A review by mamalemma
The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile by C.W. Gortner

5.0

Gortner is masterful at painting the lives of historic queens, rich in imagery, place and intrigue. Gortner’s Queen Isabella of Spain was a bad ass feminist, who co-ruled ancient Spain with her beloved Fernando (in English, Ferdinand, they of the Christopher Columbus patronage). While historical fiction, the story is based on truth, and I had not realized that Queen Isabella had such deep ties to Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition. While completely speculative, I really liked how Gortner made Queen Isabella sympathetic to the Jews (though she clearly had no love lost for the Islamic Moors!) and had her questioning the moral correctness of expelling the Jews from Spain, all while deeply believing in the superiority of her Catholic faith and that she was saving her Jewish people from eternal damnation. The perspective made her deeply human and conflicted, and added veracity to the story. All in all, a terrific read.