Customer Reviews

The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel of Power, Madness, and Royalty

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Historians have disputed whether Juana of Castile (1479-1555)deserves her nickname of "La Loca" (the Mad). The daughter and heir to Queen Isabel was caught in a power struggle between her Flemish husband Philip and her father King Ferdinand. Both men were strongly motivated to discredit her in order to seize the territories that she was entitled to rule. "The Scroll of Seduction" tells Juana's story within the purely fictional story of Lucia, an orphan living in a convent school in Spain in the 1960s. Lucia is being told Juana's story by an obsessed 40-year-old historian, Manuel, who lures Lucia away from her boarding school on the weekends, brings her to his apartment and insists the 16-year-old wear a historically appropriate costume in order that she can better identify with Juana (and give Manuel insight into Juana's psyche) during the story-telling sessions. Obviously, the situation with Manuel is far from appropriate from the beginning and only gets worse, but it is really Juana's story of her passionate love for Philip and her struggle for independence that is truly engrossing and believable. The framing device of Manuel's relationship with Lucia is a gothic "Flowers in the Attic" catalog of lies and sordid behavior that seems unnecessary and over-the-top. However, the character of Lucia is well-written and relatable. Unlike Juana, she seems poised to survive and overcome the many traumas that come her way, including her seduction by Manuel. There are occasional anachronisms in the book (as far as I know, it was discovered that diamonds were made of carbon in the late 1700s -- there's no way Juana would have known that fact) and other "continuity" errors. In the edition I read, there were quite a number of spelling mistakes. But there are not a lot of books available about Juana, and the historical sections of this book explain her behavior in an intelligent and interesting way.

I have always considered history to be the greatest mystery there is. Not the actual mysteries of history (who or what killed Attila the Hun, what happened to the Princes in the tower, was troy a real place...) but the notion that it is impossible to really understand history. Sure we can study it, learn the dates and the names and the places of importance, read documents, form theories-but will we ever understand the real mind of a single person who lived in an era not our own? It's so hard to even comprehend our contemporaries sometimes!

It's that question which lead me to read this novel. It's the story of two people who meet quite by accident-Manuel, a history teacher who is subbing for a tour guide friend and Lucia a sixteen year old boarding school student who happens to have Manuel as her guide when her grandparents visits Madrid (where she lives) and take a historical tour. After another accidental meeting Manuel and Lucia strike up a friendship, despite the difference in their ages, based on a love of history. Manuel seizes the opportunity to have Lucia participate in an experiment of a most unusual nature-he will tell her the story of Queen Juana "the mad" but if, and only if, she will imagine herself to be Juana, to feel what she felt, think what she thought. And dress they way she dressed, a in a red renaissance silk and velvet dress.

Lucia, an introverted orphan on the very edge of adulthood, is intrigued and goes along with it. But soon the experiment changes her life in unexpected ways as she becomes more involved in the story of Juana and her husband, Philip the Handsome, and with Manuel and his own curious and secret riddled family history.

"The Scroll of Seduction" is a novel riddled with questions and mysteries, pilled atop on another. Intellectual questions (Was Juana mad, or merely ahead of her time in the act of non-violent protest and rebellion? Can love drive you mad? Can recorded history ever be truly accurate? Can a person from one age understand one from another-especially one far removed from their own? ) as well as ones pertaining to the story (what does Manuel really want with Lucia? Will he play the story out to its terrible ending? Will his linage effect how he sees and treats Lucia as Juana in the end? What exactly is his relationship with his aunt-and why is he so determined in the end that Lucia must not leave his fortress/museum of a house?) that keep you guessing and reading, completely absorbed in the increasingly creepy atmosphere until the very last page.

Though it's a very absorbing book "Scroll" has some issues. It tends towards dry passages with a lot of narration on the part of Lucia/Juana with very little action and inadequate descriptions of the scenery (especially for someone who has never seen Spain or Brussels.) The dialog can also be a little dry but ultimately the building suspense cancels all that out (and kept me reading.) However if you're not inclined to read books with a lot of academic questions (and not a lot of plot movement in spite of the two stories involved) then I wouldn't recommend reading this.

Other than, four stars.

I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer who said that it would have been lovely if Ms. Belli focused exclusively on the story of Juana and Philippe the Handsome. That part of the novel was an absolute joy to read! Not only did Ms. Belli capture the time period and present her extensive historical research beautifully, but she also managed to make Juana very human--I felt for this fiery, reluctant queen who was manipulated throughout her life by the men who wanted to crush her spirit. And the chemistry between her and Philippe was palpable, which made the deterrioration of their relationship even more painful.

I truly don't understand why Ms. Belli felt the need to weave this story in with the larger plot of Lucia and Manuel. It seemed to me like the Lucia/Manuel story was merely a device to tell Juana's story, and if that is the case, why not simply tell Juana's story and leave it at that?

There were also tons of spelling mistakes in the English version. I know that translation is tricky, but I would think that it would also make the editors doubly diligent about mistakes.

This is great book that would keep you guessing and engaged. The soft erotic air of the storie gives it a tremendous sex appeal. It gives a clear picture of the intrigues and betrayal of royal chamber in the king' court of Europe. We can appriciate that little has change in our circle of Government. On the other side the book focus on a great love story of high magnitude. Excellent reading. A must read.

I was very curious about "Juana the Mad" and was looking forward to reading that portion of this story. I wasn't as interesting in reading about the more contemporary seduction of the seventeen year old girl by her adult professor but I thought I would give the book a try anyway.

There were things that got in the way of my enjoyment and I didn't finish this book. The seduction part of the story would have been just fine if it weren't for the strange and disorganized way the story was told. I suspect, that in the translation from Spanish to English, some of the finer points of the writing may have been lost. The chronology wasn't at all fluid, it was very difficult for me to tell if the main character was referring to something that happened in the recent past or the distant past.

I thought the way the author had the main character Lucia describe her body was strange especially when she tells the reader about her belly button. This is after she has described the rest of her body:

'...my belly button was so deep and tiny that the only way I could clean it --- as part of my weekly ritual --- was by using a cotton swab that went almost halfway in before hitting the end. And for some inexplicable reason, whenever I did that, I felt a tickling sensation in my rectum.'

I do not consider myself to be "squeamish" in the least. I can read about nearly anything without being offended. And it wasn't that I was offended by these details. I just didn't feel like they were valuable to the story in anyway. They didn't serve to endear the main character to the reader and they certainly didn't do anything to move the story forward. I thought that they were strange and gave the story a weirdness to it that I didn't understand.

I thought the progression of events, specifically the manipulating actions of the professor were not believable. Things would have happened much more slowly in real life. And the whole premise of getting Lucia to imagine herself as Juana just didn't seem very well developed or realistic, it seemed rather forced, unrealistic and silly to me.

I was disappointed by all of these observations and I let this one go in favor of something that showed more promise in being a book I would actually enjoy. I would still like to read about "Juana the Mad" if anyone can recommend something else that would be great, Thanks.

This is an interesting piece of history of Juana the Mad, the 16th century Spanish royal, who, framed by this author, was not insane but a 21st-century-minded woman woefully misunderstood. Though the plot framing device was both rickety and predictable, this book needed an editor to expunge the many, many grammatical errors . One or two is understandable, but this book's errors just about Drove Me Mad!

The Scroll of Seduction is a very turbulent and haunting novel that tells the story of the Spanish Queen known as 'Juana the Mad' and her husband 'Philippe the Handsome'. I was as entranced with this part of the story. A secondary story in this book is about Lucia, a young orphan living in a boarding school in Madrid. Lucia meets a professor of History one day, who is obsessed with the story of Juana. He entices Lucia to don a gown as he tells her the story. This part of the book is too reminescent of Nabokov, and I found it a little eerie.

Gioconda Belli has an amazing ability to write poetic prose. The book, though, reads very slowly.

The problem lies with the present tense characters: Lucia, a 17 year old girl in a boarding school run by nuns is seduced by an older gentleman, Manuel, by transforming her prey into Juana the Mad, Daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand, of Spain, and wife of Phillipe of Flanders.

Their passion for each other is created as Manuel, with the excuse of teaching a history lesson, dresses Lucia in Queen Juana's dress and takes her back five centuries to Spain in the 1500's. Manuel plays the part of Juana's beloved husband, Phillipe, and easily seduces her.

The story is beautiful (especially Juana's story) but goes very slowly. There are also many licenses taken by the author: for instance Lucia gets a birth control lesson from a nun. And the freedom given to Lucia to run free in Madrid as a student in a convent. Both of these I found to be unlikely for any religious order.

Where as the Phillipe-Juana romance is worth reading and factual, the Manuel-Lucia story is not believable and is quite boring.

I was also disappointed by the ending.

I felt as though this book grabbed my attention and kept it throughout the whole novel, I couldn't put it down! The descriptions and imagery were incredible and at times I felt as though everything was happening right in front of me. I definitely recommend this book to anyone! Well done Ms. Dillman, great translation!

I've just left the pages of "The Scroll of Seduction" and find myself questioning history as we know it.... yet again. What author Gioconda Belli presents in this entertaining book about Juana, the supposed "Mad Queen of Castile," forces any modern day reader to acknowledge the abuse of power men have held over women throughout history and the many motives behind these male actions.

Queen Juana of Castile is shown here to be educated and compassionate. She's a caring mother as well as a loving wife and daughter seeking only happiness and prosperity for her family and country of birth, Spain. I believe it was because of her passionate and uncompromising love that she suffered so.

The story is tragic in that it spans a time when Spain is in need of strong leadership and allies to help retain its place as an established super power of the day. And as always, when there's power to be grasped there's political upheaval, bribery and treachery afoot.

The author writes in an easy to read and seductively poetic style. To find a known historical episode such as this, written into a fictional story without losing any of its appeal and wonder, is so rewarding. To those historians who found the dual story of Lucia and Manuel distracting I say look at all the possibilities uncovered and exposed by their participation in telling Juana's story. To know history through documentation is one thing, but to dust it off, to live it, taste it and relate it to our lives today makes it relevant. The Scroll of Seduction adds to the relevance of Queen Juana of Castile and the Madness of her times and ours.

5+ Stars