Familiar with the historical figure of Eleanor of Aquitaine, I was excited to come across this novelization of her life. Unfortunately, this is not the tale I expected. While I loved the character of Eleanor herself, somewhat flawed history and strange, jumpy writing made the story itself impossible to really enjoy. Frustrated, I found myself skipping over parts just to see what happened to Eleanor, and I finally abondoned my quest when I realized I was not enjoying it. Even in that, I was not satisfied, as Eleanor's strong personality and tenuous situation stayed with me, unreconciled. Ms. Kaufman has created a memorable character, but she (Eleanor, that is) deserves a better story to live in.