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.No matter what the year, or how many letters Henry wrote to the pope calling for an annulment, Eleanor was queen, and remained so until Henry’s death in 1189.Beyond the Plantagenets themselves, Alais, Louis, and Eleanor’s lady-in-waiting Amaria, all the other people in this novel are fictitious.For simplicity’s sake, I have narrowed the action in my novel to only two of Henry’s holdings: Winchester Castle and Windsor Castle in England.Throughout Henry’s reign, the court was almost constantly on the move, and a great deal of time was spent in Henry’s larger holdings on the Continent, in Normandy and Anjou.I chose Windsor Castle for much of the action of this novel because it was the seat of Henry’s power in England.I chose Winchester Castle as the second setting for the novel because Eleanor was sent there once Henry imprisoned her.She spent the last years of Henry’s reign at Winchester Castle under guard, and additional years at Sarum on Salisbury Plain.Also for simplicity’s sake, I created the Abbey of St.Agnes near Bath as both a haven and a prison for Alais, Princess of France.The historical Alais knew many other prisons and havens throughout her years in Henry’s court; her historical whereabouts are known when others remember to make mention of her.In my fiction, I have given her a haven among the sisters of St.Agnes, a refuge that, as far as we know, she did not find in her life as a princess living among her father’s enemies.The unrest among the Plantagenets did not end with the events of my novel.Henry never allowed Eleanor freedom from her various prisons.She stayed under guard until Henry died in 1189.Young Henry died in 1187, and in 1189 Eleanor’s favorite son, Richard, became king.Though Richard was his father’s heir, he was at war with the king the winter Henry died.The first act of Richard’s reign was to set his mother free.Eleanor went on to advise her son throughout his kingship, with varying degrees of success.Though Richard clearly loved her, he rarely took her political advice, marrying a woman not of her choosing, going on Crusade in the Holy Land, and getting captured by fellow Christians on his way home so that Eleanor had to pay his ransom.Alais’ historical fate is less certain.It is logical to assume that after Henry died, Alais would be released to return to France.Though Richard did not marry her as his betrothal agreement called for, neither did he send her home.Instead, for years Alais remained in Rouen, in the heart of Richard’s territories.Only after Richard married Berengaria of Navarre and returned from his Crusade was Alais released to return to Paris.At that time, her brother, King Philippe Auguste, arranged her marriage to his vassal the Count of Ponthieu.Sources say that Alais and her husband had at least one child, but the date and cause of her death were not recorded.Richard fought his last battle at the castle of Châlus, conquering the French stronghold only to die from a festering arrow wound in his shoulder.Eleanor buried him at Fontevrault, near his father, next to the spot where she would one day lie.Eleanor sent Richard’s spleen to be buried at the site of his last battle, perhaps as a gesture to symbolize that his temper killed him in the end.Richard’s heart was buried in Rouen, the city where Alais spent years at the beginning of his reign.Christy English has a bachelor’s degree in history from Duke University.She lives in New York City.The Queen’s Pawn is her first novel.Please visit her at www.ChristyEnglish.com.READERS GUIDEQUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION1.During the medieval period, young girls were often shipped abroad to make marriages of state.When Princess Alais’ marriage is arranged during her childhood, how does she face leaving her family behind? How is her reaction different from what a modern child’s would be?2.When Eleanor greets Alais on her arrival in England, Eleanor is surprised by what she discovers in the young girl.How is Alais different from what Eleanor expected? How is Eleanor different from what Alais expected to find in her father’s former wife?3.In The Queen’s Pawn, Eleanor of Aquitaine has a very cynical view of religion and the Church.How does this view influence her dealings with Alais? How does Alais feel about the role of religion in her own life? Which character do you think represents the common perception of the Church during the medieval period? Why?4.When Eleanor introduces Richard to Alais, she expects Richard to be “brought to his knees.” When Alais also is transformed by her meeting with her betrothed, is Eleanor surprised? What events unfold because of the mutual and immediate bond between Richard and Princess Alais?5
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