Isabella of Spain

"Perhaps History's Greatest Queen"

William Thomas Walsh’s Isabella of Spain follows the queen from her poor childhood at Arévalo, through the civil war that gave her the throne of Castile, to the fall of Granada in 1492 and the voyage that opened the New World. Drawing on the chronicles of her day and her own letters, Walsh tells it as a crusade against a rotting court, a rival claimant, and an enemy that had held Spain for nearly eight centuries. Since 1930, it has been the biography traditional Catholics have used as the source for Isabella's life. This Stabat Mater Press edition is newly typeset, with updated illustrations, and a glossary of Spanish and period terms.

LAUDS AND APPROBATIONS

“Remarkable and dramatic pageant of the career of Isabella the Catholic, perhaps history's greatest Queen. From long-forgotten sources and records of eyewitnesses unfolds a breathless and unforgettable story of Spain, of Columbus, the Church, and the Inquisition.”
The Commonweal Newspaper (1931)

“All of the biographies in English have been superseded by this study. In searching the contemporary chroniclers for the picture of his Isabella, Mr. Walsh has wisely decided to set her against her own background of events and ideas, and with felicitous touches of description and interpretation, paints a portrait that will stand as authoritative for some time.”
Marie R. Madden, Professor of Spanish History and Political Theory at Fordham University (1931)

“Isabella of Spain is an ideal character for a romantic biography; and Mr. Walsh has performed this task, on the whole, remarkably.” The Contemporary Review (1931)

“This biography of Isabella is a lively picture of fifteenth-century Spain, and of the indomitable woman who ruled her country with energy and discretion.” The Booklist Books (1931)

“A lively picture of fifteenth-century Spain and of that indomitable woman, Isabella of Castile, the ablest ruler Spain has ever had. A constructive genius as well as a fighter, she rescued Castile from anarchy, conquered Granada, the last foothold of the Moors in Spain, and administered the affairs of the kingdom…” The Open Shelf (1930)

“...he has done a scholarly and at the same time fascinatingly interesting piece of work, which I commend to everyone interested in Spain.” Clara E. Laughlin, So, You’re Going to Spain! (1931)

“William Thomas Walsh is a novelist and a foremost American historian. His Isabella of Spain proves this assertion.” The Wisconsin Catholic Club (1932)