The Two Eleanors of Henry III: The Lives of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort

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Darren Baker

The Two Eleanors of Henry III

The Lives of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort

Darren Baker

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English

Pen and Sword
01 April 2025

History; Social & cultural history

Eleanor of Provence was born in the province of her name in 1223. She has come to England at the age of twelve to marry the king, Henry III. He's sixteen years older, but was a boy when he ascended the throne. He's a kind, sensitive sort whose only personal attachments to women so far have been to his three sisters. The youngest of them is called Eleanor too. She was only nine when, for political reasons, her first marriage took place, but she's already a chaste twenty-year old widow when the new queen arrives in 1236. In a short time, this Eleanor will marry the rising star of her brother's court, a French parvenu named Simon de Montfort, thus wedding the fates of these four people together in an England about to undergo some of the most profound changes in its history. It's a tale that covers three decades at its heart, with loyalty to family and principles at stake, in a land where foreigners are subject to intense scrutiny and jealousy. The relationship between these two sisters-in-law, close but ultimately doomed, will reflect not just the turbulence and tragedy of their times, but also the brilliance and splendour.

AUTHOR: Born in California in 1961, Darren Baker took his degree in modern and classical languages at the University of Connecticut. He lives today with his wife and children in in the Czech Republic, where he writes and translates. His biographies include With All For All: The Life of Simon de Montfort (Amberley, 2015) and Henry III: The Great King England Never Knew It Had (The History Press, 2017).

20 colour illustrations

By: Darren Baker
Imprint: Pen and Sword
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781399022316
ISBN 10: 1399022318
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 April 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

A CALIFORNIA NATIVE, Darren Baker has lived in the Czech Republic since 1992. His biographies include Henry III: The Great King England Never Knew It Had (The History Press, 2017), Simon de Montfort and the Rise of the English Nation (Amberley, 2018) and The Two Eleanors of Henry III (Pen & Sword, 2019).

Reviews for The Two Eleanors of Henry III: The Lives of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort

"""[Baker] brings the two Eleanors and their time alive to readers and thoroughly engrosses you in a story hundreds of years past.""-- ""City Book Review"" ""A compulsive read for anyone interested in the years following the Norman conquest and the journey into Medieval England.""-- ""Books Monthly"""