ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE A Life

Narrator Jill Tanner has the daunting task of reciting a great deal of history. Alison Weir writes in a "Rule Britannia" style of prose, so there's little dialogue or dramatic description for Tanner to perform. Tanner should be complimented for providing nearly 19 hours of even, clear reading, but Weir's sprawling history of the life and times of this significant figure does not easily lend itself to audio format. Readers hoping to get a sense of Eleanor as a person will not be satisfied, but they will come away with a deep knowledge of the events that shaped her life. R.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]