READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1) How responsible do you think Henry was for his sons’ disloyalty? What aspects of his personality alienated boys? How responsible was Eleanor in their disaffection?

2. From the evidence provided here, Eleanor appears to have had many extramarital affairs, and a nearly psycho-sexual hold on her own sons. Did you find the author’s arguments convincing? How do you think Eleanor used her sexuality to retain power in a male-dominated world? What would a modern psychiatrist make of this family?

3. Given what you know about the religious attitudes of the period, how conventional or unconventional do you believe Eleanor was? Were politics or piety responsible for her break with Louis? For her horror at Becket’s murder? For her refusal to "take the veil" at Fontverault, even after she had effectively retired from public life?

4. There is a theme of imprisonment running through this family story. Eleanor and Alys of France were both held captive by Henry; Rosamund was locked away in her secret bower. Discuss how captivity relates to women’s condition of the period.

5. Eleanor and her daughter Marie of Champagne were two of the most influential patronesses of the troubadours. Discuss the ideals and realities of Courtly Love in relation to Eleanor’s dealings with the men in her life.

6. The author tried to be even-handed when dealing with the controversial issues, such as Richard I’s purported homosexuality, or Eleanor’s dealings with Rosamund. Do you think she was successful in this? What is the difference between reassessing history and revising it? Do you think a periodic reassessment is necessary to keep history alive?

7. The author says in her final chapter that Eleanor was considered a wicked queen up until Bishop Stubbs’ late-nineteenth century biography. What do you think had changed about society that allowed him to think of a strong woman as heroic? Can one era’s portrait of a historical figure be more "true" than any other era’s?

8. How do the scandals of the current royal family compare to the scandals of the Plantagenets? What do you think accounts for our endless fascination with royal lives?

9. Are you familiar with film and dramatic treatments of this story? How will your enjoyment of plays such as King John or Murder in the Cathedral, or films like Lion in Winter or Becket be influenced for having read this historical account?

10. Do you think Eleanor was a pawn or a power-broker? Is it possible to be both?