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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The Queen’s Vow by C.W. Gortner, published June 12, is another historical fiction powerhouse about a strong, young royal who cares for her family and her country more than herself. Isabella of Castile is the daughter of the ailing Juan II and his second wife Isabel of Portugal, and she has a younger brother Alfonso, on whom she dotes. Her relationship with her half-brother Enrique IV is tenuous at best, and when he is poised to takeover the crown when their father dies, her mother believes it is best to flee to Arevalo.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/06/the-queens-vow-by-c-w-gortner.html
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/06/the-queens-vow-by-c-w-gortner.html
DNF at 62%. I just didn’t care about the story or characters anymore.
This was a beautifully written and interesting book. I loved learning about Isabella of Castile, as I have not read much about her before. Though I don't agree with her religious persecution, I see why she did what she thought she had to do. I enjoyed how strong Isabella was and how she refused to give up her mission to unite Spain as one. I admire how she never lost hope, not matter what the odds; to wed Fernando, to become Queen, to unite her relm and to fight for her religion. I really enjoyed this book. I'd like to read more about Spain's history and what came after Isabella.
Note: I listened to this audiobook and greatly enjoyed the narration.
Note: I listened to this audiobook and greatly enjoyed the narration.
In general, I really love historical fiction about famous queens of history and this book is no exception. One of the things I found really interesting was how the author explained some of the difficult decisions she had to make. Her story is very complex, but history often paints her in a negative light based on some of the things she did. It was definitely a different take on how she is usually portrayed.
Why, oh why, did I wait so long to read my first Gortner novel? He's long been on my TBR given the non-stop raves I've heard for his other novels, and I fell into mad fangirl love after seeing him speak at the Historical Novel Society conference a few weeks ago. His speech was full of passion for the genre, respect and admiration for his fellow writers, and encouragement for all.
I dove into this book immediately after the conference and couldn't put it down. Gortner's writing reminds me of the 'classic' historical fiction that is so compulsively readable, like Anya Seton, Georgette Heyer, as well as contemporary greats like Margaret George.
Unsurprisingly, his characters are as passionate and warm as he is, from our heroine to our villains. Opening in 1454, the novel is narrated by Isabella of Castile. I was prepared to dislike Isabella; in 2011, I fell into hard and fast love for Lynn Cullen's Juana from her book, Reign of Madness. Juana is Isabella's daughter, and the Isabella Cullen articulated was not a woman I wanted to get cozy with. But Gortner's Isabella is an admirable, intelligent, emotional woman living in a complicated era, facing pressure few can appreciate.
In terms of a royal historical novel, this has the court intrigue and political dramas one wants; the setting of 15th century Spain is artfully conveyed by Gortner's descriptions of place, dress, and manners -- detailed enough to give the flavor but not so much as to bog down the story. I will also add that it's a rare novel in which animals are so prevalent, not particularly as characters but just present in a way that also felt authentic. (Judith Tarr leaps to mind as an author who writes about animals, horses in particular, really well.)
However, the characters stole the story for me, moreso than the plot, and I have to praise Gortner even more for that. Isabella had rich relationships with the women in her life, a fascinating and complicated marriage, and she could be both pig-headed and staggeringly compassionate in equal, realistic part. Even more so, he managed to take someone who I think was possibly a religious zealot (come on, she's responsible for the Inquisition!) and suggested how those events came about in a way that didn't make me want to spit on her.
That Gortner likes Isabella is clear, and explains more in his Author's Afterword where he addresses her thorny legacy and his historical research, as well as his creative liberties. It was quite fascinating, and once again makes me yearn for a volume of essays by historical novels reflecting on their heroes, heroines, and research.
Gortner ends the novel in 1492, the year Christopher Columbus left Spain; it's a brilliant and poignant ending, and I wanted more. Honestly, I could have used a whole second novel (although, since she dies in 1504, probably unnecessary).
So, obviously, this was a huge win for me. Those who like historical royal intrigues need to get this one, as well as anyone who wants an armchair escape to 15th century Spain. It's a summery read with a little more oomph -- a gin & tonic of a historical novel, rather than a piña colada, let's say. You can read an excerpt at the author's website.
I dove into this book immediately after the conference and couldn't put it down. Gortner's writing reminds me of the 'classic' historical fiction that is so compulsively readable, like Anya Seton, Georgette Heyer, as well as contemporary greats like Margaret George.
Unsurprisingly, his characters are as passionate and warm as he is, from our heroine to our villains. Opening in 1454, the novel is narrated by Isabella of Castile. I was prepared to dislike Isabella; in 2011, I fell into hard and fast love for Lynn Cullen's Juana from her book, Reign of Madness. Juana is Isabella's daughter, and the Isabella Cullen articulated was not a woman I wanted to get cozy with. But Gortner's Isabella is an admirable, intelligent, emotional woman living in a complicated era, facing pressure few can appreciate.
In terms of a royal historical novel, this has the court intrigue and political dramas one wants; the setting of 15th century Spain is artfully conveyed by Gortner's descriptions of place, dress, and manners -- detailed enough to give the flavor but not so much as to bog down the story. I will also add that it's a rare novel in which animals are so prevalent, not particularly as characters but just present in a way that also felt authentic. (Judith Tarr leaps to mind as an author who writes about animals, horses in particular, really well.)
However, the characters stole the story for me, moreso than the plot, and I have to praise Gortner even more for that. Isabella had rich relationships with the women in her life, a fascinating and complicated marriage, and she could be both pig-headed and staggeringly compassionate in equal, realistic part. Even more so, he managed to take someone who I think was possibly a religious zealot (come on, she's responsible for the Inquisition!) and suggested how those events came about in a way that didn't make me want to spit on her.
That Gortner likes Isabella is clear, and explains more in his Author's Afterword where he addresses her thorny legacy and his historical research, as well as his creative liberties. It was quite fascinating, and once again makes me yearn for a volume of essays by historical novels reflecting on their heroes, heroines, and research.
Gortner ends the novel in 1492, the year Christopher Columbus left Spain; it's a brilliant and poignant ending, and I wanted more. Honestly, I could have used a whole second novel (although, since she dies in 1504, probably unnecessary).
So, obviously, this was a huge win for me. Those who like historical royal intrigues need to get this one, as well as anyone who wants an armchair escape to 15th century Spain. It's a summery read with a little more oomph -- a gin & tonic of a historical novel, rather than a piña colada, let's say. You can read an excerpt at the author's website.
Review at Beverages and Books
http://beveragesandbooks.com/?p=211
http://beveragesandbooks.com/?p=211
Isabella of Castilië, een van de sterkste Europese koninginnen uit de geschiedenis en toch zijn de boeken over haar leven niet dik bezaaid.
Het boek begint wanneer Isabella nog een kind is en eigenlijk een arm verwaarloosd leven leidt bij haar moeder. Maar dan worden Isabella en haar broer Alfonso naar het hof van hun halfbroer, koning Enrique, geroepen. Welke rol zal Isabella gaan spelen in de toekomst van Castilië?
Isabella wordt door ons gezien als een sterke vrouw die Spanje verenigde via haar huwelijk, Granada veroverde, Columbus naar Amerika stuurde en Europese huwelijken sluitte voor haar kinderen. Jammer genoeg is zij samen met haar man Fernando Van Aragon ook bekend voor de inquisitie en genadeloze vervolging van Joden.
Dit boek focust op de jonge Isabella en dat vond ik best boeiend. Ik wist helemaal niet hoe zij aan de macht was gekomen en dat ze eigenlijk zo'n verscheurd land "erfde". Tot halverwege het boek zat ik dus sterk in het verhaal.
Maar dan wordt ze koningin en toch blijft Isabella zich in dit boek gedragen als een jonge lieve naïeve vrouw. Isabella is in mijn hoofd een warrior queen, die voor haar ambities vocht, no matter what.
De schrijfster legt aan het einde uit dat ze haar menselijk wou neerzetten. Dat begrijp ik, maar ze mocht wel wat meer pit hebben. Nu lijkt elke beslissing iets waar ze niet buiten kon, tegen wil en dank. Maar ik geloof dat ze best wel wist wie of wat ze moest opofferen om haar doelen te bereiken.
Een goed boek waar je ook wel echt de tijd voor moet nemen. Inspirerend. Alleen de schrijfstijl kon wel wat beter. De passieve constructies vertragen het verhaal nogal fel.
Het boek begint wanneer Isabella nog een kind is en eigenlijk een arm verwaarloosd leven leidt bij haar moeder. Maar dan worden Isabella en haar broer Alfonso naar het hof van hun halfbroer, koning Enrique, geroepen. Welke rol zal Isabella gaan spelen in de toekomst van Castilië?
Isabella wordt door ons gezien als een sterke vrouw die Spanje verenigde via haar huwelijk, Granada veroverde, Columbus naar Amerika stuurde en Europese huwelijken sluitte voor haar kinderen. Jammer genoeg is zij samen met haar man Fernando Van Aragon ook bekend voor de inquisitie en genadeloze vervolging van Joden.
Dit boek focust op de jonge Isabella en dat vond ik best boeiend. Ik wist helemaal niet hoe zij aan de macht was gekomen en dat ze eigenlijk zo'n verscheurd land "erfde". Tot halverwege het boek zat ik dus sterk in het verhaal.
Maar dan wordt ze koningin en toch blijft Isabella zich in dit boek gedragen als een jonge lieve naïeve vrouw. Isabella is in mijn hoofd een warrior queen, die voor haar ambities vocht, no matter what.
De schrijfster legt aan het einde uit dat ze haar menselijk wou neerzetten. Dat begrijp ik, maar ze mocht wel wat meer pit hebben. Nu lijkt elke beslissing iets waar ze niet buiten kon, tegen wil en dank. Maar ik geloof dat ze best wel wist wie of wat ze moest opofferen om haar doelen te bereiken.
Een goed boek waar je ook wel echt de tijd voor moet nemen. Inspirerend. Alleen de schrijfstijl kon wel wat beter. De passieve constructies vertragen het verhaal nogal fel.
This book is a look at a young Isabella of Castile. It shows the strength of a child in the face of adversity. Many people told Isabella that she would never be queen and that she must give up her claim to the throne. Though it is a fiction novel, I think it accurately depicts her faithfulness to god and how it affected her decisions throughout her life.
As a Spaniard, I know the bad reputation Spain has when it comes to historical novels set in this era. The Inquisition, the crusades, the banishment of the Jews and the Moors, the discovery and subsequent exploitation the Americas... Believe me, I get it. We're easy to pick on. So when I saw that C. W. Gortner had written a book, in English, about none other than Isabel of Castile, the Catholic Queen who started so many of these processes and institutions, I simply had to read it. I mean, talk about a challenge! How on Earth was he ever going to portray Isabel in a flattering light to an English-speaking public?
I have to say, I'm impressed. It's clear that Gortner is familiar with Spanish culture, history, and geography. The places and people he describes come alive, and none more so than Isabel, our protagonist. Her strong character, unbending principles and stubborn loyalty to what she thinks is right: that's what defines Isabel, and Gortner displays all those qualities on the page. But most importantly, he makes it clear that Isabel was a product of her times. Her concepts of faith, heresy, human rights, the immortal soul, redemption, personal duty and sacrifice were all molded by the world she lived in, and the responsibility she felt she held in that world.
The story of Isabel is not easy. The choices she makes, especially when she is Queen, are sometimes cringe-worthy to a modern reader. The things she does and decisions she makes are difficult, unfair, sometimes cruel. As a modern reader, it's difficult to reconcile these things with our own ideas of right and wrong, fair and unfair, true or false. So yes, this book is challenging. But it's also historically and culturally accurate, well researched, and true to the character of Isabel, its protagonist.
Well done C. W. Gortner for bringing this complicated, tumultuous Spanish period to life, and for taking on Isabel and treating her with understanding and respect.
I have to say, I'm impressed. It's clear that Gortner is familiar with Spanish culture, history, and geography. The places and people he describes come alive, and none more so than Isabel, our protagonist. Her strong character, unbending principles and stubborn loyalty to what she thinks is right: that's what defines Isabel, and Gortner displays all those qualities on the page. But most importantly, he makes it clear that Isabel was a product of her times. Her concepts of faith, heresy, human rights, the immortal soul, redemption, personal duty and sacrifice were all molded by the world she lived in, and the responsibility she felt she held in that world.
The story of Isabel is not easy. The choices she makes, especially when she is Queen, are sometimes cringe-worthy to a modern reader. The things she does and decisions she makes are difficult, unfair, sometimes cruel. As a modern reader, it's difficult to reconcile these things with our own ideas of right and wrong, fair and unfair, true or false. So yes, this book is challenging. But it's also historically and culturally accurate, well researched, and true to the character of Isabel, its protagonist.
Well done C. W. Gortner for bringing this complicated, tumultuous Spanish period to life, and for taking on Isabel and treating her with understanding and respect.
The first half of this book was great, but the second half was a bit slow. I'm was also a bit uncomfortable with the portrayal of the Inquisition -- not that Gortner condoned it or anything of the sort, but that Queen Isabella's role in it was perhaps downplayed a bit too much.