
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
Beginning of Spanish Empire
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Remarkable Research
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Brilliant
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Wide Screen History
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Excellent feminist view with fresh investigation
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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 monarchsWhat did you like best about this story?
Surprised how much there was to learnWhich character – as performed by Kimberly Farr – was your favourite?
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Highly recommendA great listen
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Listened to it twice!
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Magnificent story of a truly remarkable woman
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