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Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Biography
by: Marion Meade

Used Price: £1.52

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780140153385
ISBN: 0140153381
Label: Penguin
Manufacturer: Penguin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: June 01, 1992
Publisher: Penguin
Studio: Penguin
Sales Rank: 1289648

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Full of Colour: a turbulent life
"Meade's history [of Eleanor] is full of color, but based on facts," a reviewer wrote in 1999. As indeed it should be. Those qualities are not antithetical: history is often colorful and always based on facts. Reading reviews of Marion Meade's "Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Biography" (1977) is to feel compelled to defend Meade's book against comments such as: "[It's] a very good read, but one suspects it is a poor history." And, under the heading "Entertaining fiction, not history" a reviewer describes Meade's book as, "indeed entertaining, and paints a vivid portrait... one that many readers have complained is missing from other biographies of this most fascinating queen." But then the reviewer changes direction, adding: "A substantial proportion ... Read More:

Rating:

- I enjoyed this book
I have a number of books about medieval history and this was one of the best. Most of the time I get half way through a title and drift off bored with the dryness of the subject, but I found it easy to stick with this book right to the end. There is a lightness of touch married with a strong element of factual accuracy that makes it worthwhile reading - I'd recommend giving it a go!

Rating:

- Informative & readable
A fascinating book about a fascinating woman. The writer captures the reader's attention with graphic analyses of the personalities and politics of the era, beautifully and sensitively written. Both the minutiae of Eleanor's daily life, and the grand sweep of political and military manoeuvres of the day are described in equal measure.

Rating:

- Excellent book: Reads like a novel, can't put down
From the moment of reading the preface to the completion of the last Chapter, this book was hard to put down. Although assigned to read for class, I would highly recommend it for pleasure reading also. The author succeeds in putting the chronology of history and the story of Eleanor's life deftly together delivering both historical information and a riveting story, unlike other factual history books I have been obliged to read.

Rating:

- Meade's history is full of color, but based on facts.
I first read this work some years ago, after it was first published. I have since re-read it several times. Marion Meade's flowing and colorful literary style helps to make this history an entertaining and educational read. Meade takes the reader on a textured journey, from the beginnings of Eleanor of Aquitaine's family history, through to her stay at Fountervault Abbey in France, where she died in the early 13th century. All along, the reader is given a solid glimpse of a long and eventful life of a woman who was clearly ahead of her time. Meade also infuses Eleanor's apparent sense of humor into the work, made factual from actual documents of the period. Meade shows Eleanor for who she was: Queen of two countries (and expert politician), ... Read More:

Books : Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Biography