Christina Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (Hardcover)

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Review
'A stunning debut and an absorbing page-turner. Veronica Buckley writes with immense style, vitality and great humanity. The fascinating tale she weaves is as compelling as the most riveting of novels.' Alison Weir

Mention Queen Christina of Sweden and many people recall Greta Garbo striding around in swashbuckling mode. Veronica Buckley's debut biography expertly debunks the Hollywood vision with this intimate portrait of the truly startling original. Far from having film star looks, Christina at eighteen stood less then five feet tall with uneven shoulders, large nose, gruff voice and no back teeth. Her only redeeming feature (since she later shaved her head!) would be a pair of beautiful blue eyes. The Queen hated all the normal female interests, including 'the distasteful duty of bearing children'. She preferred cannons, swords, hunting and fencing, used coarse language, told bawdy jokes. Although she enjoyed learning, she merely 'dabbled' in astronomy, history, music and dance, collecting a reluctant Descartes en route as a trophy philosopher. Avoiding attempts to marry her off, she studied Roman Catholicism whilst still head of the Lutheran Church and decided to abdicate, naming rejected suitor Karl Gustav her heir. (Kirkus UK)

Newcomer Buckley catches in all its peculiarity the life of a woman who abdicated Sweden's throne primarily because she couldn't stand all that pressure to get married. With considerable polish-and an occasional tilt to the baroque that befits its subject-Buckley tells the story of Christina (1626-89), a curious and by no means unentertaining soul who was also a real bundle of damaged goods. She was born into what was for all intents a medieval kingdom: rural, racked by war, and surrounded by enemies (Austrian Habsburgs, Poland-Lithuania, Denmark, not to mention the Ottoman Empire). Her simpering mother was lost to profound mental disarray; her father's shadow dimmed all around him. Thrust into the role of queen at age six, Christina made every bad move available. In hopes of resuscitating the royal coffers, she sold titles and gave away royal land, which accomplished just the opposite; she tried to be crafty, but succeeded only in giving offense and looking the fool; she gathered together a fractious academy that managed to result in the death of Descartes. All this, and the ever-present wealth of intrigues and secret alliances, is comfortably spelled out by Buckley, who is not unsympathetic to the pathetic Christina, but doesn't cut her any slack, particularly when dealing with her absurd plot to steal the throne of Naples and her order to execute one of her retinue, a murder retold in grisly detail. The queen connived with cardinals; she loathed Sweden's Lutheranism with its motto-"Let women bear children unto death"-and her own sexuality, as Buckley explains, was a mystery. She bled the Swedish coffers to finance her lavish habits and generally had as much fun and made as much trouble as possible. Correctly described by the author as "a sad tale . . . of promise unfulfilled, and of strength thwarted by weakness," but also as good a case as any against the existence of royalty. (Illustrations, not seen) (Kirkus Reviews)

The Observer
"Christina lived in the most extraordinary life in the most extraordinary times and this engaging book does her full justice."

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2 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   48 of 49 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, 27 Jun 2005 By  Klaus van Amelrode "kmcva" - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       This review is from: Christina Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (Paperback) is perhaps the word most suited for the book and its subject. Queen Christina is perhaps - next to her hero father Gustav Adolf - the best known Swedish monarch. Her reign - as a child queen and as a short lived effective ruler - covers partly the time when Swedish power in Europe was at its height. The very daughter of the protestant hero king abdicating and turning into a Roman Catholic is itself a remarkable story. Her personality and her life style after the abdication were the talk of European courts and often provactive to scandalous. This story has however been told many times. So ist is quite extraodinary that the author manage to shed new light into the personality of the Queen mainly by comparing reality with the very own view the Queen held about events and especially about her very own person. This is a remarkable achievement and very very interesting indeed to read about. So step by step a description of the Queen emerges properly not a flattering, but always an interesing one. She was a person who could not put into a box; one cannot describe her by using stereotypes. She was very special, but that includes not being very easy or in her case not even very likeable. Her very own perspective of her talents, abilities and political judgement did not correspond with the realities. I was wandering whether Sweden was indeed much better off without her as monarch... Judge for yourself and and above all enjoy this book. It is written in a wonderful style. I would love to give more than just 5 stars as it is really difficult to write a interesting biography with a new persepctive about a personality about whom so many biographies have already been written. The author succeeded brilliantly! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   17 of 17 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars a flawless biography of a flawed royal, 30 Jun 2004 By  Ethel the Pirate's Daughter - See all my reviews Reared as a boy by her charismatic, kingly father, and the subject of scandalous gossip regarding her bed-sharing with a female companion, Queen Christina cast aside her crown in favour of the easy life. Buckley's book is packed with action and humour, skilfully side-stepping much of the tortured politics that makes so many other books about Swedish history so difficult to take. But while nothing can fault Buckley's multilingual research, her honesty can backfire: Christina comes across as sad, lonely, and ultimately a trifle stupid. Nowhere is this more apparent than in her grasping attempts to hang onto power, even as she capriciously rejects responsibility. The flighty way she summons the philosopher Descartes, only to indirectly cause his death is another example of her regal self-absorption. But Buckley is not afraid to tell Christina's story warts and all, and that alone is enough to gain her five well-deserved stars. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 2 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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