The Last Queen

This was a great historical fiction read, the entire book was captivating and I couldn't put it down!

The Tudors of England have enjoyed surging popularity in the past year, with a hit Showtime series and Philippa Gregory's acclaimed historical novel The Other Boleyn Girl, which was adapted to the big screen last winter. But few people know about Juana of Spain, also known as Juana la Loca, sister to Henry VIII's first wife Katherine of Aragon. In The Last Queen, C.W. Gortner proves that Juana's story is just as complex and captivating as that of her more famous younger sister. The novel opens in 1492 when Juana is 13 years old. Her parents, Ferdinand and Isabella, have just conquered Grananda, ending 300 years of Moorish rule. Juana has never known life apart from the crusades and her parents' all-consuming dedication to uniting Spain and expelling the Moors. Ferdinand and Isabella passed their passion and fierce nationalism on to at least one of their four daughters: from childhood, Juana harbored an intense loyalty to her native land. In 15th century Europe, royal children were betrothed in marriage not for love, but to facilitate political alliances. Juana was no exception. Her parents arranged a marriage between Juana and Philip the Fair, Hapsburg heir and archduke of Flanders. Initially resistant to the marriage, Juana eventually fell in love with Philip and resigned herself to life in Flanders, outside her beloved Spain. But everything changed when, through a succession of family deaths, Juana became direct heir to the Spanish throne; she suddenly saw an ambitious, calculating, even cruel side of her dashing husband. Chaos ensued. The life Juana had built in Flanders crumbled as everyone around her scrambled to exploit any and every possible political advantage. Her husband was influenced by deceitful, unscrupulous advisors. Her parents put political objectives before family. Church officials were corrupt, and often the most politically ambitious men around. The Spanish nobles who had long resented the power held by Ferdinand and Isabella were determined to wrest it from Juana as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Juana was anguished by the mistrust she felt toward her husband and parents. She missed her children, all of whom she was separated from at various points in time. She was driven by an underlying loyalty to Spain that compelled her to accept unthinkable risk in order to claim her rightful place as its queen. The diverse cast of characters in this novel - both heroes and villains - is well developed, sure to evoke a mixture of compassion, admiration, and ire in the reader. Historical figures come alive, and relationships and alliances between various 15th century European monarchs are illuminated. Gortner sets his story firmly in its historical context, giving the reader a clear sense of a time when adultery was a given and wives were expected to turn their heads, political ambition was paramount, and strong independent women risked being branded as crazy (in Spanish, loca.) The plot pacing is perfec

If you're an Anglophile, or enjoy biographies of queens, you undoubtedly know the story of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. Catherine's sister was Juana of Castile, known in Spain as Juana la Loca. C.W. Gortner could have called his historical novel, The Last Queen, the lost queen or the forgotten queen. As he says in the outstanding commentary on his website, Juana of Castile, the last queen of Spain, is almost unknown outside of Spain. It doesn't hurt to listen to his commentary before reading the book. It's well-done, sets the scene, and begins with the comment that history says she went made with love, but history can be wrong. Gortner's story shows a woman with method behind her madness, a tragic, yet triumphant queen who never ruled Spain. Juana of Castile, daughter of Isabella and Fernando was an Infanta of Spain. When she was thirteen, her parents conquered Granada, seizing it from the Moors, and uniting Spain. Her mother, who was actually the more powerful of her parents, sent her to Flanders to marry Philip, heir to the Hapsburg empire. There, she was a contented wife and mother. However, when her husband became greedy for power, and sought to unite his duchy with France, she refused to be a party to a union with Spain's enemy. As tragedy after tragedy befell her family, this young woman found herself on the path of destiny. Once she was named heir to her mother's throne, she would find herself pitted against the husband she once loved. Gortner allows Juana to tell her story, looking back at her life. Her visit to her dying grandmother, who had been imprisoned for her madness, foreshadows the last years of her own life. For Juana, in pitting herself against her husband, and other men, became a target for the powerful men who wanted her throne. Her determination to save Spain led to her own downfall, but it kept the country intact for her son. This book would be an excellent choice for book clubs, with its exploration of a life not really known in this country. It's as fast-paced and riveting as any thriller. The Last Queen is a beautifully written, well-researched story of an unknown queen. Gortner brings her to vivid life, as a lusty, strong-willed woman. Was Juana of Castile, Juana la Loca, really mad? Gortner says history isn't always kind to women. However, he gives voice to a strong woman, and allows her to proclaim her story. C.W. Gortner's website is www.cwgortner.com

"The Last Queen" by C.W. Gortner is a historical novel which gives a fresh perspective on the life of the enigmatic Queen Juana of Castile. Gortner skillfully weaves together the loose threads of fact and fiction into a rare and subtle tragedy. The story of the daughter of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, known to history Juana la Loca, is usually told with the emphasis on the passion between Juana and her faithless husband, Philip of Flanders. While Gortner's retelling captures Juana's passionate nature as never before, he also gives a fuller picture of her unique calamity by going beyond her relationship with miscreant Philip to the larger scope of the situations enveloping her. Until reading this book I had not fully grasped the fierceness of the political intrigues, the familial tug-of-war, and the basic struggle of good versus evil which rent Juana's heart, mind and soul. Gortner realistically but sensitively paints her gradual descent into agony as she fights to keep herself from unraveling. "The Last Queen" combines riveting action with a compassionate portrait of a woman haunted by mental illness. While some fleeting love scenes may not be suitable for very young readers, the gist of the story far surpasses the realm of mere sensuality but takes on the vast range of political, cultural, and spiritual issues that were at stake. Renaissance Europe springs to life in this carefully researched novel, replete with colorful details about the various historical characters. Of course, Juana upstages everyone else. The more wild the incident, the more one can be certain that it truly happened. Particularly vivid is the portrayal of Queen Isabel; her personality comes through so strongly in the book so that I almost feel that we have met face-to-face. Other than the fact that she was a queen and a matron, Isabel reminds me of the great St. Teresa of Avila, possessing similar determination and luminous faith. Juana's father Ferdinand is a complex character. One cannot help but love him like Juana does, which makes his later actions all the more disturbing. Outraged in every way, Juana's ordeal encompasses the full gamut of suffering so as to have universal relevance. Hers was a dauntless courage. Her love of her people caused her not to flinch from any sacrifice. I marvel at her tenacity and greatness of heart, qualities shared with her mother Queen Isabel, and with her sister Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England. Juana, like Catherine, had a long battle with the powers of darkness incarnated in a turncoat spouse. Like Catherine, Juana's greatest love became her greatest foe and betrayer. Each queen had to endure disgrace and isolation for refusing to compromise on essentials. It is difficult to say which sister had the most complete immolation. They take their place with other tragic Catholic queens of history, such as Mary Queen of Scots and, of course, Marie-Antoinette.

In the pivotal years of Spanish rule, when Isabel and Fernando reign with an iron religious fist, Juana of Castile is wed to Philip of Flanders, with no expectation of fulfilling a more ambitious role than that of wife and mother. But affairs of state are dictated by expediency and Juana becomes a pawn of both her mother's political machinations and Philip's ambitions, the Archduke driven by his personal demons. Juana, a sensual young woman, falls desperately in love with her handsome, if unfaithful husband, the first years of their marriage spent in a whirl of passion. Devastated by Philip's casual infidelity, Juana is brought back to earth by the harsh realities of her existence, her wifely advice restricted by the overweening influence of Philip's advisors. Juana's line bears a terrible legacy: madness. She has seen her grandmother held captive for years by Isabel's order. Juana realizes that someday her own fate may be the same if she attempts to circumvent her mother's plans. After a series of family deaths, the Spanish throne is suddenly thrust upon Juana, with Philip as her royal consort. But Philip's alliance with France, Spain's arch enemy, places the Infanta at the center of a powerful struggle between her mother's plans for the throne and Philip's increasing hostility, a scheming nobility and a well-founded mistrust of those who would hold the power for themselves. At the heart of the novel is whether "Juana La Loca" is truly mad or driven to distraction by those who would twist her future into their ends. Well-researched and written with a fine sensibility for the period, The Last Queen is a significant novel, one that reaches beyond the sensationalism of a crazy queen, a view of history from the perspective of a female heir to the throne in a patriarchal society too long chafed by Isabel's rule and determined to thwart Juana's. Never knowing who to trust, Juana is betrayed on all sides, finally the victim of powerful men who literally lock her away from the throne. Gortner's dramatic novel gives weight to an argument that the title "Juana La Loca" becomes a convenient label for a much-maligned woman ill-prepared to stem the tide of history. Albeit fiction, this account is a fascinating foray into that dark world of 15th century power and politics and one woman's youthful passion, disillusion and reckoning with a terrible fate. Luan Gaines/2006.

I've now read the new version of this novel, which was sold to Random House in a two-book deal. Not only has the author finally gotten recognition for his efforts, but the new scenes and edit have refined and smoothed whatever rough edges this book once had. C.W. Gortner writes with eloquence and style; he turns his masterful pen to Renaissance Spain and conjures a diverse and complex land recently united by the Catholic monarchs, Isabel and Fernando. Spain is unfortunately not explored nearly as much as it should be by historical fiction novelists and Gortner brings it to life through the eyes of Juana la Loca, arguably the most beautiful and certainly most enigmatic of the Catholic monarchs' four daughters. Known to history as the Mad Queen and the older sister of Katherine of Aragon (Henry VIII's first wife) Juana has often been neglected as a figure in her own right. This novel restores her to her proper place - and what a dramatic place it is! Through vivid prose and an intense feeling for emotional characterization, Juana tells us her story - from her arranged and ultimately tormenting marriage to the Hapsburg Emperor's son Philip to their lethal struggle for the throne of Spain, which Juana inherits through tragedy. Incredible characters like Queen Isabel, wily Fernando of Aragon, as well Henry VII of England and Louis of France, make memorable appearances; Isabel in particular is a compelling combination of steel and sacrifice. But it is the courageous, amazingly young, and very human Juana who dominates the story, and the secrets she reveals are startling and unexpected. A sumptuous feast for the senses, this novel exemplifies the best of historical fiction - accurate and yet daring in its approach, respectful of the facts but focused on the human elements; you are captured by Juana's story until the very end, when you find yourself both awestruck and haunted by this queen who truly has been forgotten by most of the world until now.