Eleanor of Aquitaine. By the Wrath of God, Queen of England

London: Jonathan Cape. Hardcover. Eleanor of Aquitaine. By the Wrath of God, Queen of England. Previous owners name to inside cover.Very slight shelf wear to edge of D/J. Tiny closed tear to front bottom corner of D/J. Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine was one of the leading personalities of the Middle Ages, and one of the most controversial. A great heiress, she inherited a vast feudal domain stretching from the Loire to the Pyrenees. Eleanor was no saint. She was beautiful, intelligent and wilful, and in her lifetime there were rumours about her that were not without substance. Her contemporaries were sometimes scandalised by her behaviour. Eleanor married in turn Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John. She lived to be eighty-two, but it was only in old age that she triumphed over the adversities and tragedies of her earlier years and became virtual leader of England. Eleanor has exerted a fascination over writers and biographers for 800 years, but the prevailing myths and legends that attach to her name still tend to obscure the truth. By careful research, the author has produced a vivid biography with a fresh and provocative perspective on this extraordinary woman. Illustrated. 444 pp. . Very Good. Hardcover. First Edition. 1999.