by Van Jones
First published 2013
Eleanor of Aquitaine rules as twice queen in a realm stretching from Scotland to Jerusalem. She watches her son Richard the Lionheart clash with Saladin during the Third Crusade while her other son John faces rebellion that forces him to sign Magna Carta. The Plantagenet dynasty transforms a violence-torn Norman inheritance into a sprawling empire. Eleanor moves through a world of Knights Templar and parliamentary foundations, where the Black Prince wages the Hundred Years War and the Black Death reshapes kingdoms. Chivalric codes clash with brutal politics as Robin Hood's legend takes root. Eleanor must navigate between her roles as mother, queen, and power broker while her family's ambitions threaten to tear apart the empire they built. This is the story of a woman who shaped medieval Europe through two marriages, multiple reigns, and the fierce loyalty she commanded across Christendom.
Genres: historical, historical-fiction, biography-memoir, medieval
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, power-struggle
Setting: Scotland, Jerusalem, Christendom
Period: Third Crusade, Hundred Years War, Black Death
517 pages · Hardcover · Viking