Travel with Katherine, er-ah, Eleanor of Aquitaine

Destination: France, the Aquitaine

Book: Eleanor the Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Norah Lofts

Perhaps it is time for a revival of Katherine AND Eleanor.

If I could pick one historic character that I would like to be–it would be Eleanor of Aquitaine. Well, okay, maybe I’m mixing her up with Katherine Hepburn who wowed me in the movie, The Lion in Winter. What a cast, and what a joy that movie is.

Have I been romanticizing Eleanor because of Katherine? I figured I could find something closer to the true Eleanor in Norah Lofts’ novel,[amazonify]143914611::text:::: Eleanor the Queen.[/amazonify] Lofts wrote many historic novels back in the mid twentieth century, and when I talked here about The Lute Player, about Eleanor’s son Richard the Lionheart, I expressed disappointment that Eleanor did not play a larger role. So I was delighted when I was offered a review copy of a new re-issue of Eleanor the Queen.

Lofts wrote carefully researched books that, although not true travel books, certainly can help the traveler understand the history of France and England and other countries they touch on. Unfortunately, when I am in France, I will not be visiting what was Eleanor’s holdings in southwestern France.

But then, the Queen didn’t visit it much either. She was too busy going on Crusades (!), having 10 children (!), getting involved in power struggles between France and England, first with her much-younger husband, Henry, and then against him in favor of her darling son, Richard the Lion Heart. Oh, yes, she also spent 15 years imprisoned at Windsor Castle, in Henry’s rather futile attempt to keep her out of his hair.

I would like to visit her tomb, and Henry’s, Richard’s, at the Fontevraud Abbey in southern France, but I fear we are not going in that direction. What was left of her bones (and the others as well) were scattered when the Abbey was desecrated during the revolution. Ah, well it somehow seems fitting that this restless, traveling queen’s bones should be scattered.

Rouen Cathedral

I do plan to visit the cathedral in Rouen, where Richard’s heart remains. In good medieval fashion, they divided him up when he died, which means I can visit at least a part of him.

As to Lofts book, I found it delightful.  I liked it much better than The Lute Player, and not just because Eleanor takes center stage. She was a truly amazing woman, and no matter how much detail a novelist has to make up–minor things like dialogue, supporting characters and descriptions of clothing– the facts that made her so amazing remain absolutely true.

Lofts not only brings the famous historical characters to life, but she also creates entertaining serving women, common soldiers, and all the other teeming life around the dreary and cold palaces. Once again I am reminded that being Queen in the Middle Ages was not the cushy job it is now.

If you like history, and want to understand the beginnings of England and their relationship with France, be sure and read Eleanor the Queen by Norah Lofts.

Do you like to read historical novels of the place you travel to? What are some of your favorites?

Besides The Lute Player, you can read about the following historical novels here at A Traveler’s Library. Mistress to the Sun, The Last Aloha, and The Calligrapher’s Daughter. 

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Tags: BlogSherpa, Eleanor of Aquitaine, France, historical novel, Katherine Hepburn, Lion in Winter, Movie