Mark Richard Beaulieu

Eleanor of Aquitaine : the Voyage West (The Eleanor Code) Mark Richard Beaulieu

The Voyage West delivers storyteller Mark Beaulieu?s third volume recreating Eleanor of Aquitaine?s rich medieval world. Stepping into her role as a spirited crusader, this young French queen and mother must fight for all she believes in. Her inept husband King Louis continues putting souls in jeopardy. Survival is her only option to leave Outremer and sail the intriguing voyage home. Coming ashore in Antioch after horrific losses where only one in twenty survive, Eleanor must overcome despair. Her court shows her an exotic desert culture in her uncle King Raymond?s principality. At first it seems Eleanor is involved with the sophisticated King. She and Louis explode in dramatic confrontation not realizing actions far deeper are taking place by the forces that have called the crusade. This begins a layered world as complex as Eleanor, where political armed struggle, divisive religion, medieval concepts, and passions compound. Her court of chevaliers and women, a troubadour prince, and a gifted acrobat encounter the people of the desert. Eleanor meets the sister-queens who operate the holy lands. Ultimately, she understands the forces that have called and drive the Second Crusade. Eleanor learns what it takes to be a Queen and to use her court to full advantage. At sea, on what first appears to be a middling voyage home, the women of the Crusade find intrigue on their own ship. They encounter the masters of the Mediterranean from captains to kings. There is mystery, there is killing; there is love. Friends will test the limits of their code; nature and man will challenge their courage. It is an amazing voyage and a thrilling adventure of the greatest Queen you never knew. ----- In development for twelve years and based on the latest scholarly research, these stories significantly update earlier fictions about the world of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Each character comes across challenges that many a young person faces and resolves them in exciting, unusual ways ? leading to the creation of the Eleanor Code. ----- Born Alienor d'Aquitaine in 1124 - dying in 1204, she twice becomes a queen, once for France with King Louis 7th, then for England with King Henri 2nd. This edition updated July, 2014