, losses, and travails. She is presented as someone who leaves a loving if dull husband, and two children, because she is seized by overwhelming lust for a teenager eleven years her junior. They both know that his father was a previous lover of hers, but it doesn’t bother either one of them a bit. Then she expects said teenager to be faithful, and is bitterly hurt when he is not. Henry II frequently acts like a shallow bully who needs an anger management class. True, these portraits may well be historically accurate. Maybe I read this novel when I was in an overly judgmental mood, but I closed it feeling both partners in the marriage got what they deserved.
