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Winter Crown Elizabeth Chadwick 9781847445445 Books

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Winter Crown Elizabeth Chadwick 9781847445445 Books

After having read the Summer Queen, I knew I would have a strong woman to learn about. But in the Winter Queen, Eleanor comes forward as not only strong, but occasionally ruthless. She has her agenda, and neither husband, brother, or a reigning King is going to prevent her from putting her son on the throne. In a way she reminds me of Margaret Beaufort. She has evolved from the Summer Queen, and sometimes in questionable ways. However, this book reads easily, and keeps you turning pages, or swiping as fast as you can. It was nice to read of someone from another period as so many rest with the Tudor period.


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Winter Crown Elizabeth Chadwick 9781847445445 Books Reviews

Like all of Elizabeth Chadwick's books, it's pretty much a masterpiece. This one was not my favorite, though, probably because of the subject matter. Not a happy time in the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The characters are well drawn,however, and the book paves the way for the third part of the trilogy. Henry is a character you will remember. Her children are also growing up into memorable characters. Eleanor experienced a difficult life. Chadwick makes this very clear. I had to order this book from Britain, since it is not yet available in the U.S. It was worth the $20+ price, but do not expect a romantic bed of roses. Far from that, this book lays the groundwork for Eleanor's twelve years of imprisonment in middle age.
Elizabeth Chadwick is one of the best historical novelists of our time bringing the medieval era to life with her storytelling. She delivers with a realistic voice and is not overly dramatic with her topics, taking her time to tell the most believable version of history featuring notable protagonists such as Queen Eleanor and King Henry II of England.

Eleanor's life story is one of my favorites, and I have probably read at least ten books with her as a feature character. Her legend is a remarkable one as a Duchess becoming a Queen of France, a Crusader, and then a Queen of England, while raising kings and daughters to kings.

I was completely enthralled with the first installment of the Eleanor trilogy, The Summer Queen. The Winter Crown took on a bit of its name and seemed a bit more cold and less passionate, but given the subject matter I could hardly complain. Here Eleanor is already married to Henry II and the novel opens to his coronation in 1154 ending with her incarceration at Sarum in 1174.

These are the years of childbearing, all seemingly done as part of duty rather than love. Eleanor does her best to raise the children as Henry pulls the strings along the way, leaving little room left for Eleanor's wishes. She is portrayed as a regal Queen, and not as a sex-driven wanton as other writers have made her out to be, and Eleanor seems much more subdued in this story. It is very easy to dislike Henry and his overbearing ways and to sympathize with Eleanor and her lack of power. The Thomas Becket affair is addressed, along with the romantic affairs of Henry and how these events affected Eleanor.

Where previous books had shown Eleanor to be less of a mother and more of a Queen, Chadwick does put forth a more caring visage in this representation, which helps to endear us to Eleanor. Another welcome addition was the inclusion of a friendship between Eleanor and Isabel de Warrenne, and the gallant character of William Marshal was also appreciated. Chadwick's novel is foremost a story of Eleanor; the focus is on her, flaws and all, and not simply a rehash of absolutely everything that happened to Henry and his kingdom.

The last installment of the trilogy (The Autumn Throne) coming in 2016 will hopefully represent a thawing of the chains around Eleanor as she guides her sons closer to the coveted throne. Henry II has to die at some point -and as bad as it may sound- I look forward to that occurring in the last book, just as I look forward to seeing the fruits of Eleanor's labor come to light. Elizabeth Chadwick shows off her research and hones in on Eleanor and her character, and I am hoping for a very intriguing climax during the finale of the trilogy. If you haven't read many books on Eleanor before, this will be a treat for you.
This is the second book in Chadwick's series about Eleanor of Aquitaine. I found it somewhat darker than the first book (The Summer Queen), but it was still a page turner for me. In this book, we see her husband King Henry II as a "control freak" who treats Alienor, aka Eleanor, as a brood mare and his children as pawns in his grab for power and land. He treats others as pawns too, including Thomas Becket. However, Alienor is not innocent in this story. She too plots and connives. She is shown as a strong woman in parts of the book, but she does not have the power that Henry has. In fact, she doesn't have the power that many of the other men have. The little power that she has comes from her scheming and manipulating as well as the alliances that she makes.

I look forward to reading the third book in this series which should be published in a few months.
Love Eleanor (even when she’s called Alienor) and have read extensively about her, both fiction and non fiction. This is excellent. Better than the first book of the trilogy. It gives a clear “look” into the deterioration of the relationship between Alienor and Henry. Both of them are complex individuals and Chadwick gives a logical interpretation of their continued travel toward estrangement. Becket is covered but not dwelt upon. You never have to worry about historical accuracy with her. She does her homework. If you ever want to wade through the hard core history, Amy Kelly’s “Eleanor and the Four Kings” is fantastic, still the best. I recommend this one highly.
After having read the Summer Queen, I knew I would have a strong woman to learn about. But in the Winter Queen, Eleanor comes forward as not only strong, but occasionally ruthless. She has her agenda, and neither husband, brother, or a reigning King is going to prevent her from putting her son on the throne. In a way she reminds me of Margaret Beaufort. She has evolved from the Summer Queen, and sometimes in questionable ways. However, this book reads easily, and keeps you turning pages, or swiping as fast as you can. It was nice to read of someone from another period as so many rest with the Tudor period.