A review by ljjohnson8
The Captive Queen by Alison Weir

2.0

As my daughter Victoria would say: meh. Especially disappointing because I thought highly of Weir's novel of Lady Jane Grey, Innocent Traitor. The captive queen of the title is Eleanor of Acquitaine, one of the most fascinating women of all time, but Weir's portrait is surprisingly pedestrian and flat. It was well-written, however, and I liked the parts focusing on Eleanor and Henry's many children. The story of Henry and Thomas Becket was also interesting and well-told. So, it was mainly in Eleanor herself that Weir failed, and also in these terribly forced and awkward sex scenes. I'm as much a fan of a good sex scene as anyone, but these were just cringingly bad and graphic for no apparent reason. It was like some editor told Weir, "Good book, but you've got to spice it up," and this reputable historian wrote something with no skill and ease.