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The Queen's Pawn

de Christy English

Séries: The Queen's Pawn (1)

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21012127,974 (3.61)8
A historical novel of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine and the one person she loved more than power-her rival for the throne. At only nine, Princess Alais of France is sent to live in England until she is of age to wed Prince Richard, son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is an innocent pawn on the chessboard of dynastic marriage, her betrothal intended to broker an uneasy truce between the nations. Estranged from her husband, Eleanor sees a kindred spirit in this determined young girl. She embraces Alais as a daughter, teaching the princess what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But as Alais grows to maturity and develops ambitions of her own, Eleanor begins to see her as a threat-and their love for each other becomes overshadowed by their bitter rivalry, dark betrayals, conflicting passions, and a battle for revenge over the throne of England itself.… (mais)
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Mostrando 1-5 de 12 (seguinte | mostrar todas)
This is the first book that I have read of this authors and it was her debut novel. The book is written in parallel first person narrative between Alais (the King's Mistress) and Queen Eleanor. Although the author took liberty with historical dates (and she explains at the end why she did that) it was an enjoyable read. You truly get a sense of both women's ambitions, feelings and struggles throughout the book and at times find yourself loving them and hating them only to feel sorry for both by the end. I will definitely be reading other books by Christy English. ( )
  ChrisCaz | Feb 23, 2021 |
3.5/5 stars

Alais was sent to England, where she was to be married to his father’s first wife’s son Richard. She is taken under Eleanor’s wings and they form very close friendship. When she meets Richard she falls in love instantly. But when she meets the king, Henry II, she just can’t stop thinking about him and whe she catches Richard with another woman, Alais feels betrayed and runs to Henry.

This was very interesting read since there’s not much written about Alais. The story is told from two point of views; Alais and Eleanor. While it was fun to read how both women felt the repeating of things was little tiring. I liked how Eleanor was portrayed and while I liked Richard, at times he seemed a bit too romanticized. Even if I have some serious doubts that Richard would have taken Alais back after she gave birth to Henry’s child, I liked how Richard had a softer side with Alais. But I really wanted to slap Alais when she catches Richard with another woman and feels wronged. I mean, how naive is she? Did she really think he was just gonna wait for her forever? And she had been drooling after Henry herself.

The only real problem I had was how Alais and Eleanor always seemed to know what eachother was thinking. It started sounding like hey had psychic abilities or something. And it was starting to sound little repeative.

But I did enjoy the book and can’t wait for next book! ( )
  Elysianfield | Mar 30, 2013 |
The Queen's Pawn paints a fascinating portrait of two little known historical figures and their amazing bond. The story follows the fascinating life of the young French Princess Alais who, at the young age of nine, was sent to live in the English court of Henry II until she was old enough to marry Henry's son Richard. At court, Alais meets Eleanor of Aquitaine, a powerful queen well-versed in playing court intrigue and power games, as well as winning them. Eleanor not only finds a wonderful new pawn for her political chessboard in Alais, but also a loving young girl who becomes as close as a daughter. Alais falls into life at court, and happily into a relationship with her adoptive mother. However, as Alais realizes her place in Eleanor's game, she makes a move to become more than a pawn, even though it would make her a rival to Eleanor herself.

At first blush, The Queen's Pawn was hard to enjoy. The first third of the novel is painfully slow and difficult to read due to a lack of dialog and quick passage of time with little detail. Perhaps English should have considered editing some of this seemingly needless exposition out and focused on what was needed to follow through at the end of the novel. The second third is much better as the story moves forward and Eleanor plays her fascinating political games with Alais, plus the reader gets a chance to get to know Eleanor and Alais and understand their bond.

The final third of the book is where things really take off. Alais becomes Eleanor's rival at court and the games really pick up, as does the romance. This is the part where I couldn't put the book down. Not only were the political games engrossing, but the real heart of the novel shone through: the unbreakable bond between Eleanor and Alais.

A wonderful historical novel that paints a compelling portrait of two little-known historical women and their rarely-explored relationship, The Queen's Pawn is a satisfying and enjoyable read -at least, f you can get through the first third of the novel. ( )
  BookAddictDiary | Jan 25, 2011 |
Princess Alais of France, the daughter of King Louis of France, is brokered in marriage to Prince Richard the Lionheart, son of King Henry and Louis' ex Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is only 9 years old at the time, but she is sent away to live in a convent in England until she is of marriageable age.

At fourteen years of age, Alais is brought to Winchester Castle to meet her betrothed, and to be presented to the King and gain his approval for the marriage. She is under the wing of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who becomes something of a mother to Alais, and the only one that Alais has ever known, her own mother having died during her birth.

Soon after Alais turns against her adoptive mother Eleanor and betrothed Richard, and turns towards King Henry, becoming his mistress.

This story was fairly well-developed, the characters of Alais and Eleanor were relatively well fleshed out. Probably the main issue is that, as I get back into reading and try different genres, I find that historical fiction is probably not the best genre for me. I always find myself a little bored. It just doesn't give me that "edge of my seat" thrill that I seek when reading. However this is absolutely no fault of the author.

So I would say that if you like historical fiction, then you would probably really enjoy this story and should give it a go. Me? I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. ( )
1 vote nfmgirl2 | Dec 14, 2010 |
Plot:

The blurb does say it. Princess Alais is sent to marry prince Richard, but instead when she grows up she becomes King Henry's mistress.

My thoughts:

My second book about a mistress of King Henry, in a month, well he did get around.

This book was made into Eleanor parts and Alais parts. So it changed POV every chapter and that worked. It was interesting to see what these two women felt and needed. I must say I got truly fascinated by Eleanor, she was so strong, and she did what she wanted.

Alais then, well I liked her when she was young and naive, then when the book came to a turning point I felt she was a bitch. That might seem harsh, but she played games she was too young to play. She bedded the king for revenge and wanted to take the crown and become queen. She was saddened by Richard's infidelity but never considered that the king surely never would have stayed only by her side. But the bitchiness was needed, there had to be some drama, and she had to learn a lesson. I even felt a bit sorry of fair Rosamund, his other mistress that he had kept for years. In the end it just made me like Eleanor more because she played the game so well. And I wondered how she could be so forgiving of Alais who she had loved like a daughter.

This book is not entirely historically correct, she does play with years and what happened. She changed some things and it fitted. It made the story interesting and asked that little what if. It did also make me think, if it is true, how could we know for certain, anyway, how could he? She was a princess, what a scandal.

This book gives it a more happy ending. It does not say anything but it does hint, I like it in a way. It makes you think that all worked out while in reality they did not stand by her.



The whole book is written with such ease, which of course then makes it easy to read. The words just flow by.

Recommendation and final thoughts:

I will give it a 3,75 just because of that easy way it was written. I would recommend it to historical fans, and to others. It was a nice book to read, and it did make me wonder, was he handsome? Lol.



Reason for reading:

I didn't know anything about Alais, so I wanted to know more. ( )
  blodeuedd | Nov 19, 2010 |
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A historical novel of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine and the one person she loved more than power-her rival for the throne. At only nine, Princess Alais of France is sent to live in England until she is of age to wed Prince Richard, son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is an innocent pawn on the chessboard of dynastic marriage, her betrothal intended to broker an uneasy truce between the nations. Estranged from her husband, Eleanor sees a kindred spirit in this determined young girl. She embraces Alais as a daughter, teaching the princess what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But as Alais grows to maturity and develops ambitions of her own, Eleanor begins to see her as a threat-and their love for each other becomes overshadowed by their bitter rivalry, dark betrayals, conflicting passions, and a battle for revenge over the throne of England itself.

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Christy English é um Autor LibraryThing, um autor que lista a sua biblioteca pessoal na LibraryThing.

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