Guest Post from Christy English, author of TO BE QUEEN

I'm honored to welcome Christy English, author of THE QUEEN'S PAWN and her new novel TO BE QUEEN (Pub date: April 5, 2011; NAL Trade, 400 pages, $15.00) about the tumultuous early years of that most fascinating of medieval queens, Eleanor of Aquitaine. It seems we never tire of this original independent lady, whose feisty attitude and zest for life, as well as enormous celebrity quotient, blazed a trail of scandal across her world; in other words, in today's world, she would have had paparazzi chasing her on motorcycles! Though she's most famous for her tempestuous marriage to Henry II, with whom she loved, battled and ended up imprisoned by, for a time, her early life is my favorite - full of the dramatic tumult that shaped her into the queen she became. Christy's novel promises a riveting, fresh account of how Eleanor grew into her crown.

Please join me in welcoming Christy English.

Eleanor of Aquitaine and The Search for Charlemagne by Christy English

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, King of the Franks, united all the lands of modern day France and Germany under his rule. His empire only lasted one generation after his death, but it lived on in the minds of the people he left behind. Eleanor’s Ancestor Charlemagne founded the Duchy of Aquitaine, which was passed down through the centuries in Eleanor’s family, finally coming through her father’s hands to her in 1137. Charlemagne and all he achieved loomed large in Eleanor’s imagination, and with her marriage to Louis VII of France, she saw how she might regain some of Charlemagne’s former glory by uniting France and the Aquitaine, as well as Gascony, Poitou and all of her other holdings.

Eleanor hoped to put her son on the throne after Louis and make him a second Charlemagne. Her unborn son would rule fairly under the law, would render justice, and all importantly, keep the power of the Church in check. Eleanor discovered only one problem with this plan. She and Louis did not have a son. Louis VII was perfectly happy to accept what he considered to be “God’s will” in his youth, to accept the fact that he and Eleanor did not have a son and would not until God sent the boy. Louis constantly prayed for such a son to come to them, but neglected Eleanor’s bed, the only way a son would ever be born to France. After the Crusade in 1148, Eleanor knew with all certainty that her dreams for a united France under her son’s rule were in vain. She worked for an annulment for her marriage in Rome, and once Abbot Suger, Louis’ spiritual father, the largest obstacle to their annulment, died in 1151, Louis began to work with her. Rome granted their annulment, and in March, 1152, Eleanor rode home to her capital at Poitiers.

Eleanor did not retire to her lands and marry one of her own barons. Instead, she united in alliance and in marriage to Henry, Duke of Normandy. Henry was a young man when she married him, nineteen years old, eleven years younger than herself. Eleanor and Henry were married for less than two years when Henry won the throne of England, and she and her new husband were crowned King and Queen of England. Eleanor and Henry’s first son, William, had already been born and she was pregnant with their second son, Henry the Younger, when they were crowned.

Their empire stretched from Scotland and Ireland to Wales and England, and in France they controlled the territories of Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, Aquitaine, Poitou and Gascony. Between Henry and Eleanor, both with their inheritances and with what Henry had re-conquered at the point of the sword, they ruled a larger empire than had been seen in France since the time of Charlemagne. Though time would divide Henry and Eleanor from each other, and their sons from their father in countless rebellions and struggles for power, at the time of her marriage to Henry, Eleanor had realized her dream of a large empire that she might one day pass on to her son. After Henry II’s death, her favorite son, Richard the Lionhearted, ruled all the lands of his father.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Christy. We wish you all the best of success! TO BE QUEEN: A Novel of The Early Years of Eleanor of Aquitaine is available for pre-order and will be in bookstores on April 5. If you want to learn more about Christy and Eleanor’s adventures, please find visit her at her website.

Interview with Christy English, author of THE QUEEN'S PAWN

I had the pleasure of being offered an advance copy of Christy English's debut novel THE QUEEN'S PAWN. Set in the tumultuous Plantagenet court, this is a compelling and unique look of two women caught up in the dangerous splendor of their era: the infamous Eleanor of Aquitaine and the lesser known Alais of France, who was brought to England to marry Eleanor's son. When Eleanor sees in Alais the vivid image of herself at that age, she takes the young princess under her venerable wing. But as Alais matures and comes into her own, it sets the stage for a fierce rivalry that affects the future of England itself. Taut and detailed, THE QUEEN'S PAWN has been one of my favorite reads about the ever-popular Eleanor, depicting the queen at her arrogant, brittle best as she vies for power against a much younger but equally resolved ingenue.

Please join me in welcoming Christy English to Historical Boys.

Hi, Christy. What inspired you to write THE QUEEN’S PAWN?
About four years ago, I moved to New York to focus on my writing, and I wondered what my next book was going to be. As I was walking along Broadway, going to the train to meet my agent for dinner, this still, small voice spoke in my ear. “Do you remember Alais from THE LION IN WINTER? Would you like to hear her story?” I love THE LION IN WINTER. Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn are two of the best actors who have ever lived, in my opinion. But I had never before thought of the young girl in that movie, the French princess.

My novel begins with nine-year-old Princess Alais leaving her family to marry her father’s enemy. That little girl had to face political realities beyond anything most adults ever deal with, and she did it with courage. After I wrote the first chapter, I saw that there was a lot more to this princess than was portrayed in THE LION IN WINTER, and I knew I had a fascinating story on my hands. The novel has changed a lot over many drafts, but that first chapter is still in there.

You tell the story of THE QUEEN’S PAWN from the points of view of Princess Alais and Eleanor of Aquitaine. How did Eleanor of Aquitaine come to be one of the narrators?
I had been working with THE QUEEN’S PAWN for over two years before Eleanor came on board. I was taking editorial notes from all over town, trying to make the book better. But it just wasn’t working. As strong as Alais is, her voice was not dynamic enough to make the novel soar. This was not the character’s fault. It was mine. But I could find no way to solve the problem. It was pretty frustrating.

Claire Zion of NAL liked my voice enough that she wanted to meet me and talk over ideas for trying to make the novel work. We had plans to meet for lunch on a Tuesday, and I had no idea how to fix the book. The weekend before our lunch, I was sitting in my apartment on the Upper West Side, wondering what on earth I was going to say to Claire when I met her in two days, and Eleanor showed up.

What do you mean, “showed up?”
Both Alais and Eleanor had strong presences from the beginning. Eleanor had always been one of the characters in my novel. But that Sunday, as I sat wondering what on earth I was going to tell Claire in two days, Eleanor volunteered to take over telling of half the story. I don’t know how other writers work, but in my experience, my characters always choose me. I’m lucky Eleanor did. Before including her, I thought I knew what the book was supposed to be. I had a very set idea in my head about the arc of the action and how all the characters related to one another. But then I sat down to write with Eleanor’s voice in my ear, and she blew all my pre-conceived notions out of the water.

So what happened at your meeting with the editor?
Claire had the same idea, completely independently, to include Eleanor as a narrator in the book. That was when I knew THE QUEEN’S PAWN was going to come together. I still had a lot of work ahead of me, but with the voices of Eleanor and Alais balancing each other, shoring each other up, things really started to cook on the page.

How many drafts did it take once you and Claire started working together?
It took three more drafts before we were both satisfied. It turns out that I am working with the perfect editor for me. Claire is as much of a perfectionist and a workaholic as I am. But I love writing… as hard as it is sometimes, I love it.

It's always marvelous to have an editor who inspires you. Have there been any authors or books that have inspired you?
Claire is definitely an inspiration. But as far as other authors, my all-time favorite has been and always will be Mary Renault. My favorite novels are THE PERSIAN BOY and THE MASK OF APOLLO, but every one of her books has taught me something, both as a writer and as a human being. She died in the late 1970’s, but her work is the most wonderful I have ever read. Mary Renault lifts me out of the modern world, and sets me down in the middle of another place and time. She doesn’t spend time on exposition, she just leaps into the river of the narrative, and her writing is so good that exposition really isn’t needed. My goal is to write as well as she does by the time I’m fifty. I’m not sure I’ll make it.

Can you tell us about your next book?

Yes! I'm very excited that my second novel, TO BE QUEEN, is coming out with NAL in April 2011. In that book, Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Louis VII of France, goes with him on Crusade, then divorces him. And in the midst of all that, she battles the Church, becomes a political powerhouse, and meets her second husband, the man who later becomes King Henry II of England.

Thank you for visiting, Christy. Best of luck and I look forward to your next novel. To learn more about Christy and her work, please visit her website.