Non-fiction review: The Sister Queens by Julia Fox

• Genre: Biography
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Release Date: January 31, 2012
• Series: (none)
• Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: The history books have cast Katherine of Aragon, the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, as the ultimate symbol of the Betrayed Woman, cruelly tossed aside in favor of her husband’s seductive mistress, Anne Boleyn. Katherine’s sister, Juana of Castile, wife of Philip of Burgundy and mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, is portrayed as “Juana the Mad,” whose erratic behavior included keeping her beloved late husband’s coffin beside her for years. But historian Julia Fox, whose previous work painted an unprecedented portrait of Jane Boleyn, Anne’s sister, offers deeper insight in this first dual biography of Katherine and Juana, the daughters of Spain’s Ferdinand and Isabella, whose family ties remained strong despite their separation. Looking through the lens of their Spanish origins, Fox reveals these queens as flesh-and-blood women—equipped with character, intelligence, and conviction—who are worthy historical figures in their own right.

When they were young, Juana’s and Katherine’s futures appeared promising. They had secured politically advantageous marriages, but their dreams of love and power quickly dissolved, and the unions for which they’d spent their whole lives preparing were fraught with duplicity and betrayal. Juana, the elder sister, unexpectedly became Spain’s sovereign, but her authority was continually usurped, first by her husband and later by her son. Katherine, a young widow after the death of Prince Arthur of Wales, soon remarried his doting brother Henry and later became a key figure in a drama that altered England’s religious landscape.

Ousted from the positions of power and influence they had been groomed for and separated from their children, Katherine and Juana each turned to their rich and abiding faith and deep personal belief in their family’s dynastic legacy to cope with their enduring hardships. Sister Queens is a gripping tale of love, duty, and sacrifice—a remarkable reflection on the conflict between ambition and loyalty during an age when the greatest sin, it seems, was to have been born a woman.


Review:

I'm not much of one for biographies, despite the volume of European historical fiction that I enjoy reading. This is usually because every non-fiction novel I have ever attempted to read has been incredibly dull, overly complex and, most importantly, incredibly scholarly, but not readable at all. This brings me to Julia Fox's latest offering, Sister Queens, which I originally ordered thinking that it was a fiction novel. It wasn't until I received the book, that I realized I had made a mistake. However, I decided to give it a try anyway, and I was incredibly surprised.

Sister Queens tells the stories of Katherine of Aragon and her sister Juana of Castile, daughters of the famous Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain wrapped into tales of the entire families and the larger issues taking place in Europe at the time. Young Katherine and Juana are brought up with the greatest of schooling and the greatest of ambitions. Through careful negotiations, when the sisters were old enough, each was sent off to marry -and build politically advantageous unions. Katherine was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur, while Juana was sent to Burgundy to marry Duke Philip.

Though Katherine of Aragon's life has been well-explored, much of the focus on her was later in her reign, when Henry broke with the Catholic Church, divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn. Through this lens, Katherine was always depicted as the wronged, strong-willed first wife of Henry VIII, but here, Julia Fox paints a detailed portrait of Katherine's young years, struggling with the sudden death of Arthur, the painfully drawn-out negotiations that eventually led to her marriage to Henry, and years as a powerful political figure, confident and beloved Queen -even though she never gave birth to a living son. Fox offers readers a glimpse into the life of a strong, intelligent and real woman who was more advanced than most women of her time.

Katherine's story is intertwined seamlessly with that of her older sister, Juana. Juana's story has been less-explored than that of Katherine, and she has been frequently portrayed as "Juana the Mad," a mentally unstable queen who spent much of her life imprisoned. Here, Fox sheds some light into Juana's younger years in Burgundy, and the complex politics that led to her unexpected position as the Queen of Castile, the most powerful kingdom in Spain. And, sadly, how her gender became her downfall. Juana's tale is a tragic, yet strangely compelling one that, in many ways, captivated me more than Katherine's tale. She was wronged by so many men in her life -her husband, her own father and even her own son, all labeling her as deranged and insane so they could take power in her place, though Fox (and many other historians) believe that the charges of insanity were fabricated.

Fox does an exquisite job of balancing scholarly discussion and accurate information with compelling readability that made this biography whiz by without even a hint of boredom. I read this book in just two days, and loved every education moment of it. Fox offers just enough well-researched detail to bring the period to life without bogging down the story with too much information (which tends to be an issue in much of the non-fiction I've attempted). Sister Queens has made me a believer in non-fiction.