All Things Rennie

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Bargain Books

Some inexpensive ebook reads I found...if you get any, please do let everyone know what you thought below!

Dear Henry: Confessions of the Queens by Judith Arnopp

Pray for Reign by Thea Atkinson

Poison in the Blood by M. G. Scarsbrook

The Marlowe Conspiracy by M. G. Scarsbrook

Precious Bones by Irina Shapiro

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Born April 22, 1451, she was the eldest child of King Juan II and his second wife Isabel of Portugal. Unfortunately for the young Isabella, after the sudden death of her father, her mother became increasingly depressed and mad. Her older half brother Henry became then became king and married Juana, the sister of the King of Portugal who had a daughter, also named Juana, that many believed was actually the daughter of Henry's chief steward. The girl would proclaim her right to the throne the rest of her life. During Henry's reign, divisive support between him and their younger brother Alfonso among the country's most powerful nobles put Isabella in the middle, and she was used as a pawn to check Alfonso and his supporters until he died of an illness in 1468. In 1469, she married Ferdinand of Aragon, much to her brother's displeasure, nonetheless, Isabella was then made the heir, and on Henry's death in 1474, she became Queen of Castilla and Leon. The couple ruled jointly and had five children: Isabel (who died in childbirth in 1498), Juan (who died of illness in 1497), Juana (better known as Juana la Loca, who became queen in 1504 and whose son Charles became Holy Roman Emperor), Maria (whose son became the King of Portugal), and Catalina (she, of course, became Catherine of Aragon and was the first wife of Henry VIII). Isabella is also well remembered for funding the infamous trip of Christopher Columbus in 1492, and as one of the "Catholic Monarchs" due to her and her husband driving the Jews and Moors out of Spain, and, less favorably, the Inquisition. Still, she is remembered today as both a remarkable woman and remarkable queen. Here's some novels on her I found worth checking out:

Isabella is barely a teenager when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone her half brother, King Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragón. As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.

Isabella of Spain was a great woman, a great Queen. Crown Of Aloes is presented as a personal chronicle. Within the framework of known fact and detail drawn from hitherto unexploited contemporary Spanish sources, a novelist's imagination and understanding have provided motives, thoughts, and private conversations, helping to build up the fascinating character Isabella must have been. Her fortunes were varied indeed: she knew acute poverty, faced anxiety and danger with high courage, gave much, suffered much, lived to the full. At the end she was mainly aware of her failures. It was left to others to realise how spectacular her successes had been.

Married to Ferdinand after continual fears and disappointments, Isabella triumphed over every danger, convinced of her true destiny. With the might of Portugal humbled, the Court of the Sovereigns saw the rise of Torquemada, the establishment of the dreaded Inquisition, and the coming of Columbus, who left the woman he loved to make a dream reality. Ambitious and unfaithful, Ferdinand longed to lead his troops against the Moorish strongholds. Isabella knew a united Spain and a glorious future could be theirs, but they must only share it together.

Two I found on Juana:

Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents’ crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family’s ambitions through marriage. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns. He is caring, charming, and attracted to her—seemingly a perfect husband.
But when Queen Isabel dies, the crowns of Spain unexpectedly pass down to Juana, leaving her husband and her father hungering for the throne. Rumors fly that the young Queen has gone mad, driven insane by possessiveness. Locked away in a palace and unseen by her people for the next forty-six years, Juana of Castile begins one of the most controversial reigns in Spanish history, one that earned her the title of Juana the Mad.

Born amid her parents’ ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life. But when tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself plunged into a battle for power against her husband that grows to involve the major monarchs of Europe. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and save Spain from ruin, even if it costs her everything. (all via Amazon)

Royal Blood podcast, episode 40

Happy Reading!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Catherine de Medici

Catherine was born into one of Italy's most powerful families, and in 1533, at the age of 14, was sent to France to Marry King Henri. They had three sons who ended up wearing the crown, and after the Kings sudden death, it was rumored she used any means necessary to ensure they kept it. If you love renaissance France and/or royalty, here's some novels I found on this infamous queen you should check out:

The truth is, not one of us is innocent. We all have sins to confess. So reveals Catherine de Medici, the last legitimate descendant of her family’s illustrious line. Expelled from her native Florence, Catherine is betrothed to Henri, son of François I of France. In an unfamiliar realm, Catherine strives to create a role for herself through her patronage of the famous clairvoyant Nostradamus and her own innate gift as a seer. But in her fortieth year, Catherine is widowed, left alone with six young children in a kingdom torn apart by the ambitions of a treacherous nobility. Relying on her tenacity, wit, and uncanny gift for compromise, Catherine seizes power, intent on securing the throne for her sons, unaware that if she is to save France, she may have to sacrifice her ideals, her reputation, and the secret of her embattled heart.

Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history. In her latest historical fiction, Jeanne Kalogridis tells Catherine's story—that of a tender young girl, destined to be a pawn in Machiavellian games.
Born into one of Florence's most powerful families, Catherine was soon left a fabulously rich heiress by the early deaths of her parents. Violent conflict rent the city state and she found herself imprisoned and threatened by her family's enemies before finally being released and married off to the handsome Prince Henry of France.
Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the gorgeous, conniving Diane de Poitiers, and unable to bear children, Catherine resorted to the dark arts of sorcery to win Henry's love and enhance her fertility—for which she would pay a price. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's blood-soaked visions of the future, Kalogridis reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband, Henry, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.

Young Catherine de' Medici is the sole heiress to the entire fortune of the wealthy Medici family. But her life is far from luxurious. After a childhood spent locked away behind the walls of a convent, she joins the household of the pope, where at last she can be united with her true love. But, all too soon, that love is replaced with an engagement to a boy who is cold and aloof. It soon becomes clear that Catherine will need all the cunning she can muster to command the respect she deserves as one of France's most powerful queens.

Fourteen-year-old Catherine de’ Medici arrives in Marseilles to marry Henry, Duke of Orleans, second son of the King of France. The brokenhearted Catherine has left her true love in Italy, forced into trading her future happiness for marriage into the French royal family.
Amid the glittering fêtes and banquets of the most immoral court in sixteenth-century Europe, the reluctant bride becomes a passionate but unwanted wife. Humiliated and unloved, Catherine spies on Henry and his lover, the infamous Diane de Poitiers. Tortured by what she sees, Catherine becomes consumed by a ruthless ambition destined to make her the most despised woman in France: the dream that one day the French crown will be worn by a Medici heir...

When Catherine de' Medici was forced to marry Henry of Orleans, her's was not the only heart broken. Jeanne of Navarre once dreamed of marrying this same prince, but like Catherine, she must bend to the will of King Francis's political needs. And so both Catherine and Jeanne's lives are set on unwanted paths, destined to cross in affairs of state, love and faith, driving them to become deadly political rivals. Years later, Jeanne is happily married to the dashing but politically inept Antoine de Bourbon, whilst the widowed Catherine continues to be loved by few and feared by many - including her children. But she is now the powerful mother of kings, who will do anything to see her beloved second son, Henry, rule France. As civil war ravages the country and Jeanne fights for the Huguenot cause, Catherine advances along her unholy road, making enemies at every turn...

The aging Catherine de’ Medici and her sickly son King Charles are hoping to end the violence between the feuding Catholics and Huguenots. When Catherine arranges the marriage of her beautiful Catholic daughter Margot to Huguenot king Henry of Navarre, France’s subjects hope there will finally be peace. But shortly after the wedding, when many of the most prominent Huguenots are still celebrating in Paris, King Charles gives an order that could only have come from his mother: rid France of its “pestilential Huguenots forever.” In this bloody conclusion to the Catherine de’ Medici trilogy, Jean Plaidy shows the demise of kings and skillfully exposes Catherine’s lifetime of depraved scheming.

A couple episodes of the Royal Blood podcast about a few of her relatives:

Episode 133

Episode 134

Episode 206

The Medicis

Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici VS Elizabeth 1

Here is a biography on her:

Poisoner, besotted mother, despot, necromancer, engineer of a massacre: the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen of France to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds.
Based on comprehensive research including thousands of Catherine’s own letters, Frieda unfurls Catherine’s story from her troubled childhood in Florence to her tumultuous marriage to Henry II of France; her transformation of French culture to her reign as a queen who would use brutality to ensure her children’s royal birthright. Brilliantly executed, this enthralling biography goes beyond myth to paint a very human portrait of this remarkable figure.

Happy Reading!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Film Review: Anonymous

After what seems like forever, I finally got to see this film, and it was worth the wait! It stars Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, and Joley Richardson and is set during the reign of Elizabeth 1 with this premise: what if Shakespeare didn't write all those plays and sonnets he is known for? Though this has been a hotly contested idea for years, somehow this film makes it believable. It begins with playwright Ben Jonson being captured by Secretary Robert Cecil and his men in order for him to hand over all the plays done by Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. Ben insists he doesn't have them, and we are quickly transported to five years earlier where Ben is let out of jail by the Earl (Ifans) who tells him he wants him to take credit for his works...seems that, as an Earl, he is not permitted to take his own credit. Though initially hesitant, Ben agrees, but then lets a loutish actor named, you guessed it, Will Shakespeare pretend he's the one behind the pen while Ben acts as a go between. That however, is only half the story, as we travel back even further to when the boy de Vere puts on a play for the young Queen Elizabeth (Richardson). She loves it, and when they meet years later, they have an affair that has serious after effects. We also learn that Edward becomes a ward of William Cecil after the death of his father, causing an instant rivalry between him and Robert (in one of the era's more bad marriage decisions, he is then married to William's daughter Anne). From there, the story moves along back to where we started, with the older Elizabeth played by Vanessa Redgrave in what I think to be a stroke of brilliant casting dealing with the building rebellion of Robert Deveroux, the Earl of Essex. There is also a twist in there that I found pretty wild. The acting is solid, and the costumes were definitely eye candy. I give Anonymous 4 out of 5 stars.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Eleanor of Aquitaine

One of history's first iron willed queens, Eleanor was born cira 1122 in what is now southern France. In 1137, her father, William, Duke of Aquitaine, died while on a religious pilgrimage, making the 15 year old Eleanor one of the nation's wealthiest heiresses. Not very long after, on July 25, 1137, she married Louis Capet, son of the king of France, however, once they arrived in Paris a week later, the king died. Eleanor and her 16 year old husband were now King and Queen of France. The marriage lasted 15 years and produced two daughters before Eleanor petitioned the Pope for a divorce and got one...something extemely rare for a woman of the time to do. More shock came when she married Henry Plantagenet, a great grandson of William the Conqueror and heir to the throne of England a mere eight weeks later...he was 19, she was 30. Nonetheless, the union was a powerful one producing eight children eight children (seven of which survived to aduthood), and lasted until Henry's death in 1189, disspite the fact that it was very tumultuous and Henry had Eleanor imprisioned for helping their sons revolt against him. After seeing her youngest son John become king, she retired to Fontevrault Abbey and died there in 1204...another remarkable fact about this remarkable woman. Here's some novels I've found on her:

Beautiful and brilliant, Eleanor is the daughter of the duke of Aquitaine, whose glittering court is the twelfth-century birthplace of courtly love. For all of the duke's boasts that Eleanor has the brains of a man and the soul of a warrior, everyone knows that a girl of fifteen cannot possibly hold the richest dukedom in France. Everyone, that is, except for her dying father, who insists on leaving Eleanor his most valuable provinces—and making her prey to the first baron who rides in to kidnap her.

In order to safeguard her lands and her life, Eleanor devises a scheme to marry the heir to the throne of France. But she must learn to be careful what she wishes for. Eleanor's alliance to Louis VII may be a dazzling one, but her husband is a cautious man, originally intended for the priesthood, whose wit and courage do not always match Eleanor's own; and she ultimately finds herself seeking an even greater match with Henry II of England.

Sweeping from the courts of Paris to the perils of the Crusades, Duchess of Aquitaine gloriously illuminates the life of one of the most powerful, resourceful, and fascinating women in all of history.

Aliénor has everything to look forward to as the heiress of the wealthy and powerful country of Aquitaine. Like most women of the 12th century, she is raised to marry well, sit motionlessly, and be agreeable. However, unlike any other woman, she is determined to be the only one to dictate what course her life will take. After all, she is the granddaughter of the infamous Duke Guillaume IX, called the troubadour.
Young Aliénor of Aquitaine baffles and bewilders friends and foes alike when she marries the future King of the Franks, Louis VII, in 1137. She's called daring, ambitious, and overtly romantic. Aliénor becomes a cold-blooded schemer on the playing field of power, as she's faced with scandals, trials, and forbidden love. Yet, through it all, she remains worthy of every troubadour's adoration.
As the Duchess leaves France behind to become the Queen of England, Aliénor faces a new slew of enemies. However, she remains a mystery to the men of her time, whether she joins a crusade to the Holy Land or fights her second husband, King Henry II of England, who imprisons her to force her into submission with all her might. And if her enemies dare to join forces? They quickly learn how much power lurks within even a caged lioness!

Young Eleanor has everything to look forward to as the heiress to the wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father suddenly dies, childhood is over. Sent to Paris and forced to marry Prince Louis VII of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to King and Queen.

The first in the Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy, The Summer Queen follows Eleanor through the Second Crusade to the end of her marriage to Louis VII. Faced with great scandals, trials, fraught relationships, and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor seeks the path that will make her queen of two countries and one of the most powerful women in the world.

Chadwick's meticulous research portrays the Middle Ages and Eleanor with depth and vivid imagery unparalleled in historical fiction that will keep readers riveted and wanting more.

Ever since her marriage to Louis VII of France was annulled, Eleanor has more than fulfilled her duty as Queen of England—she has given her husband, Henry II, heirs to the throne and has proven herself as a mother and ruler. But Eleanor needs more than to be a bearer of children and a deputy; she needs command of the throne.

As her children grow older, and her relationship with Henry suffers from scandal and infidelity, Eleanor realizes she must take the crown for herself if she ever wants to become the powerful woman she's destined to be. But even a queen must face the consequences of treason...

Chadwick's meticulous research portrays the Middle Ages and Eleanor with depth and vivid imagery unparalleled in historical fiction and captures readers in a web of intrigue they won't want to escape.

Imprisoned by her husband. Separated from her children. If King Henry II thought these things would push his queen into submission, he was wrong. Emboldened by her experiences as the young Queen of France and determined Queen of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine refuses to give into his tyranny.

Freed by his death, she becomes dowager Queen of England. But the competition for land and power that Henry bred among his sons has grown into a dangerous rivalry that Queen Eleanor must contain. Her indomitable spirit will be tested to its limits as she attempts to keep the peace between her warring sons, fend off enemies, and negotiate a magnificent future.

Duchess at fifteen, Eleanor of Aquitaine marries the King of France.
But will she find that she must pay too high a price to be queen?
Although Louis VII is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is
easily manipulated by forces in the Church. Trapped in a loveless
marriage, Eleanor fights for her freedom and for the love of her life.
In the arms of Henry of Normandy, Eleanor may finally find the passion
she longs for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen.

1151: As Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor grew up knowing what it was to be regarded for herself and not for her husband's title. Now, as wife to Louis VII and Queen of France, she has found herself unsatisfied with reflected glory-and feeling constantly under threat, even though she outranks every woman in Paris.
Then, standing beside her much older husband in the course of a court ceremony, Eleanor locks eyes with a man-hardly more than a boy, really- across the throne room, and knows that her world has changed irrevocably...
He is Henry D'Anjou, eldest son of the Duke of Anjou, and he is in line, somewhat tenuously, for the British throne. She meets him in secret. She has a gift for secrecy, for she is watched like a prisoner by spies even among her own women. She is determined that Louis must set her free. Employing deception and disguise, seduction and manipulation, Eleanor is determined to find her way to power-and make her mark on history.

In 1137, fifteen-year-old Eleanor became Duchess of Aquitaine, a wealthy and powerful province in the south of France. Rich and influential in her own right, her tumultuous marriages thrust Eleanor into the political and cultural spotlight, where she would remain for more than half a century.
Still in her teens, young Eleanor of Aquitaine married Louis VII of France, a sickly religious fanatic so obsessed with fears of adultery that he kept his beautiful wife under lock and key, even forcing her to go on a long and dangerous crusade with him. But Eleanor was delighted by the freedom of the crusader’s life. Her handsome Aquitanian knights, her deeds on horseback, and her scandalous attire were the talk of Europe; it soon became clear that Louis’s young wife was more than he could handle. A lifelong rebel, Eleanor would defy her husband and the Church, and eventually strong-arm the Pope into annulling her unhappy marriage.
Once free of Louis, Eleanor thought to marry Baron Rancon, her childhood love, but found herself forced into another political marriage, this time with a younger and more dangerous husband—Henry II of England, a ruthless soldier known throughout Europe as “the red star of malice.” In Henry Eleanor found a man whose iron will and political cunning matched her own, but the marriage was a bitter and brutal one, which escalated into open warfare when Eleanor backed their sons in an armed rebellion against Henry. Vowing revenge, he imprisoned her for fifteen years, hoping she would die in obscurity. But Eleanor would not go quietly. In prison, she wrote her memoir; this is Eleanor’s book.

UK version

US version

Orphaned at a young age, Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, seeks a strong husband to keep her hold on the vast lands that have made her the most powerful heiress in Europe. But her arranged marriage to Louis VII, King of France, is made disastrous by Louis's weakness of will and fanatical devotion to the Church. Eleanor defies her husband by risking her life on an adventurous Crusade, and even challenges the Pope himself. And in young, brilliant, mercurial Henry d'Anjou, she finds her soul mate-the one man who is audacious enough to claim her for his own and make her Queen of England.

When Christ and His Saints Slept begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.

He was nineteen when they married, she eleven years his senior, newly divorced from the King of France. She was beautiful, headstrong, intelligent, and rich. It was said he was Fortune's favorite, but he said a man makes his own luck. Within two years, Henry had made his, winning the throne of England and exercising extraordinary statecraft skills to control his unruly barons, expand his own powers, and restore peace to a land long torn by banditry and bloodshed. Only in one instance did Henry err: Elevating his good friend and confidant Thomas Becket to be Archbishop of Canterbury, he thought to gain control over the Church itself. But the once worldly Becket suddenly discovered God, and their alliance withered in the heat of his newfound zeal. What Becket saw as a holy mission-to protect the Church against State encroachments-Henry saw as arrant betrayal, and they were launched inevitably on the road to murder.
Rich in character and color, true to the historical details, sensitive to the complex emotions of these men and women, Time and Chance recreates their story with all the drama, pain, and passion of the moment.

A.D. 1172. Henry II’s three eldest sons conspire against him and align themselves with his greatest enemy, King Louis of France, but it’s Eleanor of Aquitaine’s involvement in the plot to overthrow her husband that proves to be the harshest betrayal. As a royal family collapses and a marriage ends in all but name, the clash between these two strong-willed and passionate souls will have far-reaching and devastating consequences throughout Christendom.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was revered for her superior intellect, extraordinary courage, and fierce loyalty. She was equally famous for her turbulent relationships, which included marriages to the kings of both France and England.
As a child, Eleanor reveled in her beloved grandfather’s Courts of Love, where troubadours sang of romantic devotion and passion filled the air. In 1137, at the age of fifteen, Eleanor became Duchess of Aquitaine, the richest province in Europe. A union with Louis VII allowed her to ascend the French throne, yet he was a tepid and possessive man and no match for a young woman raised in the Courts of Love. When Eleanor met the magnetic Henry II, the first Plantagenet King of England, their stormy pairing set great change in motion—and produced many sons and daughters, two of whom would one day reign in their own right.
In this majestic and sweeping story, set against a backdrop of medieval politics, intrigue, and strife, Jean Plaidy weaves a tapestry of love, passion, betrayal, and heartbreak—and reveals the life of a most remarkable woman whose iron will and political savvy enabled her to hold her own against the most powerful men of her time.

When William X dies, the duchy of Aquitaine is left to his fifteen year-old daughter, Eleanor. But such a position for an unmarried woman puts the whole kingdom at risk. So on his deathbed William made a will that would ensure his daughter's protection: he promised her hand in marriage to the future King of France. Eleanor grows into a romantic and beautiful queen, but she has inherited the will of a king, and is determined to rule Aquitaine using her husband's power as King of France. Her resolve knows no limit and, in the years to follow she was to become one of history's most scandalous queens.

News of Thomas a Becket's martyrdom has spread throughout Christendom and the blame is laid at the feet of Henry Plantagenet, King of England. Two years later, with Becket canonised, Henry's position is precarious: punished at the Pope's insistence for his part in Becket's death, he now also has an enemy in his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after her discovery of his longstanding infidelity with Rosamund Clifford. Eleanor is determined to seek vengeance, so, with King Philip of France, she encourages her sons to conspire, both against their father and each other. Much embattled, the old eagle Henry struggles to fend off both rebellion and the plots of his aggressively circling offspring...

Nearing her thirtieth birthday, Eleanor of Aquitaine has spent the past dozen frustrating years as wife to the pious King Louis VII of France. But when Henry of Anjou, the young and dynamic future king of England, arrives at the French court, he and the seductive Eleanor experience a mutual passion powerful enough to ignite the world. Indeed, after the annulment of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis and her remarriage to Henry, the union of this royal couple creates a vast empire that stretches from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees—and marks the beginning of the celebrated Plantagenet dynasty. But Henry and Eleanor’s marriage, charged with physical heat, begins a fiery downward spiral marred by power struggles and bitter betrayals. Amid the rivalries and infidelities, the couple’s rebellious sons grow impatient for power, and the scene is set for a vicious and tragic conflict that will threaten to engulf them all.

Then there's a few set in the era that are not completely about Eleanor, but contain her nonetheless:

Joan's mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her father is Henry II, the king of England and a renowned military leader. She loves them both—so what is she to do when she's forced to choose between them? As her parents' arguments grow ever more vicious, Joan begins to feel like a political pawn.
When her parents marry her off to the king of Sicily, Joan finds herself stuck with a man ten years her senior. She doesn't love her husband, and she can't quite forget her childhood crush, the handsome Lord Raymond.
As Joan grows up, she begins to understand that her parents' worldview is warped by their political ambitions, and hers, in turn, has been warped by theirs. Is it too late to figure out whom to trust? And, more importantly, whom to love?

At only nine, Princess Alais of France is sent to live in England until she is of age to wed Prince Richard, son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is an innocent pawn on the chessboard of dynastic marriage, her betrothal intended to broker an uneasy truce between the nations.
Estranged from her husband, Eleanor sees a kindred spirit in this determined young girl. She embraces Alais as a daughter, teaching the princess what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But as Alais grows to maturity and develops ambitions of her own, Eleanor begins to see her as a threat-and their love for each other becomes overshadowed by their bitter rivalry, dark betrayals, conflicting passions, and a battle for revenge over the throne of England itself.

Royal Blood podcast, episode 142

Here's a biography on her:

Renowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in Europe, the wife of two kings and mother of three, Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the Middle Ages. At a time when women were regarded as little more than chattel, Eleanor managed to defy convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons.
Eleanor of Aquitaine lived a long life of many contrasts, of splendor and desolation, power and peril, and in this stunning narrative, Weir captures the woman—and the queen—in all her glory. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable personality but a magnificent past era.

Happy reading!