Scarlet And Miniver Views
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver is a great title for this wonderful novel about an exceptional woman. I didn't know what miniver was until I started reading the book: miniver is the name of the white fur that was used to trim the cloaks of the rich during the Middle Ages. And scarlet was an extravagant red color that signified status: only the wealthy could afford clothing dyed in bright colors. So you had to be rich and have a certain sense of pride and style to carry off scarlet and miniver in the Middle Ages. Eleanor of Aquitaine certainly had that pride and style. She was such an important figure in European history that we're still feeling the reverberations of the life she lived over 700 years ago.
The novel opens with Eleanor waiting in heaven for divine judgement to passed on her second husband, King Henry of England. Meanwhile, Eleanor and three of the people who knew her best start to recount the details of her life. Clever, warm and witty, this book will appeal to fans of historical fiction as well as anyone who appreciates a good tale. In A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, you get to know Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most interesting and influential people of her time, in a novel that is part fantasy, but mostly true! Recommended for grades 4 and up.
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E. L. Koningsburg is a historical fiction that is told from a unique perspective. It is the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was the wife of two kings and the mother of three. What is unusual about this book is that Eleanor, along with some friends in heaven, are telling the story of her life. She has been in heaven for five hundred years waiting for her husband Henry II to be judged into heaven. As she waits, she recounts her life with Matilda-Empress, Henry’s mother; Abbott Suger, her first husband’s teacher; and William Marshall, a true and loyal knight, adding to the story.
E.L Konigsburg has written two novels about the Middle ages, and both are imbued with her characteristic light touch and charm. The first, “A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver‘ (Atheneum, $13.95; Dell, $3.25 paper), is told from an unusual point of view. It is the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is in Heaven waiting to see if her second husband, King Henry II, will be allowed in. While waiting she is joined by three old friends, and in alternating chapters each gets a turn to relate a part of Eleanor's remarkable life. In between these sections are interludes back in Heaven where they discuss and comment on the events related, as well as their own reasons for having difficulty getting admitted. -- Matt Berman, The New Orleans Times-Picayune and Children's Book Award Annual’‘
Scarlet And Miniver Images
