![]() ![]() Just before his death, Duke William had sent messengers to his king the messengers carried a request. ![]() KING LOUIS VI and I were staying in a hunting lodge outside Paris when word came that William, Duke of Aquitaine, had died. As a sort of "literary biography," this would be an excellent short novel to pair with a more formal biography for a project aligned to Common Core standards. The royal courts were known for foul play and much dalliance, but Konigsburg adeptly navigates the scandal while keeping the intrigue. Occasional black and white drawings accompanied by calligraphy add to the medieval feel. Per the end matter, all characters in the story were real people. Historical fact and believable fiction blend as Eleanor weds and divorces Louis of France, and then weds Henry of England, creating rebellions, setting standards of culture, and proving that women can rule kingdoms along the way. After a brief but slowly-paced beginning that sets up the Heaven framework for the story, each section of Eleanor's life gallops along as it's recalled by one of her friends in a Chaucer-esque tale. As vivacious Eleanor of Aquitaine, a real-life queen of 12th-century England and France, awaits the arrival of her husband Henry into Heaven, she and three acquaintances recall her remarkable life on earth. ![]()
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