A review by jobinsonlis
Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir

3.0

I was excited to read this book because I’ve been fascinated by Eleanor of Aquitaine ever since I saw The Lion in Winter where she was played by Katharine Hepburn (such an amazing performance). So I’m bummed that I found this a little lackluster. People talk about all the sex scenes in the beginning, which didn’t bother me except for how they weren’t very sexy, but mostly this book just felt like it would be better as a biography, which Alison Weir has also written. She just didn’t make Eleanor come alive for me; she never felt like a real person save for some moments in her middle-and-old-ages. Henry felt more developed and that was disappointing because Eleanor is the one I love. But it is very readable historical fiction so if you like that period, it’s a least a quick and easy read.