In The Queen’s Daughter our story begins with Princess Joan, age seven. Joan’s mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and her father is Henry II, the King of England. Queen Eleanor is beautiful and has a sharp tongue which she often uses on the King and any one who gets too close. King Henry II is a military man with three handsome sons and an often forgotten daughter—perhaps because she is so like her mother. Any time the parents get together, serious arguments erupt. The arguments are often due to political ambitions. Joan loves both of her parents, but how will she choose between them?

As often is the case with royalty, Joan is married off to a man who is older and a man that she does not love. However, she never forgets her childhood crush on Lord Raymond who came to her rescue when she was but a very young girl.

In much of the story, one feels that Joan is much older that she really is until a birthday is mentioned and you realize that she is very much a young girl. It must have been very difficult to grow up in a family where the mother was often banished to some far away castle. In spite of the many military crusades and campaigns this was an interesting story. A map is included to help visualize the great distance involved in the plot. (Teen, ages 14 and up)

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