Sorry kids, no feet.

Elizabeth Chadwick has been a can't miss author for me. Eleanor of Aquitaine is one my favorite historical subjects. The combination of these two things should have made for a book that begs to be devoured in a day, right? Not so much. 

For starters, the elephant in the room is Sharon Kay Penman's Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine series. Those books are pretty much the bar for the period. I have yet to read anything involving Eleanor that comes close. That remains true today. 

Secondly, and most importantly, these characters were difficult. I have yet to come across an interpretation of Louis VII that is anything other than a spoiled child who allows himself to be handled by anyone and everyone. This Louis is much the same. The one difference in Chadwick's Louis is his tendency towards violence. Especially violence towards Eleanor. I wasn't a fan. It seemed to be an easy way to get the reader to dislike Louis. It wasn't necessary. Louis had plenty of other unlikable traits without needing to be an abusive husband on top of it. Not that Eleanor was any better. Spoiled is the only word that comes to mind to describe this girl. I will never justify violence. However, I can see where Louis would want to spend his time with literally anyone else. All Eleanor does is whines about how things are done in Aquitaine. Newsflash, you're in Paris. You're Queen of France. Last time I checked, Queen trumps Duchess. 

We all know the story about how Eleanor and Louis end up having their marriage annulled. Eleanor flees back to Aquitaine where she immediately falls into the waiting arms of Henry, current Duke of Normandy and future King of England. Not just his arms as we will find out for most of the last 20% of the book. Not that the amount of time they spent in bed should come as a surprise to anyone based on the number of children born in a rather short amount of time. 

The book ends with Eleanor and Henry arriving in England to claim the English throne. Because of the author and because of the subject, I will be picking up the second book in the trilogy. I know going into it that Eleanor and Henry are going to butt heads about a lot of things but I'm holding out hope that Chadwick has decided that at 30 years of age, Eleanor is done being a spoiled child. 

My final issue with this book is with the author. I'm the kind of person who always reads the author's notes if they are included. I am especially interested in the author's notes when it comes to historical fiction. I like to see how authors justify toying with the facts to fit their story needs (Unless you are PG. Then everything you are writing is fact because you say it is). A lot of author site sources, list off a few books they consulted, and maybe even some of the relevant places they visited. Chadwick does many of these things. The source that stood out the most? Chadwick used an alternative research method. Akashic Records. I had no idea what that was before Chadwick mentioned it. I ended up down a rabbit hole until well past my bedtime doing my own research. If you haven't heard of the Akashic Record, I encourage you to do your own brief Google search. I don't even know where to start with explaining why you would consult Akashic Records for historical research. I feel if you are unfamiliar with the term, you need to research it on your own to understand the level of disbelief I'm at. 

In related news, I think I need to see if any of my streaming services have The Lion in Winter. 

Dates read 4/1/2020-4/26/2020

Book 30/75