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Cargando... Las hijas de España (1961)por Jean Plaidy
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. This final instalment of Jean Plaidy’s Isabella and Ferdinand trilogy is set during the 1490s and opening years of the 1500s. As the title implies, this novel focuses more on the Spanish sovereigns’ daughters, of which they had four, the most notable perhaps being Catalina, better known to me and my fellow Englanders as Catherine of Aragon; Henry VIII’s first wife. The story also features a son of Spain, plus one of Ferdinand’s illegitimate boys. This is one of many historical novels that show how young women – or more to the point, young girls – were treated as chess pieces, being married off to strangers to form political alliances to benefit their parents. Some of the Spanish daughters long for their betrothal, while Catalina dreads the day she is to be shipped to Tudor England, fearing never to see her beloved mother again. Parting with their children is hard for Isabella, whereas the money and power-obsessed Ferdinand comes across as cold-hearted, thinking of his own personal gains, and how marrying off his son and daughters will prove rewarding for Spain. Apart from the family aspects, this novel follows on from its prequel in regards of the religious fanaticism that was apparent during medieval times. The persecution of the Jews and the Moors appears barbaric when reading about it today, yet many – including the otherwise gentle and noble Isabella – saw no wrong it torturing or burning people who didn’t practise the Christian faith. Certain priests in power were the most ruthless of all, truly believing that their actions were justified, as this quote regarding the attitude of one of the most fanatical archbishops demonstrates: “And for those who had denied God the greatest torture man could devise was not bad enough. If these people burned at the stake, it was but a foretaste of the punishment which God would give them. What were twenty minutes at the stake compared with an eternity in Hell?” The author’s decision to use an unbiased third person narrator was, in my mind, a good choice. As the above quote demonstrates, the narration does not declare that the holy man’s bigoted attitude is wrong, but rather it shows the reader that this is the case by stating the fanatic’s feelings as though such horror was acceptable. On a lighter note, this following dialogue exchange between Queen Isabella and her daughters caused me some mild amusement: Juana could not cease chattering. ‘Mother, what are the women like in Flanders? They have golden hair, I hear … most of them. They are big women with great breasts.’ ‘Hush, hush!’ said the Princess Isabella. ‘But,’ cried Juana, ‘the Queen said there was to be no ceremony. There never is ceremony when we are together thus.’ ‘That is so, my daughter,’ said the Queen. ‘But it is not seemly to discuss the size of the breasts of the women in your future husband’s country.’ As with the previous book, the author does a great job with Juana; Queen Isabella’s third child. Juana suffers mental problems, which at times proves unnerving, but like with the above quote she’s sometimes quite amusing. Ms Plaidy has a gift of making all her main characters “real” and Juana is one of her best examples of this talent. Regarding the Isabella and Ferdinand trilogy on the whole, I must admit to being greatly impressed. In short, they are tales of triumph and tragedy. I consider this novel to be slightly better than Book 2, but like Book 1 the most. I rate them all 4 stars. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
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Con Las hijas de España, Jean Plaidy da término a su extraordinaria trilogía sobre los Reyes Católicos, que inició con Castilla para Isabel y continuó con España para sus soberanos. Isabel estaba por cumplir con un deber desagradable. «Heme aquí, -pensaba, rodeada de toda mi familia-. España goza de prosperidad. La bandera ondea sobre todas sus ciudades. Cristóbal Colón ha hecho bien su trabajo, y España tiene allende los amres un reino cada vez más vasto. Como reina, me regocija la prosperidad de mi país. Como madre, me siento feliz. Todo debería estár bien, y sin embargo...» Las hijas de España narra los últimos años del reinado de Isabel la Católica. La desgracia golpea la casa real. Allí están sus hijas: Isabel, la viuda trágica; Juana, la loca; la suave María, y Catalina, que debe abandonar a su familia y a España, para convertirse en Catalina de Aragón, reina de Inglaterra y primera esposa de Enrique VIII. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION With Spain now united, Ferdinand looked to his daughters to further his ambitions. All too often, Isabella found herself torn between his brilliant plans and her love for her children. During the last years of Isabella's reign it seemed there was a curse on the Royal House which struck at the children of the Sovereigns. Tragedy followed tragedy - the infanta Isabella, a brokenhearted widow; Juana, driven to madness by her husband's philandering; and the sorrow of parting with young Catalina, destined to become Katharine of Aragon, wife to Henry VIII and Queen of England. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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For a book called Daughters of Spain very little time is spent on the daughters of some of the most powerful monarchs the world has ever known. What we do learn of them is boiled down into two personality traits. Isabella Jr is a depressed and superstitious widow, Juana is wild and mad for her husband, and Catalina adores her mother so much that she doesn't want to go to England. The fourth daughter, Maria, is barely in the book, and has no personality whatsoever. Honestly you get more from their wikipedia pages than you do here.
Isabella was also very watered down. In the first book in the series, Castile for Isabella, Isabella is calculating, intelligent, and stubborn enough to always get her way. However, by this final book, she's a weeping mother who never wants her children to leave her. From what little I know of Isabella, this seems out of character for her, so it makes me wonder at Plaidy's agenda in depicting her this way. Perhaps she was trying to make her likable because Isabella's bigotry towards those who practice a different religion make her a pretty sinister character. Unfortunately, all Plaidy's rendition did was depict a woman who was easily swayed while her daughters all seemed to have a touch of the "madness" that Isabella feared they would have.
If this book is so depressing, why did I rate it three stars? Honestly, it's because I don't know much about Spanish history, and I appreciated this first glimpse. It inspires me to want to learn more because I refuse to believe these characters are as simple as Plaidy depicts them. So, if you're looking for a light intro into this subject, I would recommend this series to you. However, if you're well-versed in Spanish medieval history, maybe stay away from these novels. They won't offer any new insight into these complex historical figures. ( )