Archive for March, 2009

Last Spanish Queen

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

The Last Queen, C.W. Gortner, 2008

Ferdinand and Isabel

Juana Catherine

A historical novel chronicling the life of Juana la Loca (the mad), daughter of Isabel and Ferdinand, and sister of Catherine of Aragon (first wife of Henry VIII). Juana’s marriage to a Habsburg, Philip of Flanders, and her becoming Queen of Spain through circumstance of deaths in her family, led her children to rule both the Habsburg empire and Spain.

Philip Juana

Unlike The Later Elizabeth I of England, Juana was never to assume any kind of power in her own right despite being named successor to the throne by her mother, the powerful Isabel. This work is written from Juana’s point of view, suggesting a strong, intelligent woman surrounded by scheming men including her husband Philip and father Ferdinand, who may have feigned madness in order to survive and allow her children to come into their own.