Isabella
The Warrior Queen
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Narrated by:
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Kimberly Farr
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By:
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Kirstin Downey
About this listen
An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Isabella of Castile, the controversial Queen of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history
Born at a time when Christianity was dying out and the Ottoman Empire was aggressively expanding, Isabella was inspired in her youth by tales of Joan of Arc, a devout young woman who unified her people and led them to victory against foreign invaders. In 1474, when most women were almost powerless, twenty-three-year-old Isabella defied a hostile brother and a mercurial husband to seize control of Castile and León. Her subsequent feats were legendary. She ended a twenty-four-generation struggle between Muslims and Christians, forcing North African invaders back over the Mediterranean Sea. She laid the foundation for a unified Spain. She sponsored Columbus's trip to the Indies and negotiated Spanish control over much of the New World with the help of Rodrigo Borgia, the infamous Pope Alexander VI. She also annihilated all who stood against her by establishing a bloody religious Inquisition that would darken Spain's reputation for centuries. Whether saintly or satanic, no female leader has done more to shape our modern world, in which millions of people in two hemispheres speak Spanish and practice Catholicism. Yet history has all but forgotten Isabella's influence, due to hundreds of years of misreporting that often attributed her accomplishments to Ferdinand, the bold and philandering husband she adored.
Using new scholarship, Downey's luminous biography tells the story of this brilliant, fervent, forgotten woman, the faith that propelled her through life, and the land of ancient conflicts and intrigue she brought under her command.
©2014 Kirsten Downey (P)2014 Random House AudioCritic reviews
A finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize!
Longlisted for the 2015 PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography!
A Kirkus Best Biography of 2014!
"A tale of feminist ambition that reads like a pulpy novel. (Don't be a snob—that's a good thing.)" —TIME
"[An] immensely provocative figure... [who] successfully maneuvered in an almost exclusively male world of politics." —Kathryn Harrison, The New York Times Book Review
"In a fascinating revisionist portrait, Downey sketches a monarch both adored and demonised, and makes the case that Isabella laid the foundation for the first global superpower." —BBC
What listeners say about Isabella
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- cath haye
- 02-12-16
Beginning of Spanish Empire
Excellent book. Enjoyed the detailed research and broad context given of the times in which it all happened.
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- JARS
- 10-07-19
Remarkable Research
Fascinating. Remarkable collation of primary Research from world wide collections of material. Chronological telling made the story easy to follow.
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- Dan Sands
- 11-04-20
Brilliant
Recommended for fans of historical biography - Isabella's life and the relevant events surrounding it are all covered. Narration was perfect from Kimberly Farr.
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- Jim
- 16-01-16
Wide Screen History
I got this as a double bill with Roger Crowley's Conquerers which covers the same period from aross the border in Portugal. Both are great books. The joy of this lies partly in how little I knew about Isabella who is kind of Spain's equivalent to Elizabeth the first. A woman who became Queen of Castille despite being no one's first choice and then went on to rule through a mixture of hard work, intelligence, common sense of people skills. In the debit column she established the inquisition. This is a gripping tale of how Isabella took Spain from an affiliation of kingdoms still partly occupied by the Moors to a global superpower through her cannily engineered marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon, diplomatic schmoozing with the papacy (including the Borgias) and funding of Columbus' discovery of America. As a sideline she set up the inquisition with Torquemada. With that cast of characters there's almost too much to work with but the author brings it together beautifully to offer a panoramic view of one of the most dynamic periods in history. Highly recommended; think about this and "Conquerers" as a double bill.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Barbara Herriott Connor
- 03-12-16
Excellent feminist view with fresh investigation
This work following my personal extensive reading on this subject from other writers has left me feeling very impressed by the approach taken and the conclusions drawn - albeit there are anomalies and possible errors in details overall I believe many new insights having been raised in this work which require further investigation and verification by others to consolidate the new facts that have come to light as a result of the personal investigations carried out by the author and which would prove beneficial to the history of women and which which men ( like Fernando)would subsume for their own glory
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- Matthew
- 09-05-15
A great listen
Where does Isabella: The Warrior Queen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This has to be among the best I have listened to. Well written and narrated history of one of Spain's greatest monarchs
What did you like best about this story?
Surprised how much there was to learn
Which character – as performed by Kimberly Farr – was your favourite?
All of them
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes
Any additional comments?
Highly recommend
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3 people found this helpful
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- lady-yeah
- 22-08-15
Listened to it twice!
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. What a Queen! Amazing accomplishments, learned so much more about her. Such a shame the Spanish Inquisition blighted her reputation.
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2 people found this helpful
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- dale_mcewan
- 29-06-15
Magnificent story of a truly remarkable woman
I have rarely enjoyed a story this much especially as the author has presented a great story full of little known facts without ever becoming dry and overzealous about unnecessary details. Love the narrator who speaks clearly and with the right amount of expression in her voice.
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1 person found this helpful