1. How much did you know about Eleanor of Aquitaine before reading this book?

2. Similarly, what did you know about the Crusades before reading Duchess of Aquitaine? How did reading this book teach you about --- or change your impression of --- this tumultuous period in European history?

3. How was Eleanor different from other women of her era? Do you think she was a “woman ahead of her time”? What do you think are her most and least admirable qualities?

4. What do you think about Eleanor’s motives in marrying Louis and the way she conducted herself in the marriage? Can you imagine what her life might have been like if her father had lived to a ripe old age?

5. Discuss how the social and political climate of the period brought Eleanor and Louis VII together --- and tore them apart.

6. How do you rate Eleanor’s prospects of happiness with Henry? If you know how her second marriage actually turned out, how do you think her earlier experiences contributed to that outcome?

7. Take a moment to talk about Eleanor’s role --- as her father’s eldest daughter, a married woman, and a member of the ruling class --- in Europe during the Middle Ages.

8. To what extent do you think Margaret Ball took artistic liberties with this work? Discuss the nature of fact versus fiction in the historical novel. You may wish to take this opportunity to compare Duchess of Aquitaine with other historical novels you’ve read (as a group or on your own).

9. Why do modern readers enjoy novels about the past? Is reading a period piece a history lesson in itself?