I have read four "biographies" of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Only one of them deserves the term. It's this one. Owen looks carefully at the known facts of a noteworthy woman's history, and he looks at the folklore -- and he does not confuse them. Eleanor was a fascinating woman at a time when women had little power, and he shows how that influenced her actions -- and how it caused the chroniclers (all men) to savage her. It's a good read, not overlaid with legend or gossip, and it also appears highly accurate. ( )