The spanish bridegroom [Hardcover]

Jean Plaidy (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: GP Putnam (1969)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002TCV678
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME BOOK!, February 14, 2004

By 

"swedishqueen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spanish Bridegroom (Hardcover)

This book rocked! It was my fourth book that I read by Jean Plaidy, and it was the one that made me fall in love with her books and make her my favourite author.

Philip was a small fair boy and was raised to be a serious Catholic. When he was a teenager, he married Maria Manuel from Portugal. She was very pretty with her dark hair and dark eyes. Philip was in love, but he didn't want to tell her because he had his whole life to anyways. After an encounter with his grandmother, Juana the Mad, Maria is with chid and to Spain's happiness it is a son, Don Carlos. To Philip's greif, Maria dies too. Philip got upset because he never got to tell her how much he loved her.

After years of widowhood, Philip marries for state reasons. He married Mary Tudor (read In The Shadow of The Crown by Jean Plaidy). Don Carlos was a little screwed up in the head and Philip knew that he would not be a good ruler. So, he figures if he marries Mary and gets a new heir for his empire and add gets England for his son.

He meets Mary and is not too charmed by her. She was old, but she had been a beauty in her youth. He treated her kindly and Mary was thrilled. She had been neglected and hardly loved since her mother's death and was thrilled that this handsome young man was treating her kindly. This was a man who would help her country come back to Rome (it was a Protestant country ever since the reign of her father, King Henry VIII). But Philip does treat her well and she is very happy. (If you type in Philip II into google and go to images, you will see that Philip is even handsome by today's standards.)

But after living with Mary, he is not crowned king of England. The people hate him. But Philip does like Mary's half sister, Elizabeth. He considers marrying her if Mary were to die. Philip didn't even love her as a husband should love a wife. He sort of thought of her as a painful old aunt. He leaves and promises to be back in a few months. But he doesn't come back until he needs help from England in a war against France.

Mary dies later. She was very unhappy and wanted Philip there. She really did love him. Poor Mary.

AFter that, Philip asks for Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth I (Queen of this Realm by Jean Plaidy and Gay Lord Robert by Jean Plaidy)to marry him. She dallies with the proposal. She did have many to choose from. Since he didn't get any real answer, Philip marries a French Princess, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was originally intended for Don Carlos, but Philip married her himself. But Don Carlos was already half in love with her himself. He saw her minature and was in love with the idea of marrying her. He would even stop killing animals for her. Don Carlos was furious when Philip married her. He already hated Philip enough.

Elizabeth, now Isabella, just wanted to stay in France. But it was her duty to go to Spain and be Queen. In Spain, her husband was cold to her and hardly smiled. Sometimes in private he would treat her tenderly though. Her step-son was a comfort. He spoke French to her and made her feel not so alone. After a few years of marriage to Philip, she only has princesses. Philip was sure that she would eventually give him a son.

But, Philip finds himself in love with her. He never wanted to love anyone else since his first wife. Isabella was pregnant and he was planning on telling her his feelings towards her. Unfortunately, she dies in childbirth, her daughter with her.

This book is awesome and I think that you should read it. I loved it and it is one of my favourite Jean Plaidy books. You should also read the books that I put in there too. It is interesting to see what the different people are thinking over the same situations. Also, I recommend the Isabella and Ferdinand series if you liked The Spanish Bridegroom. The first book is called Castile for Isabella, 2nd is Spain for the Sovereigns and 3rd is Daughters of Spain. They are awesome too.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent historical account, December 22, 2000

By 

vicky (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spanish Bridegroom (Hardcover)

This book was much more fascinating than I thought it would be. The authors thoroughly researched their history and presented a view into the mind and emotions of Phillip II and the other characters which is fascinating. His family history is very interesting. It includes mental illness, psychopathy, and tragic romance. The characters' personalities and emotional functioning come to life in this analysis of the reasons behind their behaviors. It builds to a climactic end. I enjoyed this book very much.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating character study, October 18, 2005

By 

Lavanya R - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spanish Bridegroom (Hardcover)

This book helped along the fascination I have for that period. Jean Plaidy in her characteristic style brings out all the influences on Philip's life. His strict spanish upbringing warring with his deeper sensual nature. The book is divided into 3 parts, dedicated to 3 different phases of his life as well as 3 different women that he was married to. The impression I got is this: That JP started with an extreme close up view of Philip when he was young and gradually distanced the view by including more characters into the story. One of those books that brings out the shades of grey - in historical characters - only to well. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the tie ins between English and Spanish histories.