Holly's Book Corner

Castile for Isabella 
(Isabella and Ferdinand book 1)

by Jean Plaidy

Rating:  4/5

Pages: 324 pages

Publisher: Arrow Books

Publication Date: originally published 1960

ISBN: 9780099510321

Summary (via Goodreads)

With fifteen-century Spain rent with intrigue and threatened by civil war, Isabella became the pawn of her ambitious, half-crazed mother and a virtual prisoner at the licentious court of her half-brother, Henry IV.

Was she, at sixteen, 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 lechers in Castile?

Numbed with grief and fear, Isabella yet remained steadfast in her determination to marry Ferdinand, the handsome young Prince of Aragon, her only true betrothed ...

Review

So, it has been a while since I have written any reviews (or had the time to do any reading!) but I am happy to be back.

I have recently found myself wanting to find books that are based on different eras of history compared to my previous obsessions with the Tudors and the Plantagenets. I came across the author Jean Plaidy several years ago whilst reading her book The Virgin Widow and thought I would browse some of her other titles.

I have always admired the story and legends that surround Isabella of Castile as being a strong, determined woman in a time when men ruled. Isabella was a woman, according to the history books, who refused to give up her crown to her husband or any other man who tried to take advantage of her gender and age.

(Image Isabella of Castile, taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile#/media/File:Isabel_la_Cat%C3%B3lica-2.jpg)

In this story, the start of a trilogy, Jean Plaidy explores Isabella's childhood and early life as well as the very beginning of what would become a very famous marriage. Throughout Castile for Isabella, Plaidy presents a young woman who is determined and strong-willed with an absolute strength to live up to the life she believes has been laid out for her by a greater power. Plaidy presents Isabella's passion for her faith is a respectful way which helps to develop her character towards the legend we now read about. The woman we can recognise as the future mother of Katherine of Aragon (Queen of England), who was another queen known for her strength of faith.

Alongside the strength of Isabella, Plaidy also tells the story of other political and royal figures from the time, from Isabella's mother, Isabella of Portugal, whom was known for her control of her husband during marriage and the decline in her mental health during widowhood. In my opinion, Plaidy presents this aspect of Isabella's life in an interesting way, showing both the maternal bond that might have existed between mother and daughter as well as the possible fear and worry Isabella might have felt towards her mother, especially after the death of her father. I won't go into the remainder of the drama that is included for fear of spoilers.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore historical fiction before the 1500s, or any lover of foreign history. I am looking forward to starting the next in the series to see how Plaidy will present the power struggle between Isabella and Ferdinand.