The falcon's eyes : a novel / Francesca Stanfill.

Includes bibliographical references.

"Illuminating the end of the twelfth century and the notorious queen--Eleanor of Aquitaine--who dominated it, this sweeping, suspenseful tale follows Isabelle, a spirited, questing young woman, who defies convention--and her controlling, falconry-obsessed husband--to lead an extraordinary life"--

Set in France and England at the end of the twelfth century, the moving story of a spirited, questing young woman, Isabelle, who defies convention to forge a remarkable life, one profoundly influenced by the fabled queen she idolizes and comes to know--Eleanor of Aquitaine. A sweeping, suspenseful tale about marriage, freedom, identity, and motherhood, The Falcon's Eyes not only illuminates a brilliant century and the notorious queen who dominated it, but also brings to life the vivid band of characters whom the heroine encounters on her journey to selfhood. Principal among them, Isabelle's charismatic, controlling husband, as obsessed by falconry as he is by having an heir. The various settings--Château Ravinour, Fontevraud Abbey, and Queen Eleanor's exiled court in England--are depicted as memorably as the noblewomen, nuns, servants, falconers, and courtiers who inhabit them. With a series of twists and turns, the story pulses forward as Isabelle confronts one challenge, one danger, after another, until it hurtles to its final, enthralling, page.