White Heart by Sherry Jones

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Kindle Library

Read: July 28, 2012

A woman's power lies in her beauty. For years, Blanche de Castille, the White Queen of France, has lived by this maxim—passed on by her grandmother, ElÉonore d'Aquitaine, as she took the girl to marry King Louis VIII. When her husband dies unexpectedly, however, Blanche finds that beauty is not enough to hold, and command, a kingdom against usurpers eager to wrest the Crown from her woman's grasp. Faced with an English invasion, barons' uprisings, and slanderous rumors, Blanche must look within herself for the strength she needs to guard the throne for her young son. Her bold response shocks the kingdom and shapes her into the formidable, seemingly heartless mother-in-law to Marguerite of Provence, wife of King Louis IX (Saint Louis) and the eldest of the "Four Sisters, All Queens" in Sherry Jones's forthcoming novel.

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

I finished Sherry Jones' White Heart yesterday and my head is still spinning. See, I hadn't planned on revisiting the Capets so soon after reading Sophie Perinot’s Sister Queens. Not being overly familiar with the family, I had hoped to do a little research of my own before attempting another fictionalized account of their history. Oh well, best laid plans right?

I had never even heard of Blanche prior to reading Sister Queens and I was quick to grow annoyed with the bitter, manipulative, controlling dowager Perinot created. It wasn’t until reading Jones’ novella that I bothered giving 'the dragon' much thought. Who was this woman? Where did she come from? What sort of hand had life dealt her? It is a testament to both Jones’ imagination and pen that I could so quickly alter my opinion of the French Queen, even more so as her novella is only fifty eight pages long.

Jones doesn't elicit the reader's sympathy by portraying a vulnerable or demure widow. Rather, she sparks their curiosity, painting a dynamic, pragmatic and feisty woman who puts aside her personal needs and desires out of devotion for both her country and her son. It is a beautiful and intriguing characterization placed against an equally alluring backdrop. 

Would that this were a longer piece. I was so impressed by it I can't help wanting more. Highly recommended to any lover of historic fiction. 

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

You may win the battle by killing your opponents, but you secure your kingdom - in this life, and the next - by winning their devotion. 

 ═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Local Library

Read: June 23, 2012

Patient, perfect, and used to being first, Marguerite becomes Queen of France. But Louis IX is a religious zealot who denies himself the love and companionship his wife craves. Can she borrow enough of her sister's boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in a forbidden love? Passionate, strong-willed, and stubborn, Eleanor becomes Queen of England. Henry III is a good man, but not a good king. Can Eleanor stop competing with her sister and value what she has, or will she let it slip away?

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence

Did I like the book? Obviously, but I am not above admitting that much of my admiration stems from exposure to history of which I was not already familiar. A natural scholar, I spent much of my reading cross referencing people and events. Call it a weakness, but I give points to any author that can spark my curiosity in such a way. That being said I’m torn with how to approach rating and reviewing this piece. I love Perinot’s subject matter but I’m not sure I am sold on her writing.

The story itself makes for compelling literature, but that is the case with a lot of historic fiction. At some point a reader needs to weigh what the author brings to the table against what is provided them by the historic record. For much of the novel, Perinot gives life to two very different women but I feel she lost momentum in the latter third of the book. Somewhere along the way their voices grow faint, their characters less prominent, at times even fragmented against the political backdrop of their stories. Unfortunately this also killed off much of the pacing. Where I had been unable to put the book aside I soon found myself struggling to get through even a handful of pages.  

If I have a concrete complaint about the book it is in regards to Marguerite’s oldest child, Blanche. Perinot goes to a great deal of trouble to illustrate the importance of family in both Eleanor and Marguerite’s lives. For several chapters they agonize over their inability to provide their respective kingdoms with an heir. Once they do have children, we are privy to the joy each finds in her role as mother.  For this reason I find it odd that it is a paragraph in chapter nineteen that first references the early death of the French princess. The child passed away at age two or three in the year 1243, but Perinot’s narrative doesn’t mention the event until 1246 in a chapter told from Eleanor’s point of view while she struggles with her fear of losing Edward. Marguerite’s apparent lack of affection for her first born irks me. Louis and Jean Tristan are the favored of her brood but as a mother I find it utterly incomprehensible that one could lose a child and be indifferent. Needless to say I found the reference in chapter nineteen woefully inadequate, but my feelings on the matter changed dramatically in the latter portion of the novel when Marguerite claims she would lay down her life for her children. The declaration grated my nerves.  Why should the reader believe she is capable of such devotion when we have been denied even the merest hint of maternal affection or grief for the young princess? For me, the omission proved the undoing of Marguerite’s character and greatly affected my assessment of Perinot’s work.

All things considered I am comfortable awarding four stars to Perinot’s Sister Queens, but it is a generous rating. The freshness of her subject matter went a long way in capturing both my interest and imagination and while I believe Perinot is without doubt an author to watch, I also feel there is significant room for growth. 

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

How typical of men to think that by their brotherly embrace they are the authors of history and fortune. Marguerite and I know better. ‘Tis sisters who shape the world plain and simple.

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════ 

#BookReview: The Captive Queen by Alison Weir

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

It is the year 1152 and a beautiful woman of thirty, attended by only a small armed escort, is riding like the wind southwards through what is now France, leaving behind her crown, her two young daughters and a shattered marriage to Louis of France, who had been more like a monk than a king, and certainly not much of a lover. This woman is Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and her sole purpose now is to return to her vast duchy and marry the man she loves, Henry Plantagenet, a man destined for greatness as King of England. Theirs is a union founded on lust which will create a great empire stretching from the wilds of Scotland to the Pyrenees. It will also create the devil's brood of Plantagenets - including Richard Cœur de Lion and King John - and the most notoriously vicious marriage in history.

The Captive Queen is a novel on the grand scale, an epic subject for Alison Weir. It tells of the making of nations, and of passionate conflicts: between Henry II and Thomas Becket, his closest friend who is murdered in Canterbury Cathedral on his orders; between Eleanor and Henry's formidable mother Matilda; between father and sons, as Henry's children take up arms against him; and finally between Henry and Eleanor herself.

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

Rating: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   |   Obtained from: Local Library   |   Read: August 28, 2011

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

NOTE: This review contains spoilers. Please take heed and proceed at your own risk. 

Henry II and his wife Eleonora

What makes a book a memorable reading experience? For me it comes down to three things: a good plot, interesting characters and compelling writing. In reading the back cover, Weir’s The Captive Queen appeared to have two of the three.

Eleanor is a choice candidate for leading lady. I've admired her since I first discovered her story some years ago. So much so that her name was one of the first I considered when naming my daughter. All things considered, it is fair to say I have a well-established preconception of her character. I wish I could say I was happy with Weir's version but I'm afraid our ideas clashed considerably.

Plot is the easy one here. The story was already written and since Weir previously published a nonfiction biography on Eleanor, I am willing to bet she didn’t look far for resources. Eleanor’s is a story worth telling. Regrettably, this detail is the only thing the author and I agree on.

Randy was not a word I associated with Eleanor until I read The Captive Queen. Maybe it was the moment Eleanor "cherished [Henry's member] in both hands." Maybe it was Eleanor's distress over sharing a bed as she would be unable to masturbate with an audience. Maybe it was the phrase “well-endowed stallion.” It doesn't really matter; I was disgusted by the tastelessly pornographic imagery. I don't doubt Eleanor understood the power of feminine sexuality but I take issue with the vulgarity of the Weir's depiction. I simply can't condone her debasing of Eleanor's character to that of a licentious doxy. She obviously had an active sex life and one would assume she welcomed the attention as she had a rather large number of children but that doesn't mean her sole motivation was a sea of raging hormones.

The majority of the supporting cast is undeveloped, not to be confused with underdeveloped, just plain undeveloped. Look at Petronilla. She has one scene when she comes to her sister's court, disappears from the text for fourteen years, has a second scene during John's birth and shortly thereafter, we learn she drank herself to death. Were we readers supposed to care? Eleanor’s sibling isn’t the only character to suffer from Weir’s negligence. Eleanor's eleven children share only a handful of scenes with their mother but rarely utter more than a sentence or two.

I’ve done a fair amount of ranting thus far but I am not above giving credit where it is due. Annoying and flawed though he is, Weir's Henry II is a well-rounded personality who is all too easy to hate. Again, my opinions were not in line with the author's but I feel Weir succeeded in relating her version of Henry. The reader actually experiences the death of his father, his wild tantrums, his relationship with his wife and his love affair with Rosamund which allows us to really understand the character as Weir perceived him. Eleanor does not enjoy the same treatment. The reader is told what to think of Henry's queen as we rarely get into her head outside the bedroom.

The style of writing leaves much to be desired. The first forty-two chapters are mind-numbingly slow. Weir should have summed up the events in a series of flashbacks. This technique would have cut the amount of content considerably but it would have been more appropriate for her abilities. Weir's relaying of facts is wonderful for nonfiction but it makes for very poor storytelling. She sabotaged her own work by biting off more than she could chew.

I firmly believe it is possible to write a compelling and entertaining novel of Eleanor's life, Weir just wasn't the author to do it. Perhaps I will read Penman's novels while I await the publication of Chadwick's books. Readers who are unfamiliar with Eleanor of Aquitaine may find value in The Captive Queen but I would advise those who are well acquainted with her story to steer clear.

═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════

None of us know exactly what lies beyond the door to eternity, but if Our Lord is kind, our loved ones will be waiting there in his tender care and we will be in a paradise far beyond our earthly imaginings.

 ═══════════════════════════ ❧  ═══════════════════════════