Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466

This post first published December 14, 2012.

Author: Carolyn Meyer
First Published: July 2000
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: The Royal Diaries
202 pages (hardcover)
 
I was really interested in reading this book because I wanted to read more about royalty from Spain (or, rather, at the time, it was the kingdoms of Leon and Castile, Aragon, and Granada. Maybe some others too, but those are the ones I remember). All I knew about Isabel is that she is particularly famous for helping Christopher Columbus’ plans on traveling to the Americas. This is a middle school book, but perfect for my purpose of wanting an introduction to Isabel. Also, I adore the Royal Diaries series, lots of good middle school memories. I never read this one when I was a kid though, this is my first read through.

Isabel starts off as 13 or 14 years old in this book. Her father died a while back, and currently, the kingdom is split between her two brothers — Enrique, her older half-brother and Alfonso, her younger, full blooded brother. Isabel is caught in the middle between her warring brothers, but tries her best to stay neutral. She is currently staying with Enrique, who is keen to marry Isabel off to someone for political advantage. With some good luck, Isabel manages to avoid being wed off to some much older, ugly and cruel men. She hears about the Prince of Aragon, Fernando, the only royal who is actually around her age. She hears that he is handsome and kind. With her brother trying to push her into marriage, Isabel tries to convince him that she should marry Fernando. Her brother Enrique breaks promise after promise, however, and in the end, Isabel has to take matters into her own hands.

I feel that this is definitely one of the best Royal Diaries books I’ve read. Some of the other ones have pretty skimpy and weak plots, but this one on Isabel felt interesting, consistent and well done. Isabel is not merely a passive character in this story, describing events as they unfold — which is what I felt some of the other books in this series sometimes do. She is actually a true part of the story, and initiates events on her own. I had no previous knowledge as to the politics of the Spanish peninsula during this time period, so everything that happened was fresh and new to me. I suspect if you had actual knowledge about Isabel and her time period, it might not be as surprising and it might feel kind of predictable. I had no idea what to expect though, so it was all new and wonderful knowledge to me.

Isabel herself is portrayed as a religious young woman who tries to push for peace and harmony. She does not like her brothers fighting, as it splits the entire family up and means civil war in their kingdom. However, she is definitely not a passive little mouse. She wants to take her destiny into her own hands. She didn’t want to marry the old men Enrique wanted to set her up with, so she secretly pushed her own agenda (with some outside help, of course) to try to marry the Prince of Aragon. Pretty admirable in that time period, when women had to obey men, and Enrique was also king!

If you enjoy the Royal Diaries series, this is definitely a must-read! Well written, well plotted, and for those like me with no historical knowledge on Isabel, very fascinating!

My Rating: 5/5

Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638

This post first published July 11, 2012.

Author: Carolyn Meyer
First Published: May 2003
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: The Royal Diaries
170 pages (hardcover) 
 
Another Royal Diaries read! This one is on Queen (or “King”) Kristina/Christina of Sweden. The historical note at the back of the book states that she is the second most discussed queen amongst historians (first is Cleopatra VII), but I have not heard of her before this book, to be honest. She had a really fascinating upbringing, from what I can tell from this book.

In this juvenile novel, Kristina is the only child of the King and Queen of Sweden. When she was born, everyone thought she was a precious boy because of the caul covering her body. Of course, later everyone realized she was actually a girl. Her father thought this meant his child was very clever, already playing tricks on everyone, and announced that Kristina will be raised as a boy, as a prince, and one day become the King of Sweden, not Queen. And so, Kristina was raised learning all the things required of a royal prince, instead of the feminine arts required of a princess.

Her father dies when she is young and she is suddenly King of Sweden. While she will not rule on her own until she is 18, Kristina must deal with her emotionally unstable and overly smothering mother, her dear aunt and her councillors, all of whom want to find the best husband possible for Kristina to rule Sweden with. But Kristina doesn’t want to marry — ever!

I really liked this book. It’s written by the same author that wrote the Anastasia book, which I adore, so I expected the same level of great storytelling with Kristina as well. I feel like I learned a lot about a royal who, before this book, I knew nothing about. She seems absolutely fascinating, being crowned King instead of Queen and all; I was a little disappointed to read later that she ended up abdicating her throne after a mere four years, due to stress and converting to the Catholic faith (a religion which Sweden banned from their country).

Kristina is one of the few royals in this series that actually had an interesting childhood that suited the age range for this book series, in my opinion. Some of the other books in this series, like Eleanor or Marie Antoinette, led more interesting lives as adults than as preteens, so those books may not feel as interesting. Kristina, however, experienced a lot of important changes and events in her life quite early, so her preteen years alone feel exciting. After reading this book, I would love to learn more about Kristina!

My Rating: 4/5