Thirteen-year-old Eleanor lives in a palace in Poitier, France, with her father, Count William of Aquitaine and her younger sister, Petronilla. Mischievous and daring, Eleanor's daily exploits are a constant source of frustration to her grandmother and ladies-in-waiting, who are the girls' caretakers. Eleanor's life is turned upside down, however, as her father goes off to fight in the invasion of Normandy, and her safety and that of her sister's is at risk from his enemies. Then, at age fifteen, Eleanor is forced into a new role when her father dies and she is betrothed to sixteen-year-old Prince Louis VII of France. When Louis' father, King Louis VI, dies suddenly, Louis VII becomes King — and young Eleanor is now Queen of France!---from the publisher
190 pages 978-0439164849 Ages 9-12
Keywords: diary, historical fiction, girls and women, growing up, 12th century, Europe, leadership, queen, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, part of a series, royalty
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Author of the best-selling Royal Diaries title, CLEOPATRA VII, Kristiana Gregory now takes readers to twelfth-century France and introduces Eleanor of Aquitaine, who becomes queen at age 15.
Fourteen-year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine lives in a castle in Poitier, France, with her father Count William of Aquitaine (son of William the Conqueror), and her 12-year-old sister Petronilla. Their mother died several years earlier, so their grandmother and ladies-in-waiting raise the girls. Eleanor is extremely intelligent and literate, having been carefully educated by royal tutors. Spinning bores her, as does weaving, sewing, and other housewifery skills expected of her. She would rather be a knight and ride off to war.---from the publisher
