The Summer Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Eleanor Chadwick
Published: 2013
Available at Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith
Rating: 3 out of 5
A novel of breathtaking detail of the medieval world, but poorly developed characters.
The Summer Queen follows Eleanor of Aquitaine (spelt Alienor throughout the book) through her first marriage to Louis VII of France and ending with their divorce and the start of her second marriage to Henry, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou (who later becomes Henry II, King of England).
I cannot deny that Chadwick transports you to 12th century Europe in all it’s vivid colours, delightful smells and stunning locations. You feel like Eleanor would as you are whisked from the sun drowned fields of Poitiers in Aquitaine to the cold, and at times, treasonous halls of the Parisian court. It is this were Chadwick excels, the difference is stark and bewildering. Aquitaine is depicted as home where Eleanor is free and safe. Paris is snake of vipers who disapprove of Eleanor and her brash ways.
We meet Eleanor as a thirteen year old girl, within 10 pages has been told she will marry the Prince of France. Even as a girl, Chadwick has portrayed Eleanor as old beyond her years who appears to have little faith in anyone apart from herself. She has already learnt how to wrap her father around her finger and as soon as she is married to Louis, starts to learn how she can use influence him for her own advantage. This doesn’t change throughout the book and I feel that Eleanor does not mature as grows older as there is nowhere for her maturity to grow. Although we are explicitly told, she is thirteen at the start of the book, it felt like I was reading the mind of young adult, constantly assessing who is friend, who is foe, who can be manipulated, who has to be avoided. I can see why Chadwick was keen to stress Eleanor’s intelligence, maturity, wit and steely nature but to have those at the forefront for 90% of the novel, it becomes dull after a while.
Here in lies my issue with this book. All the characters appear to be one dimensional because it feels none of them develop in any way. Louis is depicted as a insecure child, prone to tantrums and fits of anger which become more frequent as the marriage between himself and Eleanor breaks down.
Eleanor’s younger sister, Petronella craves attention as much as married women with children as she did as an eleven year old and like Louis, is prone to temper tantrums. When arguing with Eleanor over the discovery a liaison with an unknown man Petronella screams at Eleanor “You don’t keep your word. I hate you” and then proceeds to fling her things around the room, something that would not look out of place in a bad melodramatic soap opera. I found Petronella to be extremely annoying and very melodramatic to the point of it being unbelievable and while her life starts to unravel, I found myself not feeling any sympathy towards her.
My favourite character was Count Raoul I of Vermandois, the lover and then husband of Petronella purely because I saw different sides to his personality. He grew as a character, first enjoying the flirtations of Petronella, becoming an affection and loving husband and father to their children and then growing tired and frustrated by her outbursts and jealousy. Frankly I was sharing those feelings with him by the end.
Overall, Chadwick has given herself a hard task as does any historical fiction writer. She is dealing with real people and real events but it is impossible for us to know how their minds work. It is the job of the writer to fill that in for us. Her research is top notch, the detail is impressive but I feel her characterisation was lacking in that detail.
It was interesting for me to find out about a period of history I was very unfamiliar with and I have come away feeling like I have learned something and I did finish the book in one day, but I feel that was more attributed to the glorious sunny weather rather than investing in the characters. This isn’t a book I think I will be returning to very soon. A second reading in the future may yield different results.
If you did enjoy this book, it runs in the same vein as Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir. The series also continues with ‘The Winter Crown’ and ‘The Autumn Throne’.
If you are interested, give this book a go for yourself and see what you think! You might completely disagree with everything I said.
If you have read “The Summer Queen” let me know what you thought in the comments below. You might be able to change my mind!
thehistorymonsteruk.wordpress.com 