Reading books like this make you realize how lucky you are not to have been born a princess in 1400’s Europe. In this novel about Juana of Castille - the second daughter of Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and Isabella, Queen of Castile - Gortner allows you to witness the delicate balance of power and impotence that marked Juana’s life. Married off to Philip the Handsome at a young age, her life was continually marked by the power she could potentially wield and the control men had over her. Although she eventually became heir to the Crown of Spain, her husband and father never allowed her to claim her throne. Her once passionate marriage to Philip transformed into one marred by his thirst for power, and even turned abusive when he began spreading rumors about her “madness” in order to justify keeping her locked up. Indeed, her own father and son used the madness card to imprison her in the tower of Torsedillas for fifty-five years, until her death in 1555. Gortner takes some liberties with the storyline, changing for instance, the method of Phillip’s death, but his modifications add depth to the story and in the afterword he fully admits he took liberties with Juana’s history. He also gave Juana the benefit of the doubt when it came to questions of her sanity. While many historians believe she suffered from schizophrenia, Gortner gives us a woman whose life pushed her to the brink of human endurance and sanity.