Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine

by Robert Fripp

The feminine spirit soars as medieval Europe's most exceptional woman recalls her astonishing odyssey, in 'Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine.' Betrayals and loyalties; triumphs and trials; stormy marriages to two warring kings, France's Louis VII and England's Henry II: 'They left me worn, these men, but they didn't level me!' In her eighty-first year, Eleanor recalls her wars, crusades, intrigues, troubadours and ruthless diplomacy while confessing her loves, hopes for her children and their fates. Eleanor spent 67 years fighting, arguing, pleading, loving, hating and counseling four kings, two of them her husbands, two of them her sons. She explains the Grace she enjoyed as the femme fatale of her day-'This old carcass once embodied the feminine ideal'-and the role that her Court of Ladies played in freeing women's minds in a world dominated by the twin male hierarchies of Church and state.

Genres: Historical Fiction

398 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2007

About the author

Robert Fripp is British (from Dorset) and Canadian (Toronto). Former TV producer at CBC, founder and managing editor of a technical magazine, 'IBM Visions', a copywriter in science and technology, and the author of factual books and fiction.

Not to be confused with British musician http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Reviews

[Meryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eleanor was (to the best of my knowledge and a quick Google search) the only woman ever to really, truly be Queen of both England and France. (Several French and English monarchs claimed to be the "real" head of the other country--e.g. Mary Queen of Scots and France called herself Queen of England at times just to goad Elizabeth I of England--but Eleanor was the only woman to actually exercise power as Queen in both countries.) Basically what happened was that Eleanor--who was the duchess of Aquitaine, and therefore a large, rich French landowner--was married to the French King Louis VII for several years. They eventually grew apart, and--more importantly--didn't have a son, so they were divorced. Shortly afterward, she married Henry II of England. They had several children together, including Kings Richard and John of "Robin Hood" fame.

Given all of that, you would expect the story of her life to be pretty thrilling, and it is...just not as it's told in this book. It's a little sad really. The author tried to write this from the point of view of Eleanor, old and dying, dictating her memoirs to a young girl. Before choosing this book, I read several reviews that raved about how the author (a man) had done a wonderful job of capturing the voice of this medieval woman. Um, not so much. It's a little hard to explain, but this wasn't the voice of woman. It was the voice of a man trying to write a woman--a subtle difference maybe, but one that ruined the whole premise for me.

And, even further, the telling of the story is so antiseptic. The author's "Eleanor" tells her story as if she's reading a history book about herself. There's nothing about her personal relationships with her two husbands, no details about the quirks and personalities of her children. I mean, here you have a woman who was in a position to observe some of the most fascinating characters in European history, and the author doesn't even try to imagine anything about their day to day lives. What's the point of writing historical fiction if you're not going to do anything but present the bare facts?

[Ellen Ekstrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

As entertaining and interesting as the premise of this biographical novel by Mr. Fripp seemed, I couldn't get past the first 25 pages - the author warns that Eleanor, dictating her memoirs to a lady-in-waiting who can write, rambles from time to time, but it was a bit repetitive and I lost interest. Also, the cover bothers me, especially the eyes. Maybe I'll re-read it, maybe I won't.

[Ivana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Milujem Eleonoru Akvitansku, na vysokej skole som o nej pisala seminarku a citala som toho o nej na kvanta, ci v odbornej sfere alebo takejto romanovej.
Pacilo sa mi, ze je to formou memoarov, ktore vlastne rozprava Eleonora mladuckej Aline, ktora ich zapisuje. Fakty miesane s domnienkami su tiez dobre spracovane, Eleonora je vykreslena v tom pozitivnom duchu (aj ked v ramci vlastneho rozpravania si casto sype popol na hlavu, ale v tych klasikach - Raimond z Antiochie a pod. ostava nevinna).
Co knihe velmi velmi velmi ublizuje je uplna absencia dialogov a priamej reci. To ju robi velmi tazko citatelnou a podla mna kazdy normalny smrtelnik, ktory Eleonoru nezboznuje, vlastne nema dovod knihu do/citat. Forma rozpravania a zapisovania do knihy by podla mna mohla ostat zachovana a zaroven by kniha mohla mat dialogy, ci uz formou akychsi "presunov" v case alebo "nahladov" priamo do mysle Eleonory pocas jej rozpravania.
Takze ja si ju nechavam a casom sa k nej zrejme vratim, ale myslim si, ze budem jedna z mala.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this as I am a descendant of this amazing woman. However, the style is very annoying. It is told as if she is dictating it to a lady in waiting and some of the biographical details are lost when done is this style. I just couldn't finish it. I will look for other books that will give more of an objective biography.