A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver

Book Description
Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife to two kings, mother to two others, has been waiting in Heaven a long time -- eight centuries, more or less -- to be reunited with her second husband, Henry II of England. Finally, the day has come when Henry will be judged for admission. While Eleanor, never a patient woman in life or afterlife, waits, three people, each of whom was close to Eleanor during a time of her life, join her. Their reminiscences do far more than help distract Eleanor -- they also paint a rich portrait of an extraordinary woman who was front and center in a remarkable period in history and whose accomplishments have had an important influence on society through the ages.


Card catalog description
While waiting in heaven for divine judgement to be passed on her second husband, Eleanor of Aquitaine and three of the people who knew her well recall the events of her life.


Simon & Schuster
Eleanor of Aquitaine is in Heaven, waiting to learn whether or not her second husband, King Henry II of England, will be able to join her. Henry had died even before Eleanor, but he still had not won admission into Heaven. Waiting with Eleanor are Henry's mother, Matilda-Empress, and William the Marshal. A chance encounter with Abbot Suger, an old friend of Eleanor's from the time of her first marriage, starts the four of them remembering times past. Each person in turn tells a part of Eleanor's life, vividly illustrating the excitement of living in twelfth-century England and France, and especially the excitement of being Eleanor. Wife of two kings, mother of two others, Richard the Lion Heart and John, she set the tone of court life for her times, sponsored poets and musicians, established the legend of King Arthur as a romantic feature of English literature, set the Rules of Courtly Love, and helped rule a kingdom that spanned from Scotland to the Pyrenees. And she did all this in a time when a king could keep his queen a prisoner -- and did! This book is a novel, fiction, fantasy even. But everything in it about Eleanor and her family and her times is true.


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Eleanor of Aquitaine, not a patient woman, waits in heaven to be reunited with her husband, Henry II of England. They have been separated for eight hundred years, with Henry waiting elsewhere to finally move Up. With her are three friends from Earth who reminisce about the life of one of history's most colorful women. Eleanor marries and divorces the king of France, then weds the English king. She becomes mother to several kings and great grandmother to Saint Louis. She is proud, loves beautiful clothes and trappings and is very far-sighted in her thinking. What a clever way to create an historical biography. Through various voices comes the colorful life of an extraordinary woman who over a period of eighty years influenced the history of medieval Europe. Most wives of the era were considered chattel, yet Eleanor managed to defy both husband and change the court rules for behavior and love. Pen and ink drawings include a historical map and family genealogy. Koningsburg's imaginative work is a timeless treasure to be enjoyed by generations of readers. 2001 (orig. 1973), Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster,


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