C W Gortner tells Juana’s story in the form of a novel which allows the reader to understand the trials this queen faced and why she was has gone down in history as an insane and unstable monarch.
The Children of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain
Juana was the third child of the powerful King and Queen of Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand. She was a young child when she witnessed the fall of Granada in 1492. She was brought up in splendour, aware of both Moorish and Spanish culture.
The author tells of how Juana was aware of her birthright from a young age and accepted an arranged marriage to further the interests of Spain. She was wed to Philip, Archduke of Flanders and sole heir to the Habsburg Empire. Against her wishes, she fell in love with her husband, which would make future events much more difficult for Juana.
The Madness of Juana of Castile
Despite its early promise, the marriage of Philip and Juana deteriorated quickly. From the outset, Juana had been given instructions but her parents on contracts which she should try to persuade her husband to sign, that would further the interests of Spain.
Juana found Flanders very different to her palatial Spanish homes and Gortner movingly chronicles the young queen’s struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. She was horrified to find her husband had taken a mistress early in the marriage and relations between husband and wife were in decline from this point.
As the years went by, Juana bore six children, but found her own safety and sanity in question. She became embroiled in a struggle for power with her own husband, a man desperate to secure the Spanish throne for himself, at the expense of his wife.
Determine to thwart Juana, Philip began to put out rumours that Juana had turned mad and was unfit to rule. Grieving for her mother and missing her children, from whom she had been separated, Juana began to fall into melancholy, furthered by her enforced solitude and poverty.
The Death of Philip of Flanders
It was Philip’s death which, according to Gortner’s tale, tipped Juana into insanity. Grieving for her husband, despite their years of bitterness, she forlornly followed his coffin around the plague-ridden streets of Castile. At a time when the throne was within her grasp, she was less capable of ruling than she had ever been. She was finally imprisoned and her father ruled in her place, grieving for his dead wife and his insane daughter, his years of glory ruling alongside Queen Isabella a distant memory.
Summary
The Last Queen is an intriguing, colourful and fascinating historical novel. C W Gortner has researched Queen Juana for many years and his in-depth knowledge of the subject shines through his lyrical prose.
The author uses all five senses to brilliantly highlight the differences between the kingdoms of Spain and Flanders, with the sights, sounds and smells of medieval Europe colourfully re-created.
Juana is a cleverly-drawn and fascinating lead character. Through her eyes, the reader comes to understand her sufferings, helplessness and her sad slide into madness. Queen Juana has often been written off as a mad monarch, with little thought as to why she was insane. Gortner encourages the reader to consider the Queen’s plight and the dangerous world which was the royal courts of medieval Europe.
Publication Details
Gortner, C W The Last Queen [Ballantine Books, 2008]
ISBN 9780345501844, 384 pages
