Sara W's Reviews > The Last Queen
The Last Queen
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I gave this book two stars because I personally only thought it was okay, but I can see why other people would like it. This book reenforced my belief that I do not really enjoy reading fiction. I like history, and I like to learn, so I enjoy historical fiction that sticks close to the facts and close to what a majority of historians would agree happened - pretty much non-fiction with dialogue. I do not enjoy historical fiction that sensationalizes history by making things up or that takes a small minority's view of what possibility might have happened. I do not like historical fiction that keeps me wondering what is true and what is false.
This book, about Juana La Loca (or Juana the Mad, Crazy, Insane - whatever you like), took the position that she was not really mentally ill after all. I find this very hard to believe. Her grandmother was mentally ill, and Juana had multiple descendents who were mentally ill. There was so much inbreeding within the royal houses of Europe (in order to keep the bloodlines "pure") that it's not surprising that mental illnesses and physical ailments developed. I was expecting a book that took a compassionate view of a woman's descent into madness, and instead it completely ignored it and pretended it didn't happen. I had looked forward to reading this book since about January, and I was very disappointed with it.
This book, about Juana La Loca (or Juana the Mad, Crazy, Insane - whatever you like), took the position that she was not really mentally ill after all. I find this very hard to believe. Her grandmother was mentally ill, and Juana had multiple descendents who were mentally ill. There was so much inbreeding within the royal houses of Europe (in order to keep the bloodlines "pure") that it's not surprising that mental illnesses and physical ailments developed. I was expecting a book that took a compassionate view of a woman's descent into madness, and instead it completely ignored it and pretended it didn't happen. I had looked forward to reading this book since about January, and I was very disappointed with it.
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Reading Progress
February 9, 2008
– Shelved
August 6, 2008
– Shelved as:
fiction
August 6, 2008
– Shelved as:
read-w-book-club
August 9, 2008
– Shelved as:
i-own-on-kindle
Started Reading
August 20, 2008
–
Finished Reading
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Sera
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Aug 21, 2008 09:35AM
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Thank you, again!
after reading the book, and your review, I did some research, both on the internet (juried articles) and in the Library history section. I found that there was a strong disagreement between historians on the subject of her mental illness. I am looking forward to reading your suggested Jean Plaidy books. Thank you for taking the time to review.
Thanks for your comment! I've been lazy about reviewing lately, so knowing that people actually read them is a good incentive to start back up.
I really love Plaidy (I own and have read most of her books) because she tends to be very historically accurate (well, based on the research at the time she wrote the book). Some people find Plaidy a tad dry compared to books written recently though.