'Eleanor of Aquitaine' is the story of the 12th century French queen of both England and France. Hers was an interesting life, and Marion Meade tells it quite well. In a real Epic, Eleanor marries the kings of France and of England, goes on a crusade, gives birth to no less then 10 children, including Richard Lion Heart and King John. She divorces one husband and participates in a rebellion against the second. She helps to of her sons reign as kings, and finally dies before watching the collapse of the empire she so desired.

The problem with Meade's narrative is that much of what she describes seems debatable. As a previous reviewer noted, this seems as much fiction as fact. hardly a page goes by without the words 'must have' appearing somewhere. Much of the thoughts, plans, and ideas of Eleanor and other characters is pure speculation. Worse yet, often some of the actions and whereabouts of characters are given based on extreme circumstantial evidence.

Meade is also trying to hard to model Eleanor into a modern style feminist. Although she constantly attempts to depict Eleanor as an active, resourceful and wise woman, who rarely if ever makes mistakes, it is quite clear that Eleanor does not fit into that model. In fact, I got the impression you could easily have written the story of Eleanor as an essentially passive bystander in the political dramas involving her parents, husbands and children.

The footnotes, by the way, are complete waste of time for anyone trying to distinguish fact and fiction in Meade's work, unless one is a scholar of the period.

Ultimately 'Eleanor of Aquitaine' is a very good read, but one suspects it is a poor history.

Name 5 important women born between 100 a.d. and 1900 a.d. Eleanor of Aquitaine has to be on your list, perhaps in the first or second postion.

Born in the 12th century, she married Louis VII of France, divorced him and married Henry II King of England. She bore 10 children, 2 to Louis, and 8 to Henry. Among them Prince John and Richard the lion hearted of Robin Hood fame.

It was a time of great change. The Church was changing. It no longer saw women soley as the spawn of Satan. The cult of the Virgin Mary was taking hold. The politics of monarchy were changing. King Louis VII ruled only a small portion of what is modern day France. King Henry II wasn't even English, but a French nobleman who benefited from the untimely death of William the Conqueror's heir, and Civil War in England. He could "seize the day".(Horace) The second crusade led by Louis, failed miserably; perhaps some of modern day Muslin/Christian conflict has roots here. It appears that Louis did not heed Horace's advice.

And Eleanor, where was she? Well she joined Louis on the Crusade. In fact she was blamed for the outcome of the first disasterous battle. It seems that it is easier to blame the queen and her excessive luggage, than the head of the crusading army. Thousands began the Crusade, only hundreds returned. It is not hard to imagine how Eleanor and the others felt. But, she was stuck with Louis. Or was she? Louis needed a male heir, and Eleanor had not produced one. Divorce was not what Louis wanted, but he did need that male heir, and Eleanor was not getting any younger. And so, he freed Eleanor.

Imagine Louis' surprise at her marrying Henry just 8 weeks later. By the way she forgot to ask his permission. Louis was not happy.

But Henry was. He got Eleanor and Acquitaine, 5 sons of which 4 survived to manhood, 3 daughters who through marriage, could be used to achieve his political ambitions. Everything is going so well. Then what does he do? Well, Henry falls in love. Eleanor moves out, back to Aquitaine. And then? The male children of this estranged couple plot against their father, then seek asylum with Louis Capet, Eleanor's X. Of course, mother Eleanor is easy to blame.

In modern terms we might refer to this family as disfunctional. However, that disfunction had a price, and a payoff. France and England warred on and off over the next 300 years. Eleanor's decendants sat on the thrones of England, France, Jerusalem, and the Holy Roman Empire. We remember her today. And unlike many of the middle ages chroniclers, we think that she was important and we admire her.

It is difficult to write a biography from the distance of eight or nine centuries. There are few reliable, contemporay sources. It is most difficult to write one about the most powerful woman in Europe, since few thought that women were important enough to chronicle except in the blame game. Marion Meade has done such an admirable job. Her biography make Eleanor come alive. That this book, copywrited in 1977, remains in print is a testament to her impecable research and excellent writing.

I highly recommend this book.

Just as with most world-wide examples today, the historical lives of English monarchs and other persons of power and fame was dominated by men. But, as women mature I personally believe we grow weary of so much exposure to one-sided male perspective. This book helped alleviate my weariness. Meade does Eleanor, and the rest of us, a service by telling Eleanor's incredible story of power and politics and gender with a historians well researched, reasoned clarity, a scholar's forth-rightness, and a woman's sensitivity. And what a story did Eleanor's life make!

Some popular fiction manages to stand the test of time, and EAST LYNNE falls into that category. For its contemporary readers, EAST LYNNE was one of the exemplars of that emerging genre, the sensation novel: its plot incorporates, among other things, murder, mistaken identity, bigamy, and adultery. Sitting awkwardly in this wild stew of criminal activity are the narrator's pious moral observations and the novel's didactic (and sometimes ponderously satirical) pronouncements on contemporary mores. The characters are mainly cardboard, with the possible exception of the termagant Cornelia Carlyle. The story remains highly readable, largely because the plot moves at a reasonably fast pace, but no-one should approach this book looking for high literature. Mrs. Wood wrote plain--some might say "simplistic"--prose with a minimum of stylistic embellishment, but most readers should find her writing tolerable. In other words, this novel exists in the upper reaches of Danielle Steele-land. It is, nevertheless, an essential text for understanding trends in Victorian popular culture during the 1860s and after.

This new edition, probably intended to replace the poorly edited Everyman version, contains a number of "extras." These include letters from Mrs. Wood, the report from publisher's reader Geraldine Jewsbury (herself a popular novelist), data on the novel's publication and serialization, contemporary reviews, contextual material, and selections from one of the many theatrical adaptations of the novel. Like most Broadview publications, this edition is obviously designed for classroom use, although casual readers should also find the additional material helpful.

Unfortunately, this edition has something in common with the Everyman version: the editing and proofreading. The text is rife with bizarre word substitutions, as if the MS had been run through a spellchecker without a second reading; typos; and improper accidentals (e.g., semi-colons for apostrophes and commas for periods). The often scattershot footnotes did not help: they were sometimes repetitive (e.g., annotating "Turk" more than once) and often too terse to be of much use. Many notes glossed old sayings whose meanings remain obvious even to today's students. To make matters worse, my own copy was badly printed. Instructors may want to keep these problems in mind.

Mrs Henry Wood's novel itself doesn't need any recommandation: generations of readers have literally devoured it. My rating however is valid only for the novel in itself.

What I should like to comment upon is the edition -- and here my rating is just 2 -- published as a volume of "Everyman's Library"...The text is disfigured by dozens...of misprints -- from a philological point of view, this edition is just useless.

The volume is out of print at the moment. This should be welcomed by the editors as an occasion to correct those numberless misprints. If they don't do so, there is only one comment possible on their edition: forget it.

I loved the novel "East Lynne" and am now reading it for the 2nd time. I could not put the book down and kept reading and reading. I recommended it to my mother and she also read it and loved it. It is Mrs. Henry Wood's greatest triumph. The reader feels so greatly for Lady Isabel, one wishes the ending were happier for her. The deaths of little William and finally Lady Isabel bring many tears. No wonder it was such a success in the Victorian era and it should be printed again in this time, to counter so much trash and vulgarity that is written.
I certainly can believe how successful it must have been when it was first printed in 1861. I also believe anyone who reads it wishes Lady Isabel back in her ex-husband's life and Barbara Hare out! Wonderful!!

A very depessed man, France Preseren spent most of his life, wanting and yearning for a better life. Not only unhappy in love, also unwelcome at home, in his state, where he did not support some of the leading politicians and writers, he found himself alone and left to his poems. But in the end, they are left to us to understand them and to remember him as a great author, that could say a lot with one phrase. Unfortunately, people that read him too anxiously can become themselves very depressed. So take you space.

I havent read this book (sorry for rating), but i know France Preseren very well. He is the greatest Slovenia poet and his poetry showed the whole world, that such a small country such as Slovenia can have poetry, wich can easily compare to any other world literature. So it doesnt matter who was Preseren, what does matter is his work, and his work is fantastic. SO take a litle time and read some of his works, because he is the greates Slovenian romantic pomen and one of the best romantic world poems. He is not well known, but he deserves to be.

A good book to read if you are into the absolutist Kings of Medieval France. Not much new information, but does seem to do a good job of comparing the 2 kings to the rise of absolutism in France. It would be better if the author seperated the two kings into two different biographies.

Extremely useful for students studying 'A' Level or a degree in history - much of what is said in this book is directly relevant to the course. Knecht is the accepted authority on Francis I and Renaissance France, and he writes in a lucid, easy to understand and sometimes even humourous style.

Liddell Hart's "Foch, the Man of Orleans" is a study of the style of military leadership of Marshall Foch, the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the WWI. Foch, a former professor and a chief of the French Staff College was foremost proponent of preponderance of moral factors and of a French offence a outrance style of war. It is not at all clear that this style of warfare is criticized by Liddell Hart in view of its ultimate redemption by virtue of French Victory. It is clear, however, that the author heart lies with Petain (and his defense oriented resource consuming style). Foch is given his due primarily for personal courage and strength of convictions, iron nerves and clarity of vision.

One of the illuminating points in this book was an introduction to the politics of coordination of war among the Allies, colorful sketch of personalities involved. Foch is given his due by his periodic sacrifices of ambition towards the common goal.

Style of the book is a bit dry at times; but this is well compensated by the presence of a lot of good maps and the occasional diversion toward description of mood, landscape and philosophical interludes.

This book is wonderful for those interested in pre-revolution France. Written from the perspective of a washed up member of the upper class. It follows his journeys through french society as he encouters those of bother upper and lower classes. It is filled with adventure and intrigue. Worthy of the time it takes to read and definitely a favorite of mine

This novel is much above the common run of historical novels. It is written with sensitivity, a real gift of poetry in the words. I don't think much of the real protagonists which she was writing about, but Clark manages to create a moving story.

This is one of those rare litle gems that stir the Imagination and make you want to delve into a hypothesis, whether you believe it is true or false. Regardless of the verity of the subject matter of this thin pocket-guide to Adventure in the Languedoc region of France, it does inspire the reader to investigate various interconnecting links and historical works in search of more data to form an opinion about the theories discussed in the heavily illustrated pages. I read the book in '98 and thought it was interesting, but could not quite let myself believe it was accurate. However, after reading a pile of Masonic books and a pile of mass-market stuff--referring to this region--I am convinced there is Something Strange, indeed, about Rennes-le-Chateau and the Languedoc.

I almost reviewed this book last year, but I waited until I read a lot of other material, first. I own "Holy Blood: Holy Grail," but I have not read it, yet & I have not read Henry Lincoln's other works, so most of my interest comes from connections with other historical events and books like "Dungeon, Fire and Sword," by John J. Robinson.

I do believe this book details a very strong case for a Geometrical Conundrum, in this mountain region and the surrounding area, and there seems to be a strong desire to "reveal" the existence of a conspiracy surrounding the region, church, etc. Taken alone and with mass-market material, this book seems to be far-fetched, yet when compared with certain less-known works and the symbolism of Secret Societies....well, it appears to be quite valid--especially, when you consider important admonitions from Masonic Lore, such as: "Alter-not the Ancient Landmarks."

Perhaps, this little book is just a brain teaser, suggesting that people "dig deeper" & decide for themselves what is the Truth?

In this book Henry Lincoln proposes that there is a huge outdoor temple in the Languadoc region of France, surrounding a "Pentacle" of Mountains and prominently featuring the hamlet of Rennes-le-Chateau. This temple, according to the author, was built using the English units of mile and rod.

I bought this book because I had enjoyed Lincoln's two "conspiracy" books, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, and his follow up to this one, The Key to the Sacred Pattern. Frankly, this book is his worst. His first two (HBHG and ML) are much more sweaping. "Key" contains a better run-down of the outdoor temple geography, and includes more on his "journey" to his discovery.

If you're enthralled by the Rennes myster (whatever it is!), and have already tried and liked The Tomb of God, this book may be for you.

A warning to those expecting a book about secret societies! Lincoln begins this book saying previous "Rennes" books (his own included) are nothing but "speculation and hearsay." This book is firmly footed in geometry and cartography.

I chose this book because the intriguing title led me to believe I would learn about an ancient ruin or buildling, the civilization that created it., and the activities that took place there that made it "holy". The book went in a completely different direction, however, than what I expected.

The "holy place" is a region around the village of Rennes-le-Chateau in France, and what makes it holy is that the churches, castles and ruins of the area are all aligned in complex geometrical patterns, and the high points of land surrounding the area are situated in the shape of a pentagon. The building sites are on points that form an arrangement of pentagons, stars, circles, and grids. Most of the book describes and illustrates these geographic and geometric relationships, which, although interesting, becomes rather tedious.

I was pretty well convinced of this "sacred geometry", but I really wanted to know who created the site and why. There is a suggestion that ancient people had more knowledge and skills than we acknowledge today, and that a secret society may have been involved in the site's creation. Unfortunately, because of lack of proof, the author had no conclusion about this, therefore, we are left hanging, having to wait until further discoveries are made, perhaps by archaeologists who can some day uncover more definitive proof.

I'm surprised that the author completely ignored the economic conditions of France during the reign of Catherine. No mention of the economic force played by the Huguenots. Just names and dates. Author took a three-dimensional figure and reduced her to one-dimension. Just names and dates.

I enjoyed Prof. Knecht's profile of Catherine de' Medici. It was carefully written and humanized this lady who was, first and last, a mother. A number of her own writings (letters) are used, which shed light on her courage and determination. This treatment is balanced and even-handed, whatever the reader's preconceptions may be. I appreciated the author's fairness. However, the preface says that "there is no denying that her children were all dreadful." I'm still uncertain...why? Maybe the author will follow up and explore the dreadfullness of Catherine de' Medici's offspring? I would love to know more.

I agree completely with the previous reviewer from Florida and I, too, would like to know why all of Catherine's children were considered bad. Professor Knecht has done a very admirable job in this well-researched book and it is quite obvious that he knows his subject well. Catherine de'Medici was an interesting woman--a member of the Florentine Medici, but an insignificant one. All that changed when she married the man who was to become Henry II, King of France. Although she may have been a peripheral member of the Italian aristocracy, Catherine was of pre-eminent importance to French history. She was controversial, but, as the previous reviewer states, Professor Knecht was very fair. He explores both Catherine's virtures and faults in a level-headed fashion. This book, however, is far more than a biography of one of France's most controversial and enigmatic figures. It is also a fascinating narrative heavily laced with French history. If you like your biographies a little light, I wouldn't recommend this book. But if you really want to understand this period in French history, and this fascinating woman, I would recommend it highly.

Was there any American more European than Henry James? "The Ambassadors" begins in England and takes place mostly in Paris, and even though most of its characters are American, it is only referentially concerned with its author's native country. At the same time, the novel is not about Americans frivolously sowing their wild oats in exotic ancestral lands, but rather how they use their new settings to break away from restrictive American traditions and conventions and redefine their values and standards of living.

The main character is a late-middle-aged widower named Lambert Strether who edits a local periodical in the town of Woollett, Massachussetts, and is a sort of factotum for a wealthy industrialist's widow named Mrs. Newsome, a woman he may possibly marry. Strether's latest assignment from Mrs. Newsome is to go to Paris to convince her son, Chad, to give up what she assumes is a hedonistic lifestyle and return to Woollett to marry a proper, respectable young lady, his brother-in-law's sister to be specific. There is a greater ulterior motive, too -- the prosperity of the family business relies on Chad's presence.

In Paris, Strether finds that Chad has surrounded himself with a more stimulating group of friends, including a mousy aspiring painter named John Little Bilham, and that he is in love with an older, married woman named Madame de Vionnet. Providing companionship and counsel to Strether in Paris are his old friend, a retired businessman named Waymarsh, and a woman he met in England, named Maria Gostrey, who happens to be an old schoolmate of the Madame's. When it appears that Strether is failing in his mission to influence Chad, Mrs. Newsome dispatches her daughter and son-in-law, Jim and Sarah (Newsome) Pocock, and Jim's marriageable sister Mamie, to Paris to apply pressure. Ultimately, Strether, realizing that he's blown his chances with Mrs. Newsome and that Chad has the right idea anyway, finds himself enjoying the carefree life in Paris, which has liberated him from his lonely, stifling existence in Woollett.

Not having cared much for James's previous work "The Wings of the Dove," I felt something click with "The Ambassadors." Maybe it's because I found the story a little more absorbing and could empathize with Strether; maybe it's because my reading skills are maturing and I'm learning to appreciate James's dense, oblique prose style. I realize now that, for all the inherent difficulty in his writing, literature took a giant step forward with Henry James; if the Novel is, as he claimed, "the most independent, most elastic, most prodigious of literary forms," it takes a writer like James to show us how.

Reading "The Ambassadors," I was awed by the subtletly of emotion and social gesture James was able to describe. Clearly here was a crafted that had been years in the honing, and I appreciate the book's liberation from the plot-heavy mechanics of earlier books like "The Portrait of a Lady" and "The American." Everything is only subtly insinuated; whole lives can hinge upon half-meant gestures or long-buried social prejudices. In this way, the book has some of the wistful tone of "The Age of Innocence," but more depth if less elegant prose.

The prose is the thing -- James was dictating by this time (how on Earth does one dictate a novel?), and it shows. His chewy ruminations and meandering, endlessly parenthetical sentences are hard to digest. I think James went too far in his late style, and "The Ambassadors" might have benefited from a sterner editor. Still, this is an important book, absolutely worth the read.

James' novel affected me in part because I also fell in love with Paris, though not with a Parisian. The sinuous, difficult prose provides the perfect vehicle for the adventures of aging Lambert Strether as he goes to Paris to try to recover a New England son who will not return to his domineering mother and take a role in the family business--manufacturing an article that is never named. In Europe he meets a degree of sophistication he had never known but also a jungle of moral ambivalences. If I gave the novel only four stars, it is not because of the difficult prose, which I sometimes cursed, but because the crucial instance of moral turpitude which he describes seems practically banal now. I once bundled up all my Henry James books in a fit of pique and was on the way to taking them to a library book sale, but thought better of it. And it was a better thought.