Sister Queens

The history books have cast Katherine of Aragon, the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, as the ultimate symbol of the Betrayed Woman, cruelly tossed aside in favor of her husband s seductive mistress, Anne Boleyn Katherine s sister, Juana of Castile, wife of Philip of Burgundy and mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, is portrayed as Juana the Mad, whose erratic behavior included keeping her beloved late husband s coffin beside her for years But historian Julia Fox, whose previous work painted an unprecedented portrait of Jane Boleyn, Anne s sister, offers deeper insight in this first dual biography of Katherine and Juana, the daughters of Spain s Ferdinand and Isabella, whose family ties remained strong despite their separation Looking through the lens of their Spanish origins, Fox reveals these queens as flesh and blood women equipped with character, intelligence, and conviction who are worthy historical figures in their own right.When they were young, Juana s and Katherine s futures appeared promising They had secured politically advantageous marriages, but their dreams of love and power quickly dissolved, and the unions for which they d spent their whole lives preparing were fraught with duplicity and betrayal Juana, the elder sister, unexpectedly became Spain s sovereign, but her authority was continually usurped, first by her husband and later by her son Katherine, a young widow after the death of Prince Arthur of Wales, soon remarried his doting brother Henry and later became a key figure in a drama that altered England s religious landscape.Ousted from the positions of power and influence they had been groomed for and separated from their children, Katherine and Juana each turned to their rich and abiding faith and deep personal belief in their family s dynastic legacy to cope with their enduring hardships Sister Queens is a gripping tale of love, duty, and sacrifice a remarkable reflection on the conflict between ambition and loyalty during an age when the greatest sin, it seems, was to have been born a woman. New Download [ Sister Queens ] Author [ Julia Fox ] – kino-fada.fr Poor Queen Juana Like many others who have had even the slightest interest in European history, I d bought completely the story of her madness How she kept her husband s moldering corpse with her at all times, how she periodically opened the casket to kiss it and embrace it How her jealousy knew no bounds and even in death she kept every other woman away from Philip the Fair How she roamed around, mad as a hatter, and was confined most of her life to protect her and ...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here This book is about two sisters, the daugthers of Ferdinand and Isabella Katherine of Aragon was the first of Henry VIII s six wives and queen of England, and Juana was married to Philip of Burgundy, and became queen upon her mother s death Much of this history is fairly well known and doesn t need another recap, plus I d rather not spoil for those newer to the history of these two sisters.My thoughts Katherine gets the greater coverage in this book, and w...Katherine of Aragon is known for suffering in the hands of Henry VIII oraccurately because of Anne Boleyn Juana the Mad is known for simply being crazy and spending 46 years incarcerated, resulting in us never knowing what the Spanish Empire had been like had she been able to rule in her right at least her descendents spanned two centuries There isto these two sisters, however Julia Fox attempts to show their characteristics and legacies in Sister Queens.Fox s Sister Queen Katherine of Aragon is known for suffering in the hands of Henry VIII oraccurately because of Anne Boleyn Juana the Mad is known for simply being crazy and spending 46 years incarcerated, resulting in us never knowing what the Spanish Empire had been like had she been able to rule in her right at least her descendents spanned two centuries There isto these two sisters, however Julia Fox attempts to show their characteristics and legacies in Sister Queens.Fox s Sister Queens begins in a very colorful and illustrated manner which can satisfy the reader whom doesn t welcome overly scholarly history books, however it can also be perceived as too narrative and fictional This is cemented by Fox s tendency to describe thoughts and emotionsthan annotated facts For instance, as early as page 14, Fox asserts that, Katherine shared h...Accessible and easy to read biography of Katherine of Aragon and Juana of Castile Like many of Alison Weir s bios this offering from Fox readslike a novel than a bio and is pitched often in quite simplistic terms There were several stylistic quirks that drove me nuts but on the whole it was a solid read even if Fox sometimes falls into the trap of stating as facts things that we cannot possibly know for sure There s not a whole lot new here but it is presented from a slightly different Accessible and easy to read biography of Katherine of Aragon and Juana of Castile Like many of Alison Weir s bios this offering from Fox readslike a novel than a bio and is pitched often in quite simplistic terms There were several stylistic quirks that drove me nuts but on the whole it was a solid read even if Fox s...I m not much of one for biographies, despite the volume of European historical fiction that I enjoy reading This is usually because every non fiction novel I have ever attempted to read has been incredibly dull, overly complex and, most importantly, incredibly scholarly, but not readable at all This brings me to Julia Fox s latest offering, Sister Queens, which I originally ordered thinking that it was a fiction novel It wasn t until I received the book, that I realized I had made a mistake I m not much of one for biographies, despite the volume of European historical fiction that I enjoy reading This is usually because every non fiction novel I have ever attempted to read has been incredib...I won t read anythingby this author Sadly, this is not good history she makes far too many inferences that can t be verified and then refers to them later in the text as if they were established fact She writes very readably but often seems unsure whether she is writing fiction or history it is meant to be straight history , telling us how this one or that one was feeling or may have felt She managed to squeeze in a reference to Prince Charles and Lady Di s wedding which I thought qui I won t read anythingby this author Sadly, this is not good history she makes far too many inferences that can t be verified and then refers to them later in the text as if they were established fact She writes very readably but often seems unsure wheth...Sister Queens, an insightful and engrossing dual biography, contrasts the lives of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, and Juana, Queen of Castile, both daughters of Spanish rulers Isabel I and Ferdinand II who are best known for their patronage of Christopher Columbus and their establishment of ...I received this book as part of the first reads program from goodreads.This book tells the story of two remarkable women that were sisters who became the queen of England and the queen of Castile.The book coversof Katherine of Aragon than it does Juana of Castile.Juana of Castile doesn t have as many histo...While Julia Fox s attention to little details is meticulous, her book Sister Queens is mis titled It s a lopsided historical account of Katherine of Aragon, with scant attention placed on her older sister, Juana of Castile It read to me like Fox intended to write a biography on Katherine and maybe came up a few pages short, so she crammed in some facts about Juana They were sisters, both queens, treated cruelly by their husbands and then cast aside in vicious games of politics.I figure 2 3 While Julia Fox s attention to little details is meticulous, her book Sister Queens is mis titled It s a lopsided historical account of Katherine of Aragon, with scant attention placed on her older sister, Juana of Castile It read to me like Fox intended to write a biography on Katherine and maybe came up a few pages short, so she crammed in some facts about Juana They were sisters, both queens, treated cruelly by their husbands and then cast aside in vicious games of politics.I figure 2 3 of the book pertains to Katherine, 1 6 to notes and pictures and the other 1 6 to Juana s life It s understandable to an extent, as Fox is an accredited expert on Tudor history, and there is so much known about Katherine and her marriage to Henry VII of England, a marriage that ended up fragmenting the Catholic Church and changing the face of Europe fo...I enjoyed this book thoroughly This wasKatherine s story than Juana s, perhaps because Juana spent so much of her life in captivity, and as a result I was familiar with much of the history, but I still found it fascinating I will be buying this when the US edition comes out.

• English
• 10 July 2018
Julia Fox
• Hardcover
• 370 pages
• 0345516044
• Julia Fox
• Sister Queens