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Crown of Aloes
Presented as a personal chronicle, this novel about Queen Isabella of Spain is based on known fact and detail. Isabella's fortunes were very varied: she knew acute poverty, and faced anxiety and danger
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Norah Lofts
107 books310 followersNorah Ethel Robinson Lofts Jorisch (27 August 1904–10 September 1983) was a 20th century best-selling British author. She wrote over fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she also wrote non-fiction and short stories. Many of her novels, including her Suffolk Trilogy, follow the history of a specific house and the residents that lived in it.
Lofts was born in Shipdham, Norfolk in England. She also published using the pseudonyms Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis. Norah Lofts chose to release her murder-mystery novels under the pen name Peter Curtis because she did not want the readers of her historic fiction to pick up a murder-mystery novel and expect classic Norah Lofts historical fiction. However, the murders still show characteristic Norah Lofts elements. Most of her historical novels fall into two general categories: biographical novels about queens, among them Anne Boleyn, Isabella of Castile, and Catherine of Aragon; and novels set in East Anglia centered around the fictitious town of Baildon (patterned largely on Bury St. Edmunds). Her creation of this fictitious area of England is reminiscent of Thomas Hardy's creation of "Wessex"; and her use of recurring characters such that the protagonist of one novel appears as a secondary character in others is even more reminiscent of William Faulkner's work set in "Yoknapatawpha County," Mississippi. Norah Lofts' work set in East Anglia in the 1930s and 1940s shows great concern with the very poor in society and their inability to change their conditions. Her approach suggests an interest in the social reformism that became a feature of British post-war society.
Several of her novels were turned into films. Jassy was filmed as Jassy (1947) starring Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price. You're Best Alone was filmed as Guilt is My Shadow (1950). The Devil's Own (also known as The Little Wax Doll and Catch As Catch Can) was filmed as The Witches (1966). The film 7 Women was directed by John Ford and based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts.
Lofts was born in Shipdham, Norfolk in England. She also published using the pseudonyms Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis. Norah Lofts chose to release her murder-mystery novels under the pen name Peter Curtis because she did not want the readers of her historic fiction to pick up a murder-mystery novel and expect classic Norah Lofts historical fiction. However, the murders still show characteristic Norah Lofts elements. Most of her historical novels fall into two general categories: biographical novels about queens, among them Anne Boleyn, Isabella of Castile, and Catherine of Aragon; and novels set in East Anglia centered around the fictitious town of Baildon (patterned largely on Bury St. Edmunds). Her creation of this fictitious area of England is reminiscent of Thomas Hardy's creation of "Wessex"; and her use of recurring characters such that the protagonist of one novel appears as a secondary character in others is even more reminiscent of William Faulkner's work set in "Yoknapatawpha County," Mississippi. Norah Lofts' work set in East Anglia in the 1930s and 1940s shows great concern with the very poor in society and their inability to change their conditions. Her approach suggests an interest in the social reformism that became a feature of British post-war society.
Several of her novels were turned into films. Jassy was filmed as Jassy (1947) starring Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price. You're Best Alone was filmed as Guilt is My Shadow (1950). The Devil's Own (also known as The Little Wax Doll and Catch As Catch Can) was filmed as The Witches (1966). The film 7 Women was directed by John Ford and based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 19, 2016
Veteran historical novelist Lofts here turns her hand to retelling the life story of Queen Isabella of Castile (ca. 1451-1504), in a novel cast as the first-person narration of the dying queen as she looks back on her life --and it was, in real-life, one filled with the kind of drama that can easily make the stuff of exciting fiction. Born to a king's second wife, she was only third in line for the throne, behind a half brother and a younger brother, and spent her formative years in virtual exile. The family dynamics were spectacularly dysfunctional; the succession to the throne was disputed in a long civil war, her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon was not sanctioned by her half brother, and much of her early reign was taken up by wars and civil unrest, in which she had her share of danger. Her married life wasn't always smooth sailing, and the relationships in the family they produced could easily have been compared to those dramatized in modern-day soap operas. All of the facts of the story are real, and exhaustively researched from documented history (the Author's Note credits Frieda Lund with the actual research, which included not only secondary sources but three Spanish-language primary accounts, by Isabella's personal secretary and other household officials). Loft's own contribution is the reconstruction of unrecorded private conversations and scenes, and the attribution of inner thoughts and motives; but even here, the speculation is plausibly extrapolated from fact, and the view of the Queen and other characters is consistent with the way they were regarded by their contemporaries. (The narrative voice is so deft that the reader tends to slip into the assumption that it actually IS Isabella's, rather than the author's.)
Though I'm a history major, I'm an American reader with no particular knowledge of Spanish history; most of this story was new to me, and I learned more about the history of the period than I ever did in my college classes. Going into the book, I had a rather unfavorable impression of Isabella as a bigoted Catholic zealot who was responsible for the particular savagery of the Spanish Inquisition and for expelling the Jews and Moslems from Spain. Based on her knowledge of the available facts, Lofts makes a very plausible case that the real principal responsibility for these outrages rests with others, particularly Father Torquemada who served as the queen's confessor before he was put in charge of the Inquisition (just as other writers have convincingly argued that the real architect of the religious persecutions under her unfairly-nicknamed granddaughter "Bloody" Mary was the latter's Lord Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner). Isabella's faith comes across here as very constructive and genuine (and like any other believer's, severely tried in the crucible by her own experience of family tragedy). Overall, my regard and respect for her has increased enormously, in light of her documented consideration for others, efforts to improve the lot of the weak and unfortunate, and demonstrated striving to rule wisely and justly. Personally, I'd now rank her as one of the best of Europe's medieval monarchs.
American readers' principal impression of Isabella is usually her association with the first voyage of Christopher Columbus, which is invariably depicted as being preceded by intense debate in the royal court (usually fictitiously pictured as between benighted medieval louts who insisted the world is flat vs. the genius Columbus, who alone realized that it's round), with the balance dramatically tilted by Isabella's famous offer to pawn her jewels to finance the voyage. IF there was any debate, it would not have been over the roundness of the earth, which all educated people had recognized since antiquity; it would have been over the SIZE of the earth, which was also known since antiquity, but which Columbus stubbornly insisted was only about half what it actually is. (Wooden ships can't carry enough water to sustain a crew long enough to sail by wind power in a straight line from Spain to Asia; the crew would die of thirst about halfway over!) But in Lofts' portrayal --which, be it noted, is based on the actual historical records-- there's no indication of any serious debate at all, except over the question of whether or not Spain could afford the three ships. (And there's no mention of the offer to pawn the jewels, which suggests that this tale is probably about as "historical" as the anecdote about Washington and the cherry tree!)
All in all, this is another excellent piece of historical fiction from an able artist in the genre. I've sometimes said that I don't like historical fiction about real people as much as I do fiction about invented characters set in the past. Or perhaps I just think that's the case. But in any event, this novel was an exception to that dictum, and I highly recommend it to genre fans.
Though I'm a history major, I'm an American reader with no particular knowledge of Spanish history; most of this story was new to me, and I learned more about the history of the period than I ever did in my college classes. Going into the book, I had a rather unfavorable impression of Isabella as a bigoted Catholic zealot who was responsible for the particular savagery of the Spanish Inquisition and for expelling the Jews and Moslems from Spain. Based on her knowledge of the available facts, Lofts makes a very plausible case that the real principal responsibility for these outrages rests with others, particularly Father Torquemada who served as the queen's confessor before he was put in charge of the Inquisition (just as other writers have convincingly argued that the real architect of the religious persecutions under her unfairly-nicknamed granddaughter "Bloody" Mary was the latter's Lord Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner). Isabella's faith comes across here as very constructive and genuine (and like any other believer's, severely tried in the crucible by her own experience of family tragedy). Overall, my regard and respect for her has increased enormously, in light of her documented consideration for others, efforts to improve the lot of the weak and unfortunate, and demonstrated striving to rule wisely and justly. Personally, I'd now rank her as one of the best of Europe's medieval monarchs.
American readers' principal impression of Isabella is usually her association with the first voyage of Christopher Columbus, which is invariably depicted as being preceded by intense debate in the royal court (usually fictitiously pictured as between benighted medieval louts who insisted the world is flat vs. the genius Columbus, who alone realized that it's round), with the balance dramatically tilted by Isabella's famous offer to pawn her jewels to finance the voyage. IF there was any debate, it would not have been over the roundness of the earth, which all educated people had recognized since antiquity; it would have been over the SIZE of the earth, which was also known since antiquity, but which Columbus stubbornly insisted was only about half what it actually is. (Wooden ships can't carry enough water to sustain a crew long enough to sail by wind power in a straight line from Spain to Asia; the crew would die of thirst about halfway over!) But in Lofts' portrayal --which, be it noted, is based on the actual historical records-- there's no indication of any serious debate at all, except over the question of whether or not Spain could afford the three ships. (And there's no mention of the offer to pawn the jewels, which suggests that this tale is probably about as "historical" as the anecdote about Washington and the cherry tree!)
All in all, this is another excellent piece of historical fiction from an able artist in the genre. I've sometimes said that I don't like historical fiction about real people as much as I do fiction about invented characters set in the past. Or perhaps I just think that's the case. But in any event, this novel was an exception to that dictum, and I highly recommend it to genre fans.
March 28, 2021
Even though this is a fictionalized autobiography, I still learned a lot about Queen Isabella and Spanish history that I didn't know. Really fascinating, but a bit depressing because her life was very difficult.
January 24, 2014
As with all of Lofts' books, written in her spare, graceful style. Isabella becomes not just the Catholic Queen, but a real person, and we get involved with her, even when we disparage her thinking.
February 12, 2012
This is a novel of Queen Isabella of Spain. It is based on fact and detail, presented as a personal chronicle of her life. Isabella's fortunes were varied: she knew poverty and faced much anxiety and danger. I loved this story - it was very touching at the end. I give this story an A+!
November 8, 2012
Norah Lofts is, or at least was, a famous writer. And this historical fiction on Queen Isabella of Spain is not her first or only historical fiction. After reading this, however, I do not intend to read any other of Lofts's books. The writing is often hard to follow: too many commas and semi-colons and disjointed thoughts that are clearly not meant to be disjointed. As a fan of commas and long sentences myself I feel that I have the right to judge.
One could argue that the book shouldn't necessarily be easy to follow because it is written in first-person, from Isaballa's perspective as she lies on her deathbed within reach of passing away. Essentially she is narrating to herself. More accurately, she is narrating to God, her Creator whom she is about to meet. In that sense, a person's thoughts cannot be held accountable for coherence or exposition: Isabella and God know of what she speaks. She need not explain who certain characters are to the reader because the "reader" should know who they are. Figuring out who characters are is such a minor inconvenience, though. And, again, perhaps clarity in sentence structure should not be demanded of first-person narration; but I am certain that Lofts intends Isabella to be as clear as possible, as if she were confessing. That she does not do and it seriously weighs down the quality of this book.
The great redeeming factor of this book is its historicity. Lofts brings her own interpretation to the work, as one can expect, but even if we can point to areas where we disagree with the interpretation we can still respect how much we can learn from the story. Here I don't mean "learn" as if we are in history class hoping to learn facts about the famous Queen of Spain. Facts we learn, yes, but more importantly we get an inside look into the characters of Isabella and Ferdinand and the pressures informing those characters. Isabella and Ferdinand's actions cannot be separated from who they are as persons and their family life, among other things, including the politics of the day. Indeed, this book is a great read for anyone quick to criticize leaders of any government or movement.
Despite this last paragraph, I cannot recommend this book. I do not not recommend it either. If you are looking specifically for an historical fiction on Isabella, I know of no others. And if you find this book lying around in your house, read it. Still, I am certain that as far as historical fictions go, you can do a lot better. If I were reviewing historical fictions in general, and not this book in particular, I would list a bunch right here.
One could argue that the book shouldn't necessarily be easy to follow because it is written in first-person, from Isaballa's perspective as she lies on her deathbed within reach of passing away. Essentially she is narrating to herself. More accurately, she is narrating to God, her Creator whom she is about to meet. In that sense, a person's thoughts cannot be held accountable for coherence or exposition: Isabella and God know of what she speaks. She need not explain who certain characters are to the reader because the "reader" should know who they are. Figuring out who characters are is such a minor inconvenience, though. And, again, perhaps clarity in sentence structure should not be demanded of first-person narration; but I am certain that Lofts intends Isabella to be as clear as possible, as if she were confessing. That she does not do and it seriously weighs down the quality of this book.
The great redeeming factor of this book is its historicity. Lofts brings her own interpretation to the work, as one can expect, but even if we can point to areas where we disagree with the interpretation we can still respect how much we can learn from the story. Here I don't mean "learn" as if we are in history class hoping to learn facts about the famous Queen of Spain. Facts we learn, yes, but more importantly we get an inside look into the characters of Isabella and Ferdinand and the pressures informing those characters. Isabella and Ferdinand's actions cannot be separated from who they are as persons and their family life, among other things, including the politics of the day. Indeed, this book is a great read for anyone quick to criticize leaders of any government or movement.
Despite this last paragraph, I cannot recommend this book. I do not not recommend it either. If you are looking specifically for an historical fiction on Isabella, I know of no others. And if you find this book lying around in your house, read it. Still, I am certain that as far as historical fictions go, you can do a lot better. If I were reviewing historical fictions in general, and not this book in particular, I would list a bunch right here.
December 24, 2016
I enjoyed this for the sheer fact that there aren't as many novels written on Isabella of Castile. That being said, this novel had no momentum outside of its general history. Isabella's struggle for the crown, the last leg of the Reconquista, the loss of her family are walked through but not emotionally engaged. Isabella is presented as a cardboard cut out; a historical character who lacks a heart and emotion. Yes, Lofts tries to give her emotion but it's half-assed and clunky. Lofts could have really engaged with all aspects of Isabella's story and made her human but she holds too closely to the textbook version of Isabella which strips all color from her story leaving only a bland, blurry monochromatic characterization.
The ending also pissed me off. It focuses heavily on Juana of Castile, then the Duchess of Burgundy and her mother's heir, and her deteriorating mental health. Juana is a controversial figure because it's dangerous to apply post-modern medical knowledge to historical instances, therefore leaving Juana's moniker "The Mad" difficult to untangle. That being said, as someone who has studied her, I personally don't think she was crazy. She definitely had a mood disturbance and could have had any number of mental illnesses we are aware of today. Yet, Lofts chooses to present Juana as not only mentally unstable but dangerous. The author emphasizes Juana's attacks on her ladies-in-waiting as being violent (e.g. the scissors attack) and backs this up with Juana killing a parrot brought from the West Indies (something created). Juana is not only dehumanized by the author, but the author has her parents, especially Isabella, dehumanize her as well. This may have been Lofts' way of explaining why Juana never truly ruled as Castile's regnant and laid the groundwork for Ferdinand, Philip, and later Charles's incarceration of Juana for fifty years.
That being said, this book was written in 1973. Juana was not studied as a historical actor and mental illness was not understood as it is now. Furthermore, female rule was equally understudied and often relied on caveats to justify such authority. In this case, Isabella was constantly checked by Ferdinand and in her will makes sure he and the other men around their daughter can check Juana as well.
In spite of its problems, I do recommend this book. Read this, and then find another, more recent novel on Isabella or even Juana or on the period of Spain's unification. See how historical research has altered how these characters are presented fictionally and how they can be historically accurate while also being humanized.
The ending also pissed me off. It focuses heavily on Juana of Castile, then the Duchess of Burgundy and her mother's heir, and her deteriorating mental health. Juana is a controversial figure because it's dangerous to apply post-modern medical knowledge to historical instances, therefore leaving Juana's moniker "The Mad" difficult to untangle. That being said, as someone who has studied her, I personally don't think she was crazy. She definitely had a mood disturbance and could have had any number of mental illnesses we are aware of today. Yet, Lofts chooses to present Juana as not only mentally unstable but dangerous. The author emphasizes Juana's attacks on her ladies-in-waiting as being violent (e.g. the scissors attack) and backs this up with Juana killing a parrot brought from the West Indies (something created). Juana is not only dehumanized by the author, but the author has her parents, especially Isabella, dehumanize her as well. This may have been Lofts' way of explaining why Juana never truly ruled as Castile's regnant and laid the groundwork for Ferdinand, Philip, and later Charles's incarceration of Juana for fifty years.
That being said, this book was written in 1973. Juana was not studied as a historical actor and mental illness was not understood as it is now. Furthermore, female rule was equally understudied and often relied on caveats to justify such authority. In this case, Isabella was constantly checked by Ferdinand and in her will makes sure he and the other men around their daughter can check Juana as well.
In spite of its problems, I do recommend this book. Read this, and then find another, more recent novel on Isabella or even Juana or on the period of Spain's unification. See how historical research has altered how these characters are presented fictionally and how they can be historically accurate while also being humanized.
June 2, 2020
Norah Lofts has an amazing ability to take stiff, stereotyped historical figures and make them three dimensional, relatable and entirely human.
Here she takes Queen Isabella - known primarily for Columbus and the Inquisition, and shows us her life from Isabella's own point of view from very young childhood to her deathbed, and Lofts suggests she may not have been the fanatic she's painted as. Your heart certainly breaks for her as she experiences so much pain and loss, on both a national and personal level.
Also, typical of a Norah Lofts book, the backgrounds and settings are all exquisitely detailed and described, transporting the reader right there, with all the necessary information slipped into the narrative without every feeling like an info dump, but also filling you in on all you could want to know on the people and events of the story. Lofts does her research, and that shows, as everything has a solid ring of confident truth to it, but she also does her writing, and that shows very much as well, as everything melds together here into one beautifully constructed narrative.
Highly recommended if you want to take a trip to late medieval Spain!
April 4, 2020
Norah Lofts was a master of historical fiction, and she wrote several novels about English queens. This one, focusing on Isabella I of Spain, fascinated me because of the way it detailed how the royal families intermarried and betrothed children from the cradle in the hopes of creating alliances that would prevent wars--obviously, often unsuccessfully. I found myself going to Wikipedia to fill in some of the blanks, because this is a novel, not a history. Isabella is treated sympathetically here, probably more than she deserved; after all, she allowed and encouraged the Inquisition. This book is not part of the Suffolk series, but I had just read the first book of that series, Knight's Acre, which takes place partly in Spain just a few years before this one opens, so it sort of set the scene. I enjoyed both books.
Want to Read
February 21, 2016Added 2/20/16. Recommended by Werner of my GR group.
See Werner's review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also see other editions for more GR reviews.
See Werner's review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also see other editions for more GR reviews.
April 7, 2016
Very well written and engaging! Norah Lofts does a fantastic job of bringing these historical figures to life, it was quite a lovely read. Highly recommended!
January 13, 2024
Amazon review (2010) titled: 'Isabella is the bomb'
Also picked this little gem up at sale or something but I am very glad I did. She did a nice job bringing a possible, even plausible version of Isabella out of the pages of history. The author's stated source material is essentially primary so I think she told the story with a decent effort at 'objectivity' (whatever that is in a novel, based on 500-year old data). The story is actually riveting and very welcome after seeing years and years of nothing but English monarchs depicted in this fashion (in this language anyway!). Isabella should be a heroine to modern feminists. She was incredibly influential at this crossroads of history as the book explains. Perhaps it is her intense Catholicism or the Jewish persecution rap that reduces her in the 'eyes of history' somehow. But she was operating in the context of 15th century Europe and certainly not alone in Europe in her religious persecution operating mode. The book depicts her as fairly conflicted about the rise of the Inquisition and role of the Church vis-a-vis the Jews. The siege of Granada and the history of the war against the Arabs could sell have filled many more chapters or the decisions surrounding the Columbus voyages as well. That is my main issue with this book, it could have been twice as long and still not told Isabella's story with enough detail. But what the author does choose to cover, she does very, very well.
Also picked this little gem up at sale or something but I am very glad I did. She did a nice job bringing a possible, even plausible version of Isabella out of the pages of history. The author's stated source material is essentially primary so I think she told the story with a decent effort at 'objectivity' (whatever that is in a novel, based on 500-year old data). The story is actually riveting and very welcome after seeing years and years of nothing but English monarchs depicted in this fashion (in this language anyway!). Isabella should be a heroine to modern feminists. She was incredibly influential at this crossroads of history as the book explains. Perhaps it is her intense Catholicism or the Jewish persecution rap that reduces her in the 'eyes of history' somehow. But she was operating in the context of 15th century Europe and certainly not alone in Europe in her religious persecution operating mode. The book depicts her as fairly conflicted about the rise of the Inquisition and role of the Church vis-a-vis the Jews. The siege of Granada and the history of the war against the Arabs could sell have filled many more chapters or the decisions surrounding the Columbus voyages as well. That is my main issue with this book, it could have been twice as long and still not told Isabella's story with enough detail. But what the author does choose to cover, she does very, very well.
May 5, 2019
Very good historical fiction about Queen Isabella of Spain. Read this when I realized she was the mother of Katherine of Aragon as I will be watching "The Spanish Princess" mini-series. Story is told by Isabella in the first person and covers her entire life of which Katherine was only a very small part. Actually Columbus doesn't get too much attention either. The book is at its most exciting when she and Ferdinand are fighting their various battles with Portugal, France and the Moors. The book was also interesting to me as my first international trip was to Spain when I was in college. So many places Isabella journeyed to in the 15th century I traveled to in the 20th. Rare to find a novel about the Spanish royal family and so quite enjoyable.
October 21, 2023
Some historic inaccuracies but amazing how the author gets into the queen's head. Interesting how she tries to make her innocent and well meaning and absolves her of reponsibility for the Spanish Inquisition, expulsion of Jews from Spain, and colonization and slavery of Indigenous people in south america. That all happened under Isabelle's watch.
August 1, 2024
Intriguing look into the society and workings of the Spanish royal family at that time. Royalty didn't live long and/or were apt to get bumped off at will. Poisoning was popular. It was a precarious existence even if you had good health and all your marbles!
I'm still not convinced on the reasoning behind the Inquisition but that's hindsight and 20th century, poss 19th.
I'm still not convinced on the reasoning behind the Inquisition but that's hindsight and 20th century, poss 19th.
August 23, 2023
DNF'ED
April 15, 2018
Novel about Queen Isabella of Spain. I hadn't known that Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was Isabella's daughter. I also hadn't known Isabella was instrumental in authorizing the Spanish Inquisition. Lofts tries to soften this by showing Isabella as having conflicting feelings; that it started as a political move and got out of hand. I suppose that is a sympathetic way of looking at it. This was fairly good reading, but I'm used to lots better from Norah Lofts.
March 27, 2009
The life story of Isabella of Castile, mother of the great Katherine of Aragon. Lofts has this way of weaving a tale that's turbulent and often violent and yet still creates this overall feeling of gentleness. I find her books a cathartic read, very enjoyable and informative.
November 17, 2013
I am glad that this book was put into Audio form - there were quite a lot of characters and to start with I felt a little lost trying to remember who was who.
The Audio was just brilliant and really made the story come alive.
The Audio was just brilliant and really made the story come alive.
September 1, 2010
3.5 for the story of Ferdinand and Isabella.
February 10, 2014
Enjoyed the history but story doesn't develop into much.
June 19, 2021
Audible
First person narrative from Isabel de Castilla.
Interesting perspective of her life and beliefs.
Recommended
First person narrative from Isabel de Castilla.
Interesting perspective of her life and beliefs.
Recommended
May 30, 2014
A re-read.
The life of Queen Isabella of Spain.
The life of Queen Isabella of Spain.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews