When did the great union of Eleanor and Henry II go sour and why? Chadwick answers this question in a fictional manner. The answer isn’t sexual jealousy. Or all of Eleanor’s teeth falling out.
Thankfully, the novel is more than story of a failing marriage. There is, in fact, a rather sweet love story between two supporting characters that balances the imploding royal marriage. This love story is the tale of Isabella and Hamelin. The couple functions as somewhat of a counterpoint to Henry II and Eleanor.
Chadwick isn’t too kind to Henry II, but then she has a point about how he has been given a pass in many cases. What is most interesting is seeing how the power plays between the famous in fighting family plays out.
What is great is that Eleanor’s falling out of love with Henry isn’t due to his affairs, but more to his inability to treat her as equal, to see her simply as a means to sons. Eleanor, a ruler of lands in her own right, is not willing nor able to sit quietly on the sidelines and simply be. She is not the same type of woman that Isabella is.
Chadwick also focuses on the cost of the actions of the primal movers – when a central couple loses a child, the lose is keenly felt. It plays out and doesn’t simply just happen and people get over it. It also affects the relationships that both Eleanor and Henry have with their children, which leads to a famous in family feud.