must read

The Wives of George IV: The Secret Bride and the Scorned Princess
Book Reviews

Book Review: The Wives of George IV: The Secret Bride and the Scorned Princess by Catherine Curzon

Monday, 21 October 2024, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

*review copy* *contains affiliate links* The future King George IV was famously married twice, once illegally to Maria Fitzherbt and once legally to Caroline of Brunswick. Maria Fitzherbert, already twice a widow, was basically harassed into becoming his wife. Their wedding went against the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 and was thus never valid. Even [read more]

amestris shahbanu
Amestris Shahbanu

Amestris Shahbanu – The tarnished reputation of King Xerxes I of the Babylonian Empire’s Queen

Saturday, 12 October 2024, 6:00 Lauralee Jacks 0

Amestris Shahbanu was one of the most powerful Persian Queens during the Babylonian Empire.[1] She was Queen to King Xerxes I and the mother of King Artaxerxes I. Greek historians, Herodotus and Ctesias, have portrayed her to be as a ruthless Queen who has an unquenchable thirst for blood.[2] However, modern historians believe this depiction of [read more]

The Making of Juana of Austria: Gender, Art, and Patronage in Early Modern Iberia
Book Reviews

Book Review: The Making of Juana of Austria: Gender, Art, and Patronage in Early Modern Iberia edited by Noelia García Pérez

Wednesday, 18 September 2024, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

*review copy* *contains affiliate links* Juana, or Joanna of Austria, was the daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Isabella of Portugal. Born in 1535 as their youngest surviving child, she went on to marry her double first cousin, the 14-year-old John Manuel, Prince of Portugal, when she was 16 years old. She was [read more]