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Loading... Castile for Isabella (1960)by Jean Plaidy
   infjsarah's wishlist (81) No current Talk conversations about this book.  readerbug2 | Nov 16, 2023 |    ) Rosa.Mill | Nov 21, 2015 | ) Rosa.Mill | Nov 21, 2015 | ) Rosa.Mill | Nov 21, 2015 | ) Rosa.Mill | Nov 21, 2015 | no reviews | add a review
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_____________________ The first book in the captivating Spanish Trilogy, focusing on the remarkable lives of Spain's most famous monarchs. In the 15th Century, Spain is full of intrigue and threatened by civil war. The independent young princess Isabella has become the pawn of her ambitious, half-crazed mother, kept as a virtual prisoner at the sordid court of her half-brother, France's Henry IV. Just sixteen years old, all seems lost: is Isabella fated to be the victim of the Queen's revenge, the Archbishop's ambition and the lust of Don Pedro Giron, one of the most notorious womanisers in Castile? Numbed with grief and fear, Isabella holds onto one cherished hope: that one day, she will escape her tormentors and marry Ferdinand, the handsome young Prince of Aragon - her only true betrothed. But the forces of Europe are ranged against them, and love's triumphs are rare... No library descriptions found. |
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What continually surprises me about Plaidy's writing is her ability to take years of dense, historical information and to create a cohesive narrative where the reader isn't too overwhelmed while still being entertained. I knew next to nothing about Isabella of Castile before reading this book, and she's the only figure from Spanish history that I'm familiar with at all. Coming away from Castile for Isabella, however, I'm a lot more informed about what led to her ascension. It was a battle of wills and arsenic.
Readers are first introduced to Isabella at four years old, but while we grow up with her, we don't follow solely her journey. We met King Henry. We meet his first wife Blanche, his second wife Joanna from Portugal. We meet a couple of court ministers like Villena, Don Pedro Giron, the Archbishop of Toledo, and Beltran de la Cueva. While the different viewpoints helped me understand what was happening politically, from a narrative standpoint, I personally think novels work better if only a few people are chosen to narrate the story. The voice is more consistent, and it makes the scenes easier to unpack. This novel would've been strongest if Isabella, Villena, Blanche, and Henry were the narrators instead of having half a dozen people all talking at once. Because Plaidy's POV jumps from person to person, often in the same paragraph, it can cause readers whiplash, if they're not paying attention.
That said, all of these characters are really interesting, and Plaidy does a superb job of characterizing each individual. Plaidy has a distinct writing style, so once you get used to it, it's a wild ride. Highly recommend to any historical fiction lover. (