Duchess of Aquitaine A Novel of Eleanor

by Ball, Margaret

• ISBN13: 9780312369484
• ISBN10: 0312369484
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-29
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

Beautiful and brilliant, Eleanor is the daughter of the duke of Aquitaine, whose glittering court is the twelfth-century birthplace of courtly love. For all of the duke's boasts that Eleanor has the brains of a man and the soul of a warrior, everyone knows that a girl of fifteen cannot possibly hold the richest dukedom in France. Everyone, that is, except her dying father, who insists on leaving Eleanor his most valuable provinces---and making her prey to the first baron who rides in to kidnap her. Eleanor, though, is not content to sit idly by and let herself become a victim, and devises a plan to marry the heir to the throne of France. While her alliance to Louis VII may be a dazzling one, her husband is a cautious man whose wit and courage do not always match Eleanor's own, and she ultimately finds herself seeking an even greater match with Henry II of England. Sweeping from the courts of Paris to the perils of the Crusades,Duchess of Aquitainegloriously illuminates the life of one of the most powerful, resourceful, and fascinating women in all of history.

Author Biography

Margaret Ball, whose previous works include bestselling novels written with Anne McCaffrey, as well as Embeadery, a guide to using classic embroidery stitches in beadwork, lives in Austin, Texas.

Table of Contents

“What a ripping way to learn a history lesson.” ---Kirkus Reviews

 

“This book is as rich in detail as the finest tapestry, as sumptuous as a fur rug and dazzling in its portrait of a remarkable woman.” ---Romantic Times
 
“Vivid descriptions of life in the Holy Land and of the Byzantine Court match vivid characterizations.” ---Publishers Weekly