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Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe
by Sarah Gristwood
Published: 2016-11-29
Hardcover : 384 pages
Hardcover : 384 pages
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Sixteenth-century Europe saw an explosion of female rule?whether they were on the throne or behind the scenes, women held unprecedented power for more than a hundred years. From Isabella of Castile, her daughter Katherine of Aragon, and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de ...
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Introduction
Sixteenth-century Europe saw an explosion of female rule?whether they were on the throne or behind the scenes, women held unprecedented power for more than a hundred years. From Isabella of Castile, her daughter Katherine of Aragon, and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth Tudor, these women wielded enormous power over their territories, shaping the course of European history for over a century.
Isabella of Castile, armor-clad, followed her soldiers onto the battlefield. Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy, two queen regents, put an end to years of war with their ?Ladies' Peace.” Anne Boleyn was raised in Margaret of Austria's court, surrounded by powerful women; her daughter, Elizabeth Tudor, grew up to be one of the most famous queens in history. Across boundaries and generations, these royal women were mothers and daughters, mentors and protégées, allies and enemies. For the first time, Europe saw a sisterhood of women who exercised their authority in uniquely feminine ways and would not be equaled until modern times.
At once a fascinating group biography and a thrilling political epic, Game of Queens explores the lives of some of the most beloved (and reviled) queens in history. From the rise of this age of queens to its eventual collapse, one thing was certain: Europe would never be the same.
Isabella of Castile, armor-clad, followed her soldiers onto the battlefield. Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy, two queen regents, put an end to years of war with their ?Ladies' Peace.” Anne Boleyn was raised in Margaret of Austria's court, surrounded by powerful women; her daughter, Elizabeth Tudor, grew up to be one of the most famous queens in history. Across boundaries and generations, these royal women were mothers and daughters, mentors and protégées, allies and enemies. For the first time, Europe saw a sisterhood of women who exercised their authority in uniquely feminine ways and would not be equaled until modern times.
At once a fascinating group biography and a thrilling political epic, Game of Queens explores the lives of some of the most beloved (and reviled) queens in history. From the rise of this age of queens to its eventual collapse, one thing was certain: Europe would never be the same.
Editorial Review
An Amazon Best Book of December 2016: When chess was first played, all the human figures were male. Only around the eight century did the Queen appear and not until the sixteenth century did the Queen become the most powerful piece in chess. Credit for this development is given to Isabella of Spain, the “warrior queen,” herself a skillful and enthusiastic chess player. Coincidentally, from Isabella’s accession to the throne in 1474 through the next hundred years, an Age of Queens flourished to a degree not seen before or since, with women on the thrones of many European countries. Both the influence of chess and Isabella of Spain feature heavily in Game of Queens. Though few of the female regents met one another, the passage of power and influence (including strategic chess plays) flowed from mothers to daughters and from mentors to protegees, across borders and across generations. The stories of some of the greatest (and hated) queens are told here (in an amusing author’s note, Gristwood points out that in a story with sixteen protagonists, eight of them are named either Mary or Margaret and she absolves herself of responsibility for any confusion that may result). Against a backdrop of religious reformations and the innovations of the new age, Gristwood deftly shows how the explosion of female rule came about, the machinations and power plays behind the thrones, and how the Age of Queens ultimately played out; unsurprisingly, fidelity and fertility were used to create scandals that threatened to topple each Queen. From Isabella of Castile and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth Tudor, what could be a dry examination of policy and power becomes, in Gristwood’s hands, a lively, accessible, occasionally hilarious, absorbing account of an astonishing era. --Vannessa Cronin, The Amazon Book ReviewDiscussion Questions
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