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BOOK REVIEW: Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England’s Lost Queen

As we enter the dog days of summer, it’s time for my customary recommendation of a nice summer read for all those with an interest in history and politics, writ generally. And the book this year is Alice Loxton’s Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England’s Lost Queen.

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This is a wonderfully intriguing and inspirational reflection on many interrelated stories. One is the life of Queen Eleanor of Castile, wife of England’s Edward I, who reigned from 1272-1307, and their loving marriage. Another is Eleanor’s death on Nov. 28, 1190, and the funeral cortege that rode and walked her body 200 miles from Lincoln, in the north of England, to Westminster Abbey in London, where she was buried on Dec. 17. And where the mortal remains of she and her husband remain to this day.

A third storyline is about grief and the grieving process, and the commemoration and honouring of departed loved ones.

Edward I, heartbroken and now alone, honoured his Eleanor by commissioning the building of 12 larger-than-life stone statues displaying her amidst arches and portals, her coats of arms and her favourite types of flowers and foliage, all designed in the then-new Gothic style, and with each statue crowned with a crucifix. One of these statues would be erected in each of the........

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