Sister queens

This book covers a tumultuous period of history. It gives a great overview of all that was going on in royal families in these years and it is a lot! Of course there is a focus on Katherine and Juana. We get a generous view of both women, which hasn't happened in most of the historical record.

Having studied quite a bit of Spanish history during my university days, I can't believe I never realized that Katherine of Aragon was Spanish. So this wonderful book corrected that issue nicely. I had studied Juana briefly and certainly knew her as Juana la Loca. That has been corrected as well. When most people think about this time in history, they think only of the Spanish Inquisition. However there was much more going on than just that. This book elucidates all that was going on in Spain and many other parts of Europe.

Many of us know about Henry VIII and his various marriages and ending there of. These facts about his life have always made me think him unbalanced. However in the reading this book, I have come to the realization that Henry VIII was vicious. Again this book has corrected what I thought I knew. I also had respected for Elizabeth I, but this view was also tempered.

People are complicated and royalty is no different. However their drive for power creates some horrifically bad decisions. I guess that is a story that has been repeated through many royal houses. This book is fascinating, maddening, tragic, and educational.