Juana La Loca

Queen Juana I of Spain was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and sister of Catherine of Aragon. She was contracted to marry Philip the Fair, a known womaniser and political schemer, and fell passionately in love with him at first sight. The marriage was very passionate and stormy but his early death made it short-lived. When her mother died Juana should have reigned as Queen of Castile but she was callously denied power and status throughout her life, most of which she spent imprisoned. by the three men in her life who sought power for themselves: her husband Philip, her father Ferdinand and her son Charles. She faced their relentless physical and mental cruelty with courage and determination, her spirited resistance earning her, unjustly, the nickname by which she is remembered, Juana la Loca (Joan the Mad.)

Author Biography

Linda was born in a small mining village at the southern edge of the Durham coalfield in the Northeast of England. She had a lifelong passion for history and historical fiction and a five week independent tour of Spain in 1988 was a life-changing event. She became interested in Spain’s history. She wanted to know more, much more. She studied Spanish and then started reading Spanish sources. Many exciting days were to follow in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, other public and private libraries in Spain, and the British Library in London. During 2007-08 VeritasPublishing published her Spanish Hapsburg Trilogy: That Other Juana. (Juana la Loca). A Matter of Pride (Charles V, HRE) and Wives & Other Women (Philip II of Spain). In 2008 she was elected a Full Member of The Society of Authors. In 2009 That Other Juana (Joana, a Louca) was published in Portugal by Editorial Presenca (Lisbon) and in January 2012 they published A Matter of Pride (Uma Questao de Orgulho). In February 2012 her Brazilian publisher Editora Europa (Sao Paulo) published That Other Juana (Joana, a Louca) in Brazil and after its success they published A Matter of Pride (Carlos V) in September 2013.”