Description: "A reparative reading of stories about medieval queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Much of what we know about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and then Queen of England, we know from recorded rumor-gossip often qualified by the curious phrase "It was said" or the love songs, ballads, and romances that gossip inspired. While we can mine these stories for evidence about the historical Eleanor, Karen Sullivan invites us to consider, instead, what even the most fantastical of these tales reveal about this queen and about life as a twelfth-century noblewoman. This book paints a fresh portrait of a singular medieval queen and the women who shared her world"--
Brief description: Karen Sullivan is the Irma Brandeis Professor of Romance Culture and Literature at Bard College. She is the author of five books, recently, Eleanor of Aquitaine, as It Was Said, and The Danger of Romance: Truth, Fantasy, and Arthurian Fictions, both published by the University of Chicago Press.
Review Quotes: "A fascinating must-read for all enthusiasts of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Sullivan conducts a survey of Eleanor's life via a detailed focus on the main historical controversies. The author does not 'pick a side, ' but instead asks all of us to revisit our preconceptions of this most inspiring medieval queen. The book manages the neat trick of providing much food for thought while being a highly enjoyable read. I look forward to rereading it already!"--Sara Cockerill, author of 'Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires'