The Queen's Daughter

The Queen's Daughter

 

Marie Neville

Mrs. White

Honors World History

October 13, 2014

 

Main Characters

• Joan- Queens daughter
• King Henry II of England- Joan's father
• Eleanor of Aquitaine- Joan's mother
• King William II of Sicily- the person Joan's parents forces her to marry
• Lord Raymond- the person Joan actually wants to marry

 

Summary

The book “The Queens Daughter” takes place just a few years before the Hundred Years War. The main character is a girl named Joan. She is the only girl out of five boys. Joan is the daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Joan grows up in a very dysfunctional family. Her mother and father do not get along very well. Her father imprisons his wife, her mother always arguing with her sons, and her brothers are always at war with their father. The family has many problems within itself. Joan loves her family, but hates the rivalries within it.

Back then you weren’t really able to pick who you married. Usually the marriages were always arranged, and most of the time the people being married didn’t love each other. They didn’t really have a choice but to be married because the marriage was arranged by the parents. And that’s really what happened to Joan. Joan’s parents married her to King William II of Sicily. Joan tried to escape the drama of her family when she married William, but her plan didn’t really go as she had planned.

Because the marriage was an arranged marriage, Joan wasn’t happy. The marriage was very loveless and she began to live a very unhappy life. Joan’s mother-in-law begins to smother her, and she is never really treated like a queen like she is supposed to be. Joan says “I want them to know I am queen. (139)” Joan was very restricted, and wasn’t able to really fulfill her role as queen because the people around her didn’t really allow her to. But when she was able to make a decision of her own King William didn’t understand why she would make the decisions she would make.

Joan continues to live a very unhappy life until she encounters an old friend from her childhood, Lord Raymond Count of Toulouse. Raymond was very good friends with Joan’s brother and that’s initially how they met. Joan over hears Raymond and Ermengarde talking. Raymond says “She was a child. She wasn’t in love with me; she only thought she was. I was her brothers dashing friend, heir to the county. She had some notion in her head and chased me into the garden to tell me about it. What was I supposed to do? Laugh at her?” and Ermengarde asks “But you kissed her!” and Raymond replies “In three days her father was sending her off to be married. I thought it unlikely I’d ever see her again. But in the meantime there she was, with her heart in her hands and her eyes big as moons. Of course I kissed her.” (359)

Joan was very confused by the way he explained what happed. Raymond explains to Joan how he really feels about her “I love you, Jeanne. You know that, don’t you? (369)” Joan replies “A thousand times over. (370)” And that concludes the book.

 

Quote

“I want them to know I am queen. (139)

"She was a child. She wasn’t in love with me; she only thought she was. I was her brothers dashing friend, heir to the county. She had some notion in her head and chased me into the garden to tell me about it. What was I supposed to do? Laugh at her?” and Ermengarde asks “But you kissed her!” and Raymond replies “In three days her father was sending her off to be married. I thought it unlikely I’d ever see her again. But in the meantime there she was, with her heart in her hands and her eyes big as moons. Of course I kissed her.” (359)

"Love you, Jeanne. You know that, don’t you? (369)”

“A thousand times over. (370)”

 

About the author

Susan Coventry is  brilliant  author. She has had a lifelong addiction to historical fiction and a fascination with the middle ages which led to her book "The Queen's Daughter" which was published in 2010 and in 2011 it was named the Bank Street Best children's Book of the year.

Critique

Over all “The Queen’s Daughter” was very well written and had a comfortable feel to it that made me want to continue to read. The author made the character real and gave them a purpose in the book. Susan does a very good job at telling the story of the book but at the same time informing the readers with historical facts. The book was very easy to understand, and I could really relate to the characters in the book.