Description
A major biography of the queen who transformed Spain into a principal global power, and sponsored the voyage that would open the New World.
In 1474, when Castile was the largest, strongest, and most populous kingdom in Hispania (present day Spain and Portugal), a twenty-three-year-old woman named Isabella ascended the throne. At a time when successful queens regnant were few and far between, Isabella faced not only the considerable challenge of being a young, female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world, but also of reforming a major European kingdom riddled with crime, debt, corruption, and religious factionism. Her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon united two kingdoms, a royal partnership in which Isabella more than held her own. Their pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and setting the stage for its golden era of global dominance.
Acclaimed historian Giles Tremlett chronicles the life of Isabella of Castile as she led her country out of the murky Middle Ages and harnessed the newest ideas and tools of the early Renaissance to turn her ill-disciplined, quarrelsome nation into a sharper, truly modern state with a powerful, clear-minded, and ambitious monarch at its center. With authority and insight he relates the story of this legendary, if controversial, first initiate in a small club of great European queens that includes Elizabeth I of England, Russia's Catherine the Great, and Britain's Queen Victoria.
Product Details
| Publisher | Bloomsbury USA |
| Publish Date | March 07, 2017 |
| Pages | 624 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781632865205 |
| Dimensions | 243.3 X 167.4 X 1.9 mm | 2.3 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"Tremlett writes so well as to make this read almost as entertaining as a traditional Spanish novel but with thorough balanced scholarship." - New York Journal of Books
"If you're enjoying Victoria on PBS, you'll like Tremlett’s juicy history of Queen Isabella of Castile, who ascended the Spanish throne in 1474 at 23." - Entertainment Weekly
"Packed with vivid character sketches and lyrical description, Tremlett has told a gripping story, full of beauty and darkness." - The Times (UK)
"A triumphant and chilling account of the rise of Spain and its New World conquests." - Daily Telegraph
"Magisterial . . . Tremlett's contention, which he supports with a sublime presentation of facts and interpretation, is that Isabella represents the first member in the exclusive club of great European queens who exercised sovereign power in their own hands." - Starred Review, Booklist
"Engaging new appraisal of Europe's first female monarch and her long, consequential reign . . . Economist Madrid correspondent Tremlett (Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of Henry VIII, 2010, etc.) puts into lively relief the remarkable talents and drive of this singular female sovereign . . . A combination of a solid biography of an extraordinary monarch and a concise history of turbulent 15th-century Spain." - Kirkus Reviews
"Tremlett uses his gifts as a writer on Spain's history to offer us a voluminous biography with fluent and evocative narrative that fully exploits the romantic aspects of the age." - Times Literary Supplement
"Well-written . . . Tremlett’s unsentimental portrait reveals an ambitious queen whose accomplishments of prescient religious reform, westward exploration, and empire-building far outshone those of her contemporary European monarchs." - Publishers Weekly
"Tremlett paints a sympathetic picture of Isabella without whitewashing the fact that she was often ruthless and intolerant, with a sense of Realpolitik that rivaled that of Machiavelli. Isabella of Castile will appeal to readers who enjoyed Helen Castor's She-Wolves and Sarah Gristwood's Game of Queens." - Shelf Awareness
"Highly readable, engrossing . . . This work raises significant questions about gender, power, and prejudice in the writing of history." - Library Journal
"This detailed, exhaustively researched, clearly presented biography of Isabella lauds her strengths but doesn’t shy away from her faults. The complex political, historical, religious, and geographical issues of the day are explained in a way that provides context for Isabella’s fascinating life. For those interested in royal biography or in the history of Spain as it emerged from the Middle Ages to become a world power, this book is recommended." - Historical Novel Review
"Impressively informed and informative, thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Isabella of Castile: Europe's First Great Queen will prove to be an extraordinary and popular addition to community and academic library Historical Biography collections." - Midwest Book Review
"Splendid . . . [Tremlett] writes with the fluency of the novelist . . . His intimate knowledge of Catherine's native country allows him to place her convincingly in her Spanish setting, as the intelligent and well-educated daughter of one of the most impressive of European queens regnant, Isabella of Castile." - New York Review of Books on CATHERINE OF ARAGON
"Tremlett deftly takes the reader through all the twists and turns, and shows us a woman who, rather than being a passive victim, was fully the equal of her husband in conviction and determination." - Booklist on CATHERINE OF ARAGON
"[Tremlett's] affectionate yet critical intimacy with the country helps to make this book much more than an ordinary journalistic survey . . . [with the] sort of insight that vindicates his approach to a deeply traditional and fast-changing land." - Wall Street Journal on GHOSTS OF SPAIN
"An evocative, often poignant sojourn through the as-yet uncleared psychic mists of the civil war." - Minneapolis Star-Tribune on GHOSTS OF SPAIN
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