Devil's Consort

by Anne O'Brien

  Many books have been written about Eleanor. Why do you think writers and readers keep returning to her?

  Eleanor is fifteen when she marries Louis, who is only seventeen, but they act, and are expected to act, as mature adults. Henry is nineteen when he weds Eleanor, yet he is already ruler of Anjou in his own right and is on the threshold of becoming King of England. Consider the factors that might contribute to this early maturity, and compare them to contemporary attitudes towards becoming an adult.

  If you were Duchess of Aquitaine, married to Louis, would you have accepted your situation or fought to change it as Eleanor does?

  Do you think Eleanor should be condemned for her relationship with her uncle, Raymond of Antioch? Is her own justification of what she did acceptable? What would you have done in her situation?

  Discuss Eleanor’s different methods of dealing with her two husbands, Louis of France and Henry Plantagenet. Was she more successful with one than the other?

  In general, Eleanor treats the Catholic church as a power to be manipulated rather than as a source of moral authority. Discuss some of the instances in which the church’s edicts seem capricious, arbitrary, and driven by politics rather than by moral righteousness. Is it any different today?

  Despite her great wealth and position of power, as a woman Eleanor was often at the mercy of male dominance and authority. Discuss instances in which she had very little control over her own fate, and what she did about it.

  Eleanor confronted some of the most powerful men of her day. Which male character did you find the most interesting, and why? Who did you most admire? Who did you despise?

  Life in twelfth century Europe was far different from our own. Do any details stand out for you as particularly colourful, grotesque, or humorous?

  Is it justifiable for historical novelists to develop ‘what if’ situations for the sake of dramatic tension, when the evidence is unclear or lacking or provided by sources with ulterior motives?

  INSPIRATION

  I have been fascinated by Eleanor since watching for the first time, many years ago, the film Lion in Winter, with Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn as Henry and Eleanor, focusing on the later years of her turbulent second marriage. More recently, reading a biography of Eleanor, I realized that most historical novels concentrate on her career as Queen of England, when her relationship with Henry soured and she supported her sons in open rebellion against him. And yet it seemed to me that Eleanor’s astonishingly eventful life began much earlier. She exhibited far more dynamic energy and unquenchable spirit before her marriage to Henry than she did afterwards. Her marriage to Louis of France, her crusading days, her pursuit of divorce and an advantageous second marriage, all had much to recommend them as the dramatic theme for a novel.

  I could not resist, and so this idea became Devil’s Consort, Eleanor’s story, full of passion and courage and scandal.

  A CLOSER LOOK AT ELEANOR …

  Why does Eleanor of Aquitaine prove to be so consistently attractive to both historical biographers and novelists? The answer is very simple.

  Eleanor lived so long ago—almost nine hundred years—when women, for the most part, had no voice in history. And still Eleanor’s voice rings out loud and clear. What a remarkable role she played, flouting the mores of society in a relentless bid to determine her own destiny. Vibrant, confident, sometimes outrageous, strikingly beautiful with a love of fashion and outward show, she is the quintessential heroine. Eleanor’s life was never short of excitement and emotion. The most powerful heiress in Western Europe, she was married on her father’s death to the young French prince, later to become Louis VII. Not content to accept the powerless monotony of her life with Louis, or allow others to rule in her name, she seized fate and made it dance to her tune, setting herself to use clever manipulation and seduction to ensnare and dominate her young husband, even when his devotion to the church and lack of political decision-making hindered Eleanor’s aspirations.

  Undeterred, Eleanor relentlessly pursued power and excitement, daring to take illicit lovers, insisting on accompanying Louis on Crusade where she survived savage hardship and a vicious destruction of her reputation.

  Finally, finding herself trapped in an impossible marriage, she sought out a more compatible husband, Henry Plantagenet, eleven years younger, but a man who was as clever and ruthless as she, a fine match for the ambitious Eleanor. Together they were to create and rule, although not always harmoniously, the vast Angevin empire, stretching from the North of England to the Mediterranean Sea.

  Eleanor’s sense of self-worth, extraordinary in the twelfth century, with the authority of Church and State united against her, appeals very strongly to women today. Out of this framework I created Devil’s Consort.

  And finally …

  What happened to the main protagonists after the constraints of Devil’s Consort?

  Since Louis’s priority was to produce a son and heir, remarriage was essential. His choice was Constance of Castile who became his wife in 1154, two years after his divorce from Eleanor. Constance gave birth to two daughters, but died in childbirth with the second. Louis therefore took a third bride, Adela of Blois, who gave him the much desired son in 1165 as well as another daughter. This son, Philip Augustus, ruled France most effectively after Louis.

  Eleanor’s two daughters, Marie and Alix, were wed to two brothers, Henry and Theobald of Champagne, to tie this province into an alliance with Louis against Henry of Anjou. They both raised their own substantial families: Marie’s son became King of Jerusalem.

  The history of Henry and Eleanor is well documented. Henry and Eleanor remained compatible during Eleanor’s child-bearing years—she bore Henry eight children—but when these years were over she chose to return to Aquitaine to rule her own lands, leaving Henry to oversee the rest of the empire. One reason for this decision may have been Henry’s infidelities, particularly his setting up of Rosamond de Clifford as his long-term mistress. Certainly relations soured between Henry and Eleanor.

  The final rift between them was political. Eleanor took the astonishing step of encouraging her sons in rebellion, believing that they were justified in their demands for more authority in ruling Henry’s vast territory. She particularly wanted Richard (the Lionheart) to inherit Aquitaine and rule it directly in his own right.

  Henry put down the rebellion with ease, taking Eleanor prisoner, and for his own security Henry kept Eleanor under restraint for the final fifteen years of their marriage, sometimes at Chinon, sometimes in various strongholds such as Old Sarum in England.

  On the accession of Richard the Lionheart, Eleanor continued her mission to keep her lands intact for her sons. Much of the government of the Angevin Empire fell into her hands in the years Richard spent crusading. She remained vigorous and energetic, a force to be reckoned with, withdrawing from the world only in her eightieth year to her own abbey at Fontevrault.

  Eleanor died there in April 1204 at the age of eighty-two years.

  FURTHER READING ABOUT ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE …

  For readers who wish to investigate historical biographies about Eleanor:

  Alison Weir: Eleanor of Aquitaine, by the Wrath of God, Queen of England

  Douglas Boyd: Eleanor, April Queen of Aquitaine Marion Meade: Eleanor of Aquitaine

  Two recent historical novels:

  Christy English: The Queen’s Pawn, published in April 2010, depicts Eleanor of Aquitaine from 1169–1173, during her marriage to King Henry II of England and her relationship with Princess Alais of France.

  Alison Weir: Also published in April 2010 was the novel The Captive Queen by Alison Weir, detailing Eleanor’s life from when she first met Henry II of England to her death in 1204.

  AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

  I was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a B.A. Honours degree in History at Manchester University and a Masters degree in education at Hull, I lived in the East Riding for many years as a teacher of history. Always a prol
ific reader, I enjoyed historical fiction and was encouraged to try my hand at writing. Success in short story competitions spurred me on.

  Leaving teaching—but not my love of history—I wrote my first historical romance, a Regency, which was published by Harlequin Mills and Boon in 2005. To date ten historical novels and a novella, ranging from medieval, through the English Civil War and Restoration and back to Regency, have been published in the UK, North America and Australia as well as in translation throughout Europe and in Japan.

  I now live with my husband in an eighteenth century timber-framed cottage in the depths of the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire. It is a wild, beautiful place on the borders between England and Wales, renowned for its black and white timbered houses, ruined castles and priories and magnificent churches. It is steeped in history, famous people and bloody deeds as well as ghosts and folk lore, all of which give me inspiration and sources for my writing, particularly in medieval times.

  Devils Consort is my second novel based on the life of an historical character, my first being Virgin Widow, the story of Anne Neville, wife of Richard III. I am at present working on the first in a series of Wives and Mistresses in the years of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. It features Alice Perrers, Edward III’s notorious concubine.

  WHY I WRITE …

  I recall the days, when I was still teaching history, when I wanted to write but found it difficult. What to write, how to construct a plot, how to make it interesting—I never seemed to make any progress. What do I actually write about??? That was the real problem. I felt an urge to write, but the subject matter defeated me. When I did, short stories were as much as I could cope with, and I admit to still finding it hard to write stories set in contemporary situations. The change came when I realised that I could use what I knew: when I discovered the rich vein of history as subject matter, my imagination was fired. Now I find writing a compulsive necessity in my life, the ideas springing from a combination of events, characters and conflicts that enable me to visualize a situation. When my interest is caught I feel a need to breathe life into a scene or situation by allowing the characters to speak.

  I write because I enjoy the experience—both the process of it and its end result.

  Q&A ON WRITING

  What do you love the most about being a writer?

  I think it is the control factor. Manipulating and directing characters to allow them—or sometimes to force them—to tell the story so that distant historical events come alive through conversation and the interaction of characters, proving that in some ways we are not too different today from our ancestors. We are driven by the same ambitions and motivations. I love seeing the scenes develop as the characters speak.

  Where do you go for inspiration?

  In general, my garden. Weeding a flower bed or picking raspberries frees the mind to allow ideas to flow. But ideas come in the most unlikely places. I once plotted the whole of an historical who-done-it on a motorway in a traffic jam. If I need a specific atmosphere I might visit a place associated with the character. When researching Anne Neville I visited Tewkesbury Abbey and the adjacent battle field—Tewkesbury is quite close to where I live. I knew Middleham Castle well from my days of living in Yorkshire. Eleanor of Aquitaine presented me with some difficulties but a visit to Goodrich castle gave me the atmosphere of a small border fortress in the early twelfth century. Living in the Welsh Marches it is not very difficult to envisage England and France as they were in the twelfth century.

  What one piece of advice would you give to a writer wanting to start a career?

  To sit down and write. It is so easy, as I know, to make excuses of lack of time, lack of ideas, lack of somewhere to sit and write. I made these excuses for years. Whether it’s long hand or by computer, it will not happen unless you accept that it’s a time-consuming, often inconvenient and lonely exercise. On the other side of the coin, it can become an all-embracing way of life, bringing amazing enjoyment and fulfilment. But you have to make a start—and persist by working out a routine and sticking to it, even if it’s a somewhat haphazard routine.

  Which book do you wish you had written?

  I think it has to be Dorothy Dunnett’s The Game of Kings—see my top ten books—and the other five to complete the Lymond series. I was seriously hooked when I read the first of them.

  How did you feel when your first book was signed?

  Astonished, I think. The timescale from starting writing, through agents and publishers, and the inevitable rejections, is so vast and success seems to be an impossibility. It is difficult to remain confident and patient. The acceptance of my first book was wonderful—and definitely worthy of a bottle of champagne with my husband.

  How do you begin writing characters based on real historical figures and do they ever surprise you as you write?

  Reading to begin with—any biography of the historical character. Once I have a plan of their life—main dates and events—with overlapping plans to indicate where they interact with the other characters in the story—then I make a list of the scenes which will obviously bring some element of tension or excitement or emotion into the story. This is most important, I find. I also make a list of areas which can be omitted or given a mere passing reference, with the pace of the story in mind or its relevance to the overall novel.

  Sometimes events just don’t fit and it’s as important to recognise these as it is the explosively important ones. Although sometimes it surprises me—that scenes I’ve jettisoned demand to be included when I begin writing.

  Characters certainly surprise me. Sometimes they resist the direction I wish them to take. Sometimes they carry conversations into directions I had no idea of. Characters develop as I write, so I have to take this into consideration and allow them to be headstrong if that is what they wish. I know I must not force a character into an action that is not in keeping with the character I have given them. If a particular action is vital to the story, then it may be that I have to tweak the character.

  Do you have a favourite character in Devil’s Consort and what is it you like about that character?

  A difficult one. Eleanor or Henry?

  Eleanor was a remarkable woman. We might not always approve of the choices she made, but we can understand the reasons why she made them, appreciating her failings as well as her strengths. She emerges from history as a very real figure, and we are privileged to know so much about her, given the vast distance in time between us and Eleanor’s world. She reminds us that our ancestors were flesh and blood, and acted for good or ill. Eleanor was relentless in pursuing her goals, and although happiness was transient for her, grief and loneliness never deterred her: even as an elderly widow she fought for the authority of her sons, and her own power in her beloved Aquitaine.

  I hope readers can admire her strength and courage, as I do, in the face of a society dominated by men.

  On the other hand, I found Henry utterly compelling: brilliant, mercurial, dynamic, and ambitious. What a pleasure it was developing his character as the man who would prove to be equal to Eleanor in talent, ambition and strength of will. With enormous energy, he spent most of his life traveling from one end of his far-flung empire to the other, covering vast distances in a day. Always restless, always hard-working, he rarely sat at ease, frequently standing to eat meals or conduct business, striding across the room while giving instructions. He even fidgeted through Mass, impatient for it to end.

  Henry was intelligent, well read, but preferring action to ideas. Ferociously articulate, he was able to read and write, still rare skills even for rulers. Voracious in his search of knowledge, he was endlessly inquisitive, interested in everything that could be picked up and examined. He had a great sense of justice, giving his dominions the first trials by jury to replace trial by combat and ordeal. An able soldier and general, he was also addicted to hunting.

  A formidable and forceful character, Henry’s ungovernable temper, running swiftly out of his control, was
also an historic fact. He could be polite and affable but when his will was crossed, his wrath was spectacular. Thus Henry was complex and unpredictable, exactly the fascinating figure I have made him. The match between Eleanor and Henry would never be an easy one, but there is evidence of an enormously strong bond between them, even in the final years when their marriage disintegrated.

  What kind of research goes into your writing process?

  General: I immerse myself in the period so that I know how people lived and to some extent thought. I need a sense of place and time for my characters. I have a good selection of reference books—I live near Hay-on-Wye, a magnificent place for browsing for books—on food and fashion, architecture and gardens, health, sex and witchcraft, so that I can put my characters into a scene. This research tends to be ongoing throughout the time I am writing the novel.

  Specific: focusing on the lives of the characters at the centre of the novel as I first envisage it. For the most part these are secondary rather than primary sources although the opinions of contemporaries are invaluable.

  Physical: I visit places associated with the characters, or similar venues to give me an idea of atmosphere. Sometimes I use contemporary music to set a mood. I use a local group who specialise in medieval and renaissance costume and dancing to give me some visual stimulus. Poetry and literature can help me to visualise the ideas that influenced my characters

  TOP TEN BOOKS

  Apart from Jane Austen …

  Ariana Franklin: Mistress of the Art of Death. I have just discovered Ariana Franklin’s medieval crime novels although I previously enjoyed her historical novels written as Diana Norman. I love the humour, the authentic detail, the fine characterisation and the understated romance of them. I have read all four so far, and enjoyed each one.