spain

The Last Queen is a fictionalized autobiography of Juana of Castile, known to history as Juana la Loca, the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain.  The third child of their Catholic Majesties is betrothed to Philip the Fair, Duke of Burgundy, grandson and heir of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.  (I had occasionally wondered how Spain got into the Netherlands. Now I know.)  Theirs was a grand teenage love at first sight.  But the courts of Spain are decorous and somber…. The courts of Northern Europe are quite a different matter.  Juana must fight for her marriage.

Fate interferes

Translated from Spanish, this tale was written for readers who enjoy “living” in a novel by getting into the skins of the characters and following their relationships through joy and travail. The story begins in 1945 Barcelona following the Spanish Civil War – and the atmosphere of the city almost becomes a character in itself. Young Daniel’s father takes him to the “cemetery of forgotten books” so that he may choose a book. The book changes his life. When he grows older Daniel searches for the author, discovering that his life is progressing nearly in parallel to that of the elusive