Title:

Eleanore of Avignon

Author:

Elizabeth DeLozier

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

September 17, 2025

leanore of Avignon is a historical novel set in 14th century France. It is told in first person form by Eleanore Blanchett, a young but skilled midwife and herbalist. During this time, the pope lived in Avignon instead of Rome, because Rome was a ruined city (the Vatican had yet to be built). Eleanore lives with her twin sister, Margot, her father (who works as an accountant for the pope), and their long-time housekeeper Anes, who has become like family to them. Eleanore's mother is dead - she was an excellent midwife, who taught Eleanore the valuable skills she uses in her own practice, but her mother tragically died in childbirth herself. The very Eleanore was unable to save her mother, and no other midwife would attend the difficult birth (though the evil Father Loup did show up and condemn Eleanore's mother to hell, calling her a witch.)

The year is 1347, and the reader quickly learns that a terrifying plague has struck Italy (it is not called the Black Death yet). This adds tension to the narrative, because we all know what happened to Europe when the plague swept through - no city was spared. Eleanore and her family can only guess at what is coming, but the reader certainly understands their peril. DeLozier does an excellent job at characterization, so Eleanore and her kin come across as good-hearted people whom you hope succeed (or at least survive). Eleanore is outside the walls of Avignon, gathering herbs, when she comes upon a huge black dog with its paw caught in a trap. Using the skills learned from her mother, Eleanore frees the beast and tries to treat its injury, revealing to us her kind heart and medicinal skills.

Eleanore's twin sister, Margot, is engaged to Erec DuPont. Erec is a handsome, wealthy young man - his father is a merchant who trades all over France. However, Erec's mother, Mathilde, is a bitter woman. Years ago, Eleanore's mother midwived a birth by Mathilde, but the baby did not live. Mathilde blamed the mother, calling her a witch. Yet now Erec brings troubling news - his mother Mathilde is ill with a sickness that no other physician can cure. Could Eleanore and her accomplished healing arts attend to Mathilde? Eleanore wants nothing to do with Mrs. DuPont, not after the cruel words and abuse she heaped upon her mother. Yet Erec is Margot's fiancee, and he is desperate for help, so Eleanore reluctantly follows Erec home.

Eleanore continues to forage for winter supplies in the forest, and the big black dog befriends her. She names the hairy beast Baldoin. One day, while collecting hawthorne berries, Eleanore is accosted by a huge man in a purple coat. It is Guy de Chauliac - the personal physician to Pope Clement VI himself! Chauliac happened to be looking for hawthorne berries himself, since he had read about their healing properties, though he has no idea how to use them. Intrigued by Eleanore's herbal knowledge, Chauliac invites her into the papal palace where he has a workshop - and soon Eleanore finds herself working as an assistant to the most famous doctor in Europe.

Fleeing to Avignon is Queen Joanna. She is the queen of Naple, but battles against the endless schemes of her rivals. Queen Joanna's husband was murdered, strangled and mutilated, and she was blamed for the crime. Queen Joanna comes to Avignon to prove her innocence to Pope Clement - if he absolves her, then the accusations must cease. Queen Joanna is also pregnant.

Once all of these plot arcs are established, the characters are defined, the plague strikes Avignon. This is a good historical novel; it describes the terrors of the populace, the helplessness of doctor Eleanore and Chauliac, the superstitions, the blaming of the Jews - there is a lot going on. Impressive that Eleanore of Avignon is DeLozier's first novel.