16 thoughts on “WCW: Juana of Castile – “Juana la loca”

  1. My favorite adaptation is a historical fantasy AU novel, very loosely inspired by Isabella and Juana. Names, countries, plot are all changed around, and Ista (Juana) and Iselle (Isabella) are flipped as mother and daughter. But it’s brilliantly written, and explores how women in power can be controlled or ruined by accusations of madness, deserved or not. The Curse of Chalion is the first book, focuses on Iselle/Isabella, and the second is Paladin of Souls and focuses on Ista/Juana, by Lois McMaster Bujold.

    1. Aaaaa! I LOVE that series! I just finished the second book and omgggggg….I’m still squeeing over it! Hello fellow fan! waves

      1. Yay!! Yes, they’re two of my favorite books ever, I’ve read them so many times my paperbacks fell apart and I had to buy Kindle copies!

    1. I loved the Former novel. He’s done one on Isabella, her mom and several other queens/empresses. The last was Dagmar of Denmark, sister to Alexandra Princess of Wales and Edward VII’s Queen.
      The Spanish, I feel, or at least those descendants of the Isabella and Ferdinand (them too) have been poorly tested on film except Annette Crosbie in the Six Wives.

    2. I was just going to mention this book! He’s an excellent writer and I wish it was someone like this that would be picked for source material for shows and movies.

  2. I liked what I saw of Isobel. I thought for once, they really nailed the casting of Ferdinand and Isabella. The first time I saw Ferdinand, I went, “YES. YES, THAT IS WHAT HE SHOULD LOOK LIKE.” Shitty costumes or not!

    I think Juana got a bad rep and was basically treated by garbage by the men in her life. :P

    1. Actually, Ferdinand didn’t have a beard so Rodolfo Sancho (actor) doesn’t resemble him at all. Michelle Jenner (Isabel) looks more like the historical character and I think she was well cast. Anyway, both are too pretty for the role (look up portraits of them) but that is the usual thing in historical flicks…

      On the other hand, I completely agree that Juana was treated like shit by her father, husband etc.

      1. I think his portrayal (personality, sense of humor, cavalier attitude about his affairs, etc) was perfect, as was the difference in size between him and Isabella (she was small, as were her daughters), so I didn’t mind the beard. Neither do I mind the eye candy. ;)

        Ferdinand and Philip both used Juana to wield power, and then Ferdinand got her thrown over so he could rule Spain on his own. Nice dad. :P

  3. You’d think if your mother was known as Juana la Loca you would have more sense than to marry your son and heir to his double first cousin, but not if you’re Charles V. The result was the notorious Don Carlos. Philip II’s daughters by Elisabeth de Valois were normal and intelligent but he failled to draw the painfully obvious conclusion and chose his sister’s daughter by their first cousin as his fourth wife resulting in the dim if otherwise normal Philip IV and accelerating the genetic destruction of the Spanish Hapsburgs.

  4. I like the use of the heraldric mantle in La Corona Partida, looks like the picture of Anne Neville with a similar get up. I think this is a style for coronations? Is that scene in the movie her coronation or shortly thereafter?

  5. The version of Queen Juana in Locura de amor (1948) is just amaze-balls. It’s so … queenlike. She oozes authority and femininity at the same time.

    Also, ‘Aurora Batista’ is a fantastic name.

  6. I personally wonder where the atheism in the Spanish Princess came from. From what I’ve seen all we know of her is that she was skeptical of some Catholic believes and rites, but I highly doubt she went around telling people that “God is dead” with a smug expression on her face, otherwise I think that would have been exploited by those around her and declared part of her mental illness.

  7. I just read “The Curse of Chalion” and am half way through “Paladin of Souls” bc of the recommendations in these comments, obviously great reads!

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