Sister Queens
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Review
'Fox's achievement, in weaving together these two potentially disheartening biographies, is never to descent into simple pity. Indeed there is a rather uplifting quality to a deep, vivid narrative. As Fox recreates Juana and Katherine's lives in colourful detail, she manages to draw out the spirit and resilience of two women fearfully abused in a very cruel, very male world.' (Dan Jones THE SPECTATOR - 2 July issue )
Book Description
The first dual biography of Katherine and Juana, based on a comprehensive re-evaluation of the sources
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Whilst I enjoyed Giles Tremlett's recent biography of Katherine of Aragon this book is the more interesting and really does offer a new perspective. I knew very little about the life of Juana Queen of Castile other than she was considered too insane to rule. This book gives a detailed account of her life and suggests that she was far from insane but was simply manipulated by her husband and then her father King Ferdinand.
The more I read about Katherine of Aragon the less sympathetic a character I seem to find her. The book brings out well the extent to which she really was the true daughter of Queen Isabella and capable of manipulation herself. What I had also not appreciated was the lack of interest she seems to have shown in the fate of her sister Juana who was the rightful Spanish queen and that she really never seems to have questioned her sister's effective disappearance from public life. As the author points out how ironic she looked to her nephew Charles for justice and protection whilst he had been capable of imprisoning his own mother and taking her throne.
The book is well researched and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the Tudor era. The author is to be commended for her ability to choose more unusual subjects from that era to study.
The more I read about Katherine of Aragon the less sympathetic a character I seem to find her. The book brings out well the extent to which she really was the true daughter of Queen Isabella and capable of manipulation herself. What I had also not appreciated was the lack of interest she seems to have shown in the fate of her sister Juana who was the rightful Spanish queen and that she really never seems to have questioned her sister's effective disappearance from public life. As the author points out how ironic she looked to her nephew Charles for justice and protection whilst he had been capable of imprisoning his own mother and taking her throne.
The book is well researched and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the Tudor era. The author is to be commended for her ability to choose more unusual subjects from that era to study.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This excellent book looks at the lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile. They were both the daughters of Ferdinand and Isabella, brought up to make dynastic marriages to help Spain. Of course, Katherine's story is well known - brought to England to marry Arthur, the eldest son of Henry VII, she was left a widow and then became a victim of endless marriage negotiations between Spain and England. When she finally married Henry VIII, she thought her position was assured, but faced adversity with the arrival of Anne Boleyn and her failure to produce a male heir.
Juana, known as 'the Mad', also had to fight for her position in a male dominated society. Said to be so passionately in love with her husband, Philip of Burgundy, that she kept his coffin by her side and refused to allow him to be buried, she found herself dominated first by him, then her husband and then her son. Virtually imprisoned so power could remain in the hands of whichever of her male relatives ruled in her stead, Julia Fox examines exactly how 'mad' she was and how much was exaggerated to show she was 'unable' to rule herself.
This book looks at Juana and Katherine within the context of their family and their Spanish heritage. Both were loyal wives and mothers, despite having husbands who did not deserve the loyalty they received. The book also examines what the Catholic faith meant to them and how their lives and actions affected the history of Europe. I found the book extremely enjoyable, interesting and well written. In the end, both women were really just pawns in their families political machinations and it is sad to see how royal brides were sent away with so little support, either emotional or practical. After their marriages, Katherine and Juana managed only one, brief, meeting and they were even kept apart from their children if the men in their lives willed it. Despite their positions, their power and influence as women, was small.
I enjoyed Julia Fox's previous book, Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford, and this was equally good. I look forward to reading more by her in the future and highly recommend this as an informative and fascinating account of two true Queens.
Juana, known as 'the Mad', also had to fight for her position in a male dominated society. Said to be so passionately in love with her husband, Philip of Burgundy, that she kept his coffin by her side and refused to allow him to be buried, she found herself dominated first by him, then her husband and then her son. Virtually imprisoned so power could remain in the hands of whichever of her male relatives ruled in her stead, Julia Fox examines exactly how 'mad' she was and how much was exaggerated to show she was 'unable' to rule herself.
This book looks at Juana and Katherine within the context of their family and their Spanish heritage. Both were loyal wives and mothers, despite having husbands who did not deserve the loyalty they received. The book also examines what the Catholic faith meant to them and how their lives and actions affected the history of Europe. I found the book extremely enjoyable, interesting and well written. In the end, both women were really just pawns in their families political machinations and it is sad to see how royal brides were sent away with so little support, either emotional or practical. After their marriages, Katherine and Juana managed only one, brief, meeting and they were even kept apart from their children if the men in their lives willed it. Despite their positions, their power and influence as women, was small.
I enjoyed Julia Fox's previous book, Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford, and this was equally good. I look forward to reading more by her in the future and highly recommend this as an informative and fascinating account of two true Queens.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was looking forward to reading this but I found it rather slow and dull. The rearch is excellent but I was left feeling the people were two dimensional. I found the style of writing a bit annoying too, 'who would have thought..' and 'little did she imagine' seem to crop up far too often, to the point of irritation.
Frankly I was disappointed that such a fascinating period and interesting subjects should be so, well, boring
Frankly I was disappointed that such a fascinating period and interesting subjects should be so, well, boring
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not quite what it says on the cover?
This is an interesting and well researched read, but I found it unequally weighted towards Katherine Of Aragon, whose story has been well told many times. Read more
Published 12 days ago by KAW
Worth a read!
This book is a biography that details the lives of two Infantas of Spain. Katherine of Aragon and Juana of Castile, two of the daughters of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Vickim
Not Sure This is for the General Reader, Even With an Interest in the...
"Sister Queens," the first dual biography of Katherine of Aragon and Juana of Castile, comes to us as a work of Julia Fox, who previously authored Jane Boleyn: The True Story of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Stephanie DePue
lovely effort but a lost opportunity
A gentle biography of Katherine of Aragon, perhaps even genteel in tone and manner. Not a strict "academic" biography nor entirely novelistic, as Fox cannot truly walk a middle... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Beth E. Williams
The 'Blessings' of History
To the world, the daughters of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain were blessed in every respect. Both princesses were destined to be queens: Katherine, to be Queen of England (married... Read more
Published 5 months ago by F. S. L'hoir
Excellent read
This was an excellent read. Quality and well researched. I've read it at least twice through and its good to see a new perspective of Juana of Castile and Catherine of Aragon. Read more
Published 8 months ago by L. Adams
Extensive and at times troubling look at the politics of Europe in the...
This is an extremely well written book. The illustrations fit well with the narrative. Both Katherine and Juana began life as two of the golden children of the Catholic Monarchs,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by EleanorB
Excellent joint biography.
Julia Fox's "Sister Queens" is the joint biography of Katherine of Aragon - Henry VIII's first wife ("divorced) - and her sister, Juana of Castile. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jill Meyer
Very Good
This books covers the sisters well along with their shared immediate family and their own they have created. The books covers all of the events in their lives in good detail. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Holly
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