The Queen's Pawn (40 page)

The king was not as forgiving of Eleanor, since she was the driving force behind the rebellion in the first place. Henry no doubt knew that if left with her freedom, Eleanor would not accept defeat, but would rise in rebellion again, and bring their sons along with her. To separate her from their sons, especially her favorite son, Richard, Henry locked Eleanor away for the rest of his reign.

In my novel, I have offered the possibility that Alais and Henry’s liaison was not all Henry’s idea, but an attempt by Alais to take the throne. I enjoy the idea that Eleanor of Aquitaine was not the only woman in Henry’s life that faced him as an equal. While the events of my novel occur from 1172 to 1173, the chroniclers of the time suggest that Henry took Alais as his mistress in 1175, and their liaison continued at least until 1177 In 1175, Henry also began to press the pope for an annulment of his marriage to Eleanor, which was never granted.

Though in history, Alais was sent to Henry’s court at the age of nine, in
The Queen’s Pawn
I have made an adjustment to her age. Though most of the book is set in 1172-1173, I have made Alais fourteen and fifteen during those years to approximate her historical age when she and Henry engaged in their affair. Setting the novel during the years 1172-1173 served my book in one important way: it allowed the reader to watch Eleanor of Aquitaine’s machinations as she set the rebellion of 1173 in motion, while adding spice to Alais’ bid for the throne.
The Queen’s Pawn
simply asks the question, what if Henry and Alais’ affair had happened before the rebellion, and not after? How would the landscape of history and politics have changed? In my novel, though Alais’ play for power comes before Eleanor was locked away, the political landscape did not change because of her affair with Henry. 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
.

1. 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. Even at fifteen, Richard the Lionhearted is known for his prowess in war, and for his patronage of poetry and music. When Richard stands up to sing for Alais at the feast in the great hall, how does Alais react? How does Eleanor? Does this scene foreshadow any of the conflict to come?

6. Eleanor of Aquitaine claims to love both Richard and Princess Alais, but she also uses them to further her political ends. Throughout the course of the novel, did you believe that Eleanor loved them both? If so, whom did she love more?

7. Eleanor has a spy network that reaches across her husband’s lands, both in England and on the Continent. How does Eleanor maintain this spy network? What methods does she use to keep information flowing into her hands?

8. When Henry and Eleanor are first reunited, they share a moment alone in the great hall. In this scene, did you feel that Eleanor and Henry are speaking the truth, or are they both lying to each other? What are some of the things that Eleanor is trying to hide? Do you think she succeeds?

9. When Princess Alais meets the king in the stable, she does not know him. What factors do you think contributed to the fact that she did not recognize him? When she sees Henry again in the great hall that night, she is shocked. What might Henry seek to gain by deceiving Princess Alais, by not revealing who he is in the stable with the dogs?

10. Princess Alais and King Henry are drawn to each other, long before Alais seduces him. Do you think they are bound by anything beyond lust? What other factors, if any, might draw Henry and Alais together?

11. Richard swears an oath to Alais in the kitchen garden, only to be caught a few hours later making love to another woman. Do you think Richard’s infidelity makes his vow to Alais null and void? If not, why not? How is Alais’ reaction to his infidelity different from a modern woman’s? How does Alais’ reaction to Richard’s betrayal differ from Eleanor’s reaction when King Henry takes mistresses? Why?

12. When Richard confronts Henry in the great hall, both Eleanor and Alais fear for his safety. Once Eleanor is alone with the king, she betrays Alais by handing over the letter the princess wrote to her father. Would Eleanor have used Alais’ letter to her father under any other circumstances? Why or why not? Which gives Alais a deeper feeling of betrayal, Richard’s infidelity or Eleanor putting Alais’ letter into Henry’s hands?

13. Alais goes the next day to seduce the king. What are her motives for trying to take Eleanor’s husband from her? Over the course of the next few chapters, do you agree that Alais wants to become queen to protect the treaty with France, and the people of France from war? Why or why not?

14. When Alais seduces Henry, and asks him to make her queen in Eleanor’s place, Henry agrees almost at once. Do you believe that this idea was in the back of Henry’s mind all along? If so, what made him decide to take Alais up on her offer of an alliance? Do you believe that Henry intended to keep his word to Alais?

15. During the medieval period, men often put away wives who did not please them. What are the political implications of putting a reigning queen into a nunnery? What factors kept Eleanor out of the nunnery, and the crown of England in her hands?What are the differences between Eleanor of Aquitaine and the scores of other women whose husbands sought to make them take the veil?

16. Once Henry and Alais return to court, they are greeted by Henry’s youngest son, Prince John. Though not yet ten years old, John is well versed in politics and holds his own among adults. Was this portrayal of the young prince surprising when you read the novel? How different is Prince John from children of a ruling leader today?

17. WhenAlais becomes pregnant with Henry’s child, she sees her unborn child as one more link between them, one more thing to support their alliance. Do you think Henry saw her pregnancy in the same light? Why or why not?

18. At the climax of the novel,Alais turns her back on her alliance with Henry and asks for Eleanor’s protection once more. What factors motivated her to switch allegiances? Do you think she made the right choice? Why do you think Eleanor took her back?

19. Henry sends Alais to the nunnery at the Abbey of St.Agnes at the end of the novel. Do you think he did this to punish her for her betrayal, or was the abbey simply a convenient place to put her once she had outlasted her usefulness? In your opinion, did Henry ever love Alais? If so, do you think he paid a price, emotionally or politically, for letting her go?

20. At the end of the novel, Richard comes to see Alais in the nunnery near Bath. In spite of all that had gone on, Richard still loved and forgave Alais, as she loved and forgave him. What factors made the relationship betweenAlais and Richard different from any other relationship in the novel? If Richard had not later become king, do you think he would have married Alais as he promised at the end of
The Queen’s Pawn
?