The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine, J.F. Andrews
The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine, J.F. Andrews
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The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine
A Female Network of Power in the Middle Ages

Author: J.F. Andrews

Narrator: Jennifer M. Dixon

Unabridged: 7 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/20/2023


Synopsis

The lives of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine are the stuff of legend. Her daughters, however, are less well known, and the fascinating personalities of her daughters-in-law have been almost entirely overlooked, as have those of the daughters she bore Louis VII of France.

The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine redresses this balance and showcases the lives, travels, and careers of these ten very different women, who formed a great international network of political alliances that linked their parents, siblings, husbands, and children all across Europe and the Holy Land.

Some of these women found happiness; others endured lives of turmoil and conflict. Some of them were close; others never met. But two things linked them all: their connection to Eleanor and to the kingdoms over which she reigned—and their determination to exert authority on their own terms in a male-dominated world.

About J.F. Andrews

J. F. Andrews is the pseudonym of a historian who has a PhD in Medieval Studies specializing in warfare and combat. Andrews has published a number of academic books and articles in the UK, the USA, and France, and was one of the contributors to the Oxford Encyclopaedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Andrews is also active in public engagement with history, having written several historical novels and contributed popular history articles to blogs and magazines. Andrews runs a highly regarded website offering background information on many aspects of medieval life, which is consulted by a wide range of historians, students and historical writers.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Megan

4.5, this was so good! It wasn’t just pages and pages of filler about the men (looking at you, Alison Weir…)......more

Goodreads review by Lois

4.5 Stars Rounded up This was well researched, well written, interesting, and easily accessible to casual readers of history. This does presume the reader is familiar with the players of this time period.......more

Goodreads review by Julie

Succinct review of the lives of Eleanor's 5 daughters and 5 daughters-in-law. Andrews scours the limited sources to bring these often overlooked women to life. The most important take is that while none of these woman had true control of their lives, several did succeed in carving their own lives (a......more

"For a hundred years, these women were as much a pivotal part of the politics of the Angevin empire...as any of their husbands or brothers, and their contributions should not be underestimated." Eleanor of Aquitaine. Twice a queen - of France and then of England. Arguably one of the most influential......more