Poetry of Reading

Synopsis:

So begins Isabella’s story, in this evocative, vividly imagined novel about one of history’s most famous and controversial queens—the warrior who united a fractured country, the champion of the faith whose reign gave rise to the Inquisition, and the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a New World. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner envisages the turbulent early years of a woman whose mythic rise to power would go on to transform a monarchy, a nation, and the world.

Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragon.

As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.

From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and the intrigue-laden gardens of Seville, The Queen’s Vow sweeps us into the tumultuous forging of a nation and the complex, fascinating heart of the woman who overcame all odds to become Isabella of Castile. 

My Review:

“The world is only as small as we see it, my lady. Imagination knows no limits.”

Queen Isabella is a fascinating sovereign queen of Spain in her own right. She is famous in history for sponsoring Christopher Columbus’s expeditions to America, but she was also known for uniting a divided Spanish kingdom. She is often criticized for starting the Spanish Inquisition and for her violent crusade in driving the Muslims out of Granada. So was she a saint or a villain? The Queen’s Vow lets Isabella tell her own story and what we find is a woman of faith, love and an endless devotion who wanted to ensure that her beloved Castile thrived in the ever-expanding world around them.

Gortner’s biographical novel is told in the first person by Queen Isabella herself. The author portrays the Spanish queen as both a human woman that is plagued by her inner conscience and her unrelenting faith. Gortner shows the motivations behind those actions that were criticized, starting from her early beginnings as an impoverished princess of Castile. Queen Isabella is a woman that is driven by her faith in God. Her early life as a princess is difficult, a path filled with danger at every turn.

Synopsis:

The truth is, none of us are innocent. We all have sins to confess.

So reveals Catherine de Medici in this brilliantly imagined novel about one of history’s most powerful and controversial women. To some she was the ruthless queen who led France into an era of savage violence. To others she was the passionate savior of the French monarchy. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter into the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power.

The last legitimate descendant of the illustrious Medici line, Catherine suffers the expulsion of her family from her native Florence and narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enraged mob. While still a teenager, she is betrothed to Henri, son of François I of France, and sent from Italy to an unfamiliar realm where she is overshadowed and humiliated by her husband’s lifelong mistress. Ever resilient, Catherine strives to create a role for herself through her patronage of the famous clairvoyant Nostradamus and her own innate gift as a seer. But in her fortieth year, Catherine is widowed, left alone with six young children as regent of a kingdom torn apart by religious discord and the ambitions of a treacherous nobility.

Relying on her tenacity, wit, and uncanny gift for compromise, Catherine seizes power, intent on securing the throne for her sons. She allies herself with the enigmatic Protestant leader Coligny, with whom she shares an intimate secret, and implacably carves a path toward peace, unaware that her own dark fate looms before her—a fate that, if she is to save France, will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and the passion of her embattled heart.

From the fairy-tale châteaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.

My Review:

''I have been called murderess and opportunist, savior and victim. And along the way, become far more than was ever expected of me, even if loneliness was always present, like a faithful hound at my heels. The truth is, not one of us is innocent. We all have sins to confess."

A wonderful combination of historical fact and fiction. The story is a well written and refreshing look into the life of the woman named the Serpent Queen, the woman who poisoned her enemies, associated with witchcraft, and used her royal children as pawns on her chessboard, setting her country on a path of bloody religious war. C.W. Gortner, however, has never been one to accept historical stereotypes, and this novel proves to be no exception to his quest to reveal the human side of history’s most misunderstood queen

Catherine was the last legitimate heir of the Medicis, she was raised to be a political pawn. Forced by politics to marry for Italy and not for love, Catherine de Medici is sent abroad to marry Henri, the second son of King Francis I of France. She had never presumed that she might one day become the queen; Henri as a younger brother was never destined to rule, but tragedy strikes and Henri found himself stepping into the shoes of a King, therefore making Catherine his Queen. Queen of France was her new title, but Catherine found out she would never be Queen of Henri’s heart. His mistress Diane de Poitiers already occupied that position, she controls most everything in Henri’s life including how much time he spends with his wife and even took over the care and control of Catherine’s children. Catherine learns quickly that the French court is full of danger, her husband’s affections given to another, the judgment of the French people harsh.

Following her husband's death, Catherine was thrust into a fight to secure her sons' inheritance that would consume the remaining thirty years of her life. When she became Queen Mother, France was in a religious turmoil that threw the country into war - "Protestant problem" in which many people were starving and many were killed. Catherine makes critical errors in judgment, underestimating rivals and the resentments of her own children.

What I loved about this novel was how real Catherine de Medici is portrayed, as neither victim nor heroine but as a woman with a capacity for compassion and understanding, a woman who would do anything for France and keeping her sons on the throne. For all she did, she had a good reason and was the unfortunate victim of circumstance.

Synopsis:

Born into rural poverty, Gabrielle Chanel and her siblings are sent to orphanage after their mother’s death. The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.

Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny.

Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her.

My Review:

“Simplicity,” I said, “is true elegance. A woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed. Her clothing should be seen only after she herself is.”

I absolutely love C.W. Gortner and was so excited to read his novel about Coco Chanel. I have always been intrigued with Chanel and now know so much more about her story. Carefully moving through the facts of the life of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Gortner creates scene after scene of compelling drama to reveal a complex woman.

Coco starts as Gabrielle, the daughter of a poor man who eventually leaves the family to struggle on their own. When her mother dies, Coco and her sisters end up at a local convent where they are raised in security and taught a skill, with the aim of being able to support themselves. Gabrielle turned her despair and loneliness into application and effort when she learned the sewing at the convent and where the sisters helped turn her passion into a successful work venture.

At the age of 18 Chanel was sent to live at the boarding school in Moulins. While in Moulins she both pursued sewing and stage performing, which is when she became “Coco” and met the ex-military officer, aristocrat Etienne Balsan, and where she became his mistress. In this relationship, Coco realizes that her freedom as a woman would come from making her own money. That her fate was to put her entire being into her work.

So seeking and yearning for love followed by rejection seems to be a pattern that Gabrielle will follow until she meets the true love of her life Arthur “Boy” Capel, one of Balsan’s friends. A relationship that is cherished because it comes to respect and treatment as an equal, competent professional woman. It also proved to be one of business, which made Chanel’s talent together with Capel’s wealth to open her first boutique. She was genuinely in love with him, so when he passed away she immortalized their relationship with her logo of interlocking Capel and Chanel. In most novel's Coco was seemed like she used people, but here it wasn't the fact. So I was glad for it.

Cocoa often stated that women should dress elegantly, simply, with some low-keyed jewelry or scarf accessories. These were memorialized in the Chanel black suit, the simple black dress, and the famous Chanel No. 5 perfume (which is still the most iconic perfume on the market). It was fascinating watching her business sense and her reactions and relationships with others regarding her business.

I really enjoyed this historical novel written in the first person. It is well researched about the humble beginnings of Coco Chanel and her rise in the fashion world. She was a unique and courageous woman in a time when only the privileged were permitted opportunity and respect. A great story of a very interesting woman, whose legacy still lives on, from her signature fragrance to her little black dress and beyond.