A review by bookishblond
The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile by C.W. Gortner

2.0

Although I've loved C.W. Gortner's historical novels, The Queen's Vow was a profound disappointment. The book's coverage of Isabella's life is so odd--for about half the book, Isabella is a young woman, and the remainder of the book rushes through her life, listing historical events like a catalogue. Rather than writing about Isabella's experiences during these events, Gortner lists Isabella's travels, battles that were fought, and births of children--a catalogue rather than a portrait. Gortner also failed in that unique way male writers can fail in writing women. Depictions of childbirth, Isabella's body and sexual experiences, and some of her internal insights (for example, her thoughts when putting on armor) seemed too much like male imaginations of what women must experience.

Overall (and I hate to say it), The Queen's Vow does a disservice to Isabella of Castile, who was a complicated and accomplished historical figure, ahead of her times in many ways. Any literary depiction of her should do her justice.