Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen [Hardcover]

Nancy Rubin Stuart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1991

Looks at Queen Isabella's life and marriage in a time of fierce political intrigue, the rise of the nation-state, the discovery of the new world and the demise of the old order.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Isabella (1441-1504) was a master strategist, seizing the crown of Castile and, with husband Ferdinand of Aragon, ruling both her kingdom and his and winning a virtually nonstop succession of wars to preserve their strongholds. Freelance journalist Rubin presents the queen also as loving wife and mother, promoter of the arts and sponsor of Columbus, views emphasized to soften the dominant persona: Isabella la Catolica. Her goal to make Spain exclusively and permanently Catholic drove the queen to supporting the tortures of the Inquisition, burning dissenters at the stake and evicting Jews from the country. Packed with information, the book holds the reader's interest, despite pedestrian prose and a clear bias in Isabella's favor. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The flow of books connected with the quincentenary of Columbus's voyage to the Americas continues. General readers interested in the remarkable woman who pressed the unification of the several kingdoms constituting medieval Spain; pacified a rebellious nobility; made Catholicism a national unifying force by using the Inquisition against Muslims and Jews; supported the new learning of the Renaissance; produced five children around whom the history of 16th-century Europe revolved; and, almost by accident, financed the Genoese sailor who "discovered" America believing it was India will find this an enjoyable study. Rubin, however, has a very sketchy knowledge of late medieval-early modern European history, nor is she familiar with the rich recent literature on Muslim Spain, the reconquista , and the direction of current scholarship. The book also suffers from clumsy organization, with 62 short chapters, too many romantic conjectures, contradictions, and a prolix style. The serious student and scholar must look to scholarly monographs. Previewed in "Rediscovering Columbus," LJ 8/91, p. 120-122.
- Bennett D. Hill, Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 468 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312058780
• ISBN-13: 978-0312058784
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prescott revisited, May 20, 2002

By 

M. A Newman (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen (Paperback)

Any potentional historian of Spain must contend with the work of William Prescott. Though cutting edge historians of Spain dismiss Prescott as old fashioned (he wrote over 150 years ago), his work can still be read with pleasure and little awe (particulalry when one remembers that Prescott was blind when he was active as a historian.

Nancy Rubin makes use of Prescott and in a sense pours old wine in new bottles. Her Isabella is more acceasable than Prescott's pius queen. She also very ably puts Isabella in the proper perspective as the co-founder of modern Spain (at least from a geographic perspective). Isabella's reputation rests on her funding of the voyages of Columbus, but as Ms. Rubin's book ably demonstrates, she was much more than that. In a time when political couples (like FDR and Eleanor) are described as "political partners" Isabella and Ferdinand were true co-equals. He fought the wars and she tended to the quartermaster functions. No wonder they were a magnificent success.

If this book has one problem it is the rather ambiguous relationship between Isabella and the Jews and Moslems of Spain. Though she made use of the former throughout her career (particularly early on), she later was a willing participant in their forcible conversion. Perhaps this subject requires a book of its own.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surpisingly Easy to Read!, December 20, 2000

By 

Diego Izurieta "pitamoncha" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen (Paperback)

Nancy Rubin's work on Isabel la Católica was very refreshing and difficult to put down. As a Spanish Literature student at UCLA, I recommend this book to anyone interested in the brightening their knowledge of this great woman. The chronology was consistant and the surrounding facts of the Catholic Queen were just the right size. It emphasized the rennovations that the queen implemented on the broken kingdom and the tenacity of her character, all fueled by her faith.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I, Isabella..", May 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen (Paperback)

Maybe should be called, "I, Isabella". One could think Isabella's reign was decidedly a mixed blessing, but still appreciate the drama of this book. Rubin takes us step by step through the bewildering maze of Spanish politics; she suggests answers to a lot of nagging questions (we see what a long shot it was against Columbus getting his funding); she conveys, ultimately, a sense of the loss and tragedy that followed on power.