{"product_id":"isabella-isbn-9780307742162","title":"Isabella","description":"An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Isabella of Castile, the controversial Queen of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1474, when most women were almost powerless, twenty-three-year-old Isabella defied a hostile brother and a mercurial husband to seize control of Castile and León. Her subsequent feats were legendary. She ended a twenty-four-generation struggle between Muslims and Christians, forcing North African invaders back over the Mediterranean Sea. She laid the foundation for a unified Spain. She sponsored Columbus’s trip to the Indies and negotiated Spanish control over much of the New World. She also annihilated all who stood against her by establishing a bloody religious Inquisition that would darken Spain’s reputation for centuries. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhether saintly or satanic, no female leader has done more to shape our modern world. Yet history has all but forgotten Isabella’s influence. Using new scholarship, Downey’s luminous biography tells the story of this brilliant, fervent, forgotten woman, the faith that propelled her through life, and the land of ancient conflicts and intrigue she brought under her command.\u003ci\u003eMaps \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrologue \u003cbr\u003eOne | \u003ci\u003eA Birth Without Fanfare \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo | \u003ci\u003eA Childhood in the Shadows \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree | \u003ci\u003eFrightening Years \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFour | \u003ci\u003eIsabella Faces the Future Alone \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFive | \u003ci\u003eMarriage \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSix | \u003ci\u003eFerdinand and His Family \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeven | \u003ci\u003eThe Newlyweds \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEight | \u003ci\u003eThe Borgia Connection \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNine | \u003ci\u003ePreparing to Rule \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTen | \u003ci\u003eIsabella Takes the Throne \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEleven | \u003ci\u003eThe Tribe of Isabel \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTwelve | \u003ci\u003eThe Whole World Trembled \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThirteen | \u003ci\u003eThe Queen’s War \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFourteen | \u003ci\u003eArchitects of the Inquisition \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFifteen | \u003ci\u003eLanding in Paradise \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSixteen | \u003ci\u003eBorgia Gives Her the World \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeventeen | \u003ci\u003eLands of Vanity and Illusion \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEighteen | \u003ci\u003eFaith and Family \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNineteen | \u003ci\u003eTurks at the Door \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwenty | \u003ci\u003eIsrael in Exile \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwenty-one | \u003ci\u003eThree Daughters \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwenty-two | \u003ci\u003eA Church Without a Shepherd \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwenty-three | \u003ci\u003eThe Death of Queen Isabella \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwenty-four | \u003ci\u003eThe World After Isabella \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfterword \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBibliography\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Prize\u003cbr\u003eLonglisted for the 2015 PEN\/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003eBest Biography of 2014\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A tale of feminist ambition that reads like a pulpy novel. (Don't be a snob—that's a good thing.)” —\u003ci\u003eTIME \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[An] immensely provocative\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003efigure . . . [who] successfully maneuvered in an almost exclusively male world of politics.” —Kathryn Harrison, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Downey humanizes rather than idealizes her subject. . . . \u003ci\u003eIsabella\u003c\/i\u003e offers the reader a deeply satisfying portrait of a fascinating and complex woman.” —Bárbara Mujica, \u003ci\u003eWashington Independent Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“In a fascinating revisionist portrait, Downey sketches a monarch both adored and demonised, and makes the case that Isabella laid the foundation for the first global superpower.” —BBC.com\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“From \u003ci\u003eGame of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003ePillars of the Earth\u003c\/i\u003e, popular culture offers up medieval stories where royal blood grabs for power, where crucial alliances are built between church and state, where important people suddenly fall over dead after a sumptuous meal, poisoned by a hidden rival. But this world did, in fact, exist, and the subject of Kristen Downey’s new biography, Queen Isabella of Castile, maneuvered through it with unlikely and thrilling success. . . . Downey writes with eloquence and intensity about Isabella’s life, making what could have been a distant history into a dramatic page turner.” —\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A strong, fascinating woman, Isabella helped to usher in the modern age, and this rich, clearly written biography is a worthy chronicle of her impressive yet controversial life.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kirstin Downey triumphantly restores Isabella to her rightful place in history. This is an engrossing new portrait of one of the most fascinating and controversial women who ever lived.” —Amanda Foreman, author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eGeorgiana: Duchess of Devonshire\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Kirstin Downey makes medieval history read like a modern day thriller. Queen Isabella's life unfolded at the pivotal moment when the old world was astonished by the discovery of the new, and this graceful and insightful biography reveals her crucial role in making it happen.” —\u003ci\u003eDeirdre Bair, National Book Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eSamuel Beckett\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“In this astonishing biography, Kirstin Downey brings to life the most powerful queen in history, whose extraordinary impact on the world—for good and ill—continues to this day. Downey is particularly good at showing the human side of Isabella, whose life was an unending struggle to assert herself while navigating the countless intrigues and treachery of men who wanted to bring her down, including her own faithless and jealous husband, Ferdinand. It's a fascinating story with great resonance for today.” —Lynne Olson, author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eThose Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh and America's Fight Over World War II\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Queen Isabella was\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ethe most important woman in the history of Europe, and more than any person of her era she set the stage for modern Europe and America. Using Muslim, Jewish, and Christian sources, Kirstin Downey's gripping biography reveals how Isabella acquired such importance and vividly narrates the incredible drama of her life.” —Jack Weatherford, author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eGenghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Perfect for both historical novices and experts in European history, this solidly-researched, engaging description of Isabella’s achievements also humanizes her through discussion of her intricate relationships with combative family members and allows readers to see Isabella’s fingerprints on Renaissance culture and religion.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003eKIRSTIN DOWNEY is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Woman Behind the New Deal\u003c\/i\u003e, which was a finalist for the 2009 \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Prize. She was one of the writers of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and was previously a staff writer at the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, where she shared in the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings. She was a Neiman fellow at Harvard University in 2001. She is married to Neil Warner Averitt, and together they have five children.\u003cb\u003ePrologue\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a castle on a steep promontory overlooking the windswept plains of north-central Spain, a slender red-haired princess finalized the plans for a ceremony that was likely to throw her nation—already teetering toward anarchy—into full-fledged civil war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer name was Isabella, and she had just learned that her older brother, King Enrique—known as Enrique El Impotente, which symbolized his failings, both administrative and sexual—had died.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKing Enrique’s lascivious young wife, who had occupied her time bestowing her favors on the other gentlemen of the court, had produced a child, but many people doubted that the king was actually the child’s father. Isabella had decided to end the controversy over the succession by having herself crowned queen instead. The twenty-three-year-old woman was essentially orchestrating a coup.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo woman had ruled the combined Kingdoms of Castile and León, the largest single realm on the Iberian peninsula, in more than two hun­dred years. In many European countries, it was illegal for a woman to rule alone. On the rare occasions when women reigned, it was usually as regent for a son who was too young to govern. Isabella had a husband, Ferdinand, who was heir to the neighboring Kingdom of Aragon, but he had been traveling when the news of Enrique’s death arrived, and she had decided to seize the initiative. She would take the crown for herself alone. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOn that bitter-cold morning in December 1474, Isabella added the fin­ishing touches to an ensemble intentionally designed to impress onlookers with her splendor and regal grandeur. She donned an elegant gown encrusted with jewels; a dark red ruby glittered at her throat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eObservers already awed by the pageantry now gasped at an additional sight. On Isabella’s orders, a court official walked ahead of her horse, holding aloft an unsheathed sword, the naked blade pointing straight upward toward the zenith, in an ancient symbol of the right to enforce justice. It was a dramatic warning gesture, symbolizing Isabella’s intent to take power and to use it forcefully.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledging nothing out of the ordinary, Isabella took a seat on an improvised platform in the square. A silver crown was placed upon her head. As the crowd cheered, Isabella was proclaimed queen. Afterward she proceeded to Segovia’s cathedral. She prostrated herself in prayer before the altar, offering her thanks and imploring God to help her to rule wisely and well. She viewed the tasks ahead as titanic. She believed Christianity was in mortal danger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Ottoman Turks were aggressively on the march in eastern and southern Europe. The Muslims retained an entrenched foothold in the Andalusian kingdom of Granada, which Isabella and others feared would prove a beachhead into the rest of Spain. A succession of popes had pleaded in vain for a steely-eyed commander, a stalwart warrior, to step forward to counter the threat. Instead it was a young woman, the mother of a young daughter, who was taking up the banner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe means she used were effective but brutal. For centuries to come, historians would debate the meaning of her life. Was she a saint? Or was she satanic?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs she stood in the sun in Segovia that winter afternoon, however, she showed no trace of fear or hesitation. Inspired by the example of Joan of Arc, who had died just two decades before Isabella was born and whose stories were much repeated during her childhood, Isabella simi­larly began to fashion herself as a religious icon. Inwardly infused with a sense of her own destiny, a faith that was “fervent, mystical and intense,” Isabella was confident to her core that God was on her side and that He intended her to rule. The questioning would only come much later.","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302457135333,"sku":"NP9780307742162","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307742162.jpg?v=1767730203","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/isabella-isbn-9780307742162","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}