Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain 1466 (The Royal Diaries)

Queen Isabella was not Spain's answer to Hitler. But neither is she worthy of a hagiography. While this novel is for children it is still a whitewash of one of history's most troubling and controversial queens. Sure there were things to admire about Queen Isabella- her belief in women's education, training her daughters to rule, her determination to govern Castile on her own and her desire to remedy her poor education later in life. But there are also things to despise Isabella for, mainly the Inquisition and expulsion.You cannot fully comprehend Isabella without understanding these 2 contradictory aspects of her personality. (The situation with the Moors was very different than the Jews but going into detail on that subject in today's PC world is the equivalent of opening up Pandora's Box.) This book focuses too much on isabellas virtues without balancing out her flaws. It's not that Isabella didn't have virtues but this author doesn't really do a fair balance. Also it's quite sexual in parts so I would hesitate about giving it to a younger child. I recommend the Elizabeth, Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette books in the series over this one. All of these are sympathetic to their heroines but don't shy away from talking about the flaws of these 3 women. The Marie Antoinette diary does this perfectly By being sympathetic to Marie Antoinette its fate and the causes of the French revolution while also explaining that Marie Antoinette cannot be blamed entirely for its ocurrence.Also I didn't feel like I really got to "know" Isabella in this one like I did in the other Royal diaries and I don't really feel it brought 15th century Spain to life for me. Elizabeth's story transported me to Tudor England, Cleopatra's took me back to ancient Egypt and Marie Antoinette's brought me to 18th century Austrian France. The Anastasia one is also well done and i really felt a feel for her time period too. In short, only get this if you want to read the whole series.

Isabella. Financier of Columbus. Queen of Castile. This story is about her beginning and the world she was born into. The story begins while she is imprisoned by her eldest brother King Enrique and travels through the vibrant cities and towns of 15th century Spain. The unending question is who will she marry? The much older king of Portugal? A nobleman of Castile? Or will it be the crown prince of Aragon? As these questions unfold events change Isabel from the minor princess to possible crown princess and history is forever altered...

My mom grew up with these books and in her stead I ordered this entire set. These stories are all about women roll models and strong women through history. I would definitely recommend the stories. As for the condition…the book was not in the greatest condition. It had obviously been loved and most likely in a child’s library. All in all these are great stories and I would definitely recommend them!!!!

My granddaughter very much enjoyed it.

I bought these series for my granddaughter. She absolutely loves them. I will continue to purchase them until she has all of them. Thanks Amazon!!

Isabel of Spain is a monarch that I was always fascinated by and this historical fiction novel is a great attempt to capture what would have been her daily life in the months before she married Ferdinand and a few decades before she sent Christopher Columbus on his way. Arrived in a timely manner and perfect condition.

Not my favorite entry in the series, but still a good read.

Not completely historically accurate but a fun book for girls

以前読んだ時は、さほど面白いとも思わず、人にあげてしまったのですが、この著者の本を他にも読んだら面白かったので、読み直してみたのです。というか、初めてちゃんと読んでみたのです。　そうしたら、面白かったのです。１０ページぐらい読んでから判断するべきでしたね。ううん、短気は損気。　このシリーズは、世界の有名な王族が、少女時代に書いていた日記という体裁ですが、この本はシリーズの他の本と比べても、かなり面白い部類です。　イサベルはカスティーリャの王女で、兄と弟が対立する中、宮廷で生活しています。内乱、結婚話、王妃との対立などの苦労がある中、信仰心篤く、繊細で洞察力の優れた少女です。　歴史的な話をすると、イサベルはスペイン建国の母と呼ばれ、その子孫は各国王室に散らばっています。Isabella of Spainと入れれば、洋書の伝記がいくらでもあるはずです。　日本語の伝記は小西章子「スペイン女王イサベル」ぐらいでしょうか。　また、娘の１人カタリナは、イギリスに嫁いでキャサリン・オブ・アラゴンと呼ばれます。この著者は、Patience Princess Catherineという、彼女が主人公の本も書いています。

I wanted to read this because I had just been to Spain, and I am also interested in women's history. I was looking for a book that would help me imagine the life of Isabel, having just read a similar book on her daughter, Juana. While this is a book for young adults, I found that it did help me to imagine the early life of Isabel, I only wish it had continued into her life as Queen, rather than just her life as princess.

It was OK.