A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver - Hardcover

Konigsburg, E. L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0333174828 ISBN 13: 9780333174821

Publisher: Atheneum, 1974

Synopsis

Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife to two kings, mother to two others, has been waiting in Heaven a long time -- eight centuries, more or less -- to be reunited with her second husband, Henry II of England. Finally, the day has come when Henry will be judged for admission. While Eleanor, never a patient woman in life or afterlife, waits, three people, each of whom was close to Eleanor during a time of her life, join her. Their reminiscences do far more than help distract Eleanor -- they also paint a rich portrait of an extraordinary woman who was front and center in a remarkable period in history and whose accomplishments have had an important influence on society through the ages.

About this title

From the Publisher

Eleanor of Aquitaine is in Heaven, waiting to learn whether or not her second husband, King Henry II of England, will be able to join her. Henry had died even before Eleanor, but he still had not won admission into Heaven. Waiting with Eleanor are Henry's mother, Matilda-Empress, and William the Marshal. A chance encounter with Abbot Suger, an old friend of Eleanor's from the time of her first marriage, starts the four of them remembering times past. Each person in turn tells a part of Eleanor's life, vividly illustrating the excitement of living in twelfth-century England and France, and especially the excitement of being Eleanor. Wife of two kings, mother of two others, Richard the Lion Heart and John, she set the tone of court life for her times, sponsored poets and musicians, established the legend of King Arthur as a romantic feature of English literature, set the Rules of Courtly Love, and helped rule a kingdom that spanned from Scotland to the Pyrenees. And she did all this in a time when a king could keep his queen a prisoner -- and did!

This book is a novel, fiction, fantasy even. But everything in it about Eleanor and her family and her times is true.

From the Inside Flap

Eleanor of Aquitaine has every reason to be  upset.
For centuries she's been  patiently waiting for her husband, King Henry II, to  meet her in Heaven. Luckily, she's sharing a cloud  with some old friends who knew her when she and  Henry ruled supreme. As long as they're together, they  might as well gossip about old times--and soon all  of Eleanor's adventures in the Middle Ages spring  to life again.
Finally, just when  they're about to give up on Henry, Eleanor spots  three men floating toward them. After all this  time, could one of them be Henry?

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1974
• ISBN 10: 0333174828
• ISBN 13: 9780333174821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1