A Proud Taste For Scarlet And Miniver (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
Captive Queen led me to re-read A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg for the umpteenth time. It still holds up. And the historical detail dovetails perfectly with the scholarly effort of Alison Weir. This book may have been written for older children, but I enjoy it every time. The premise is that several of Eleanor’s contemporaries have moved Up to Heaven and are gathered to find out if Henry is finally going to join them. We have brief scenes in Heaven as each of the characters tells Eleanor’s life story from his or her own viewpoint. In the first Heaven scene, Eleanor is pacing impatiently, waiting for Henry. “Even after more than five hundred years in Heaven, Eleanor of Aquitaine still missed quarreling and dressing up. Eleanor missed strong, sweet smells. Eleanor missed feeling hot and being cold. Eleanor missed Henry. She missed life.”Abbot Suger tells of Eleanor’s first marriage, to Louis VII of France. It was not a happy marriage. Next, Matilda-Empress, Henry II’s mother tells of the early days of Eleanor and Henry’s marriage. It was tempestuous, to say the least. William Marshal tells the story of the last years of Henry’s reign and the many fights between Eleanor and her sons and Henry. Eleanor finishes with the tale of her life after Henry’s death. She acts as Regent while her son Richard goes to the Holy Lands on crusade. She works hard to establish peace and justice in England. Many of her reforms form the basis of English law. Eleanor sums up her life – “My life was marked by good happenings, bad happenings and sad ones, too. There were times when the bad and sad could have weighed me down. But to drink life from only the good is to taste only half of it. When I died in that year 1204 I smiled, knowing that I had drunk fully of both flavors. I had wasted nothing.”The last chapter tells of Henry finally coming Up, in the company of Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln. He asks Eleanor several questions about these two. “How can a common man govern [England]? You mean that a common man now sits on the throne of England? ‘No, Henry. A rather plain housewife does.’ ” “What is a president? And what in Heaven’s name is an American?” And then the two are left to catch up on eight hundred years of history.
El Konigsburg's piece, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver was a beautiful book of historical fiction. The book takes place in the twentieth century at a holy place called Heaven. Eleanor of Aquitaine passes her time while awaiting the dictation for her second husband, King Henry II's arrival in heaven by chatting with her three old friends, Abbot Sugar, Empress Matilda, and William Marshall. They gossip about the ones on Earth and the ones up in Heaven and eventually lead to each four of them giving a summary of Eleanor's lifetime. The plot of the summary consists of how Eleanor developed from a needy, impatient, egotistical lady to a patient, peaceful woman. The word's of each elocutionist paints a rich image of the medieval times and the affairs of before and after Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry ruled supreme. I highly recommend this book to students in junior high school as a fun and informative book to read. At first, these types of book seem to be the most dull but as you read on, the author wondrously seems to lure you in. The terminology of this novel is quite clear and can therefore be easily understood and enjoyed. You can empathize to moments where any character has an emotional concern and feel as if you were there to se the medieval times if you were to just imagine. In my opinion, this is definitely not one of Konigsburg's best pieces of literature but is still utterly delightful.
What do You think about A Proud Taste For Scarlet And Miniver (2001)?
Its a novel about the life of Elenor of Aquitaine (wife of Henry II/ mom to Richard I and Prince John), she is actually her own narrator, from heaven after her death. The novel is written for younger audiences, but its a good, clear introduction to her life story and she was a remarkable woman. She was one of the most powerful (if not the> most powerful) women in medievel europe. She was raised to be the duchess of Aquitaine and educated by her father at a time when educating girls wasn't even a debate, it was unheard of. Then he went and did the outragous thing of leaving all his lands and power to her in his will, at a time when women had no property rights. She married two kings, gave birth Richard I, widely regarded as one of the greatest English kings (seen at the end of every Robin Hood movie). She pretty much invented the structure of the English court and her philosophies on governing court life remained in place for hundreds of years. For a more "grown-up" version of her story, see The Lion in Winter.
—Selena
I seem to be on a Konigsburg kick. A telling of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. While maybe not the best person, certainly not the worst, and definitely an amazing woman in history. It is told from the perspective some who knew her, with comments from her, as they wait in heaven for her second husband to join them. I had read an "adult" history of her a long time ago and remembered bits and pieces. She was truly a unique woman. Powerful and driven and intelligent. Able to stand up for herself and make things happen in a world where women were nothing more than pawns and property for their fathers and husbands. She gave birth to eleven children, all of whom lived, in the 1500's! She married two kings and at times ran 3 different countries. She instituted laws that moved the countries she was in closer to modern equality and justice. Again, not always perfect, she was bossy and selfish and extravagant, but also interesting and unique and with an eye toward doing good. A lovely retelling.
—Keilani Ludlow
I chose to read this book because I have enjoyed all the books I have currently read by EL Konigsburg. This was was SO different; especially since I had no idea what it was about before starting it. It is actually historical fiction/fantasy...it is about Queen Eleanor and King Henry II back in the twelfth century. Konigsburg states in the front fold of the book that all facts and events about Eleanor in the book are true, which makes it a very interesting book. I definitely want to read more about her now. The book is written from the point of view of Eleanor, her mother in law, and a former Marshal who have all died and are telling their stories from heaven.I would recommend this book especially to someone who loves to read about OLD royalty. It is written as a book for youth, but I would think a youth reader would need a bit of a history lesson BEFORE reading this book (actually, adults, too), and would definitely need to keep a list of the characters while reading. I had to continuously look back into the book to figure out who certain characters were. I knew nothing about Eleanor before reading this, but am now intrigued to read more about her.
—Claire
