Praise for Lynn Cullen’s Writing

If Queen Juana of Castile and her husband, Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, were alive today, Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World would have been hacking their phones 24-7.

Juana, who spent the last 50 years of her life locked in a convent, mad as a hatter, would have made especially juicy headlines.

They called her “La Loca,” and according to the history books, her behavior proved it. Consumed with jealousy over her husband’s countless flings, she was said to fly into fits of crazy revenge: She once set fire to her own clothes, threw a brick at her husband, and chased a rival through the palace to chop off her hair. When her husband died, she had his casket opened over and over so she could caress his corpse.

Or so they said.

Juana, who narrates Lynn Cullen’s new novel, “Reign of Madness“, isn’t kidding around when she says, “It seems that an accusation is as powerful as the truth — once it is made, there is no denial that can completely erase it.”

The Atlanta author, whose acclaimed “Creation of Eve” (2009) introduced readers to the intrigues of the Spanish court during the reign of King Philip II, says her research for that novel led to a startling discovery: “The rightful queen of the most powerful realm in Europe had to be locked up because she was insane.”

Further investigation revealed a complicated story about a young woman who never expected to rule: As the third child of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand — famed patrons of Christopher Columbus — Juana, with healthy parents and two older siblings, stood little chance of inheriting the vast empire her mother called “the Spains.”

Juana was nevertheless well educated and expected to marry royalty, and in 1496, at 16, left Spain to be wed to the archduke of Burgundy, called Philip the Handsome. The match was a shrewd power play aimed at securing the wealth of Philip’s family, the Austrian Hapsburgs, and ensuring Spain a powerful ally against the French.

But like teenagers everywhere, the young couple promptly fell madly in love. They might have stayed that way had not Juana, through a series of unexpected illnesses in her family, moved up in the line of succession. From the moment she became queen, her husband schemed to take over the throne, and Juana’s jealousy became the most potent weapon in his arsenal.

At first, her initial doubts seem no more than what any girl might feel watching her new husband paw her ladies-in-waiting or disappear for days in the company of another woman.

“Not that I had firm evidence of his infidelity. No, all I had was a glimpse of his hand resting overlong on a lady’s neck when he pointed to a duck on hunt. Or the discovery of a long dark hair upon his collar. Or the sight of a lady turning away sharply when I entered the room in which she and my husband were together.”

Infidelity is nothing new to the daughter of King Ferdinand, who was famously unfaithful to Juana’s mother. But unlike Isabella, Juana can’t master her emotions. Her suspicions about Philip intensify, and she begins to exhibit the behaviors that earned her the nickname “La Loca”: Screaming tantrums. Teetering on the castle ramparts, etc.

None of it proof of insanity, then or now, but perfect fodder for her husband, plotting to usurp the crown of Spain, to discredit her fitness to run the Spains. She’ll have to be locked up for a while. To rest, they say.

Meanwhile, her beloved “Philippe” allies himself with her father, who plays an even more lethal game of thrones.

The Juana whose confessor we become in “Reign of Madness” is far from crazy. Insecure and dangerously vulnerable, yes: a people pleaser who makes it frustratingly easy for others to take what they want from her. She ignores warning signs to make others happy: When her father suggests he rule in her place for a while, she wonders, “What harm could there be in his managing the kingdom until I was ready to resume my
reign?”

Of all the possible explanations Cullen presents for Juana’s failure to play the game and win — her reluctance to fight back, the superior strategies of the men who coveted her throne, even her hope that avoiding accession might reunite her with the secret love of her life — the most poignant is how alienated she is from her mother, both by nature and design. Scenes where Isabel finally shares with her daughter the sacrifices a queen must make, the realities of her own life at court, and lessons in the art of self-protection are all the more affecting for coming too late.

How I wished that Juana had mustered the queenly detachment to have her adorable, cheating husband dispatched when she had the chance. At the end of this cautionary tale, we understand better the reasons why Juana might have made the choices she did — they so easily could have been our choices, too.
––Gina Webb Atlanta Journal Constitution (August 1, 2011)

Lynn Cullen follows up her sparkling debut novel, last year’s The Creation of Eve, with a historical novel just as intricately detailed and gorgeously written. In Reign of Madness, Cullen finds her muse in Juana of Castile, the unlikeliest of monarchs in early-sixteenth-century Spain. As the third child of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, Juana became queen only after the untimely deaths of the siblings in line ahead of her. After being betrayed by her husband, her father, and then her firstborn son, “Juana the Mad” spent the last forty-six years of her life confined in the palace. From such rich history, Cullen imagines an even richer fiction. “A birdcage might be gilded, but it is still a cage,” she writes. Though she cannot solve the mystery of whether Juana was truly mad or what exactly happened to her between her fairy-tale beginnings and grotesque demise, Cullen has created another masterstroke of historical romance. In full service to the story, perfect sentences are strung together like so many pearls: “Drums were thumping in the distance like the heartbeat of God.”
––Teresa Weaver Atlanta Magazine (August 1, 2011)

"Cullen’s second historical novel (after The Creation of Eve) is a sweeping study of political intrigue. But an equal focus on character development and plot makes for a satisfying blend of romance, family drama, and royal machinations. While not as well known to American readers as her mother, Queen Isabella, or her son, Charles V, Juana is a sympathetic heroine, and lovers of historical fiction will enjoy her story."
––Carly Thompson, Chicago Ridge P.L. School Library Journal (June 15, 2011)

“Cullen fleshes out Juana’s fascinating story of love, betrayal, and redemption and puts a very human face on one of history’s most famous rulers.”
––Booklist

“Cullen’s written an intimate look at a historical figure few will know (though fans of Tudor fiction will certainly be comfortable with the era)…”
––Publishers Weekly

“…One of the greatest love stories I have ever read…this book will have you pacing the floors. This is history presented as you have never read.”
––Lisa Binion, BellaOnline, The Voice of Women

April 2010 Indie Next Pick

“An intoxicating tale of love, betrayal and redemption. Cullen tackles the contradictions of the Renaissance and captures the dangerous spirit of the Inquisition while handling these vivid characters with prodigious control. The Creation of Eve is a historical romance that teaches as it touches.”
––The Washington Post

“A suspenseful, evocative tapestry of Renaissance life, art, and royal skullduggery.”
––The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (named one of the Best Fiction Books of 2010)

“Cullen richly draws her principal characters and their milieu, effectively transporting the reader back to sixteenth-century Italy and Spain. . . . Believable storytelling and wonderfully descriptive writing make The Creation of Eve a must-read for those who love historical fiction, especially if they also love art.”
––Newark Star Ledger

“Stunning . . . Cullen obviously immersed herself in the history of Spain’s Golden Age, but she never allows her research to outmuscle the story told by her graceful and intelligent narrator. A swoon-worthy blend of mystery, romance, and history.”
––Atlanta magazine

“”A beautifully imagined . . . page-turning tale. Cullen has found a winning subject in the largely unknown story of female Renaissance painter Sofonisba Anguissola. A sparkling debut.”
––Publishers Weekly

“Cullen does a magnificent job reinvigorating a still-life portrait of an all-but-forgotten maestro. A finely textured fictional biography.”
––Booklist

2007 Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” Selection
ALA YA Best Book of 2008

“Cullen drenches her depiction of Cornelia’s coming of age in deft details. Vivid prose brings to life the light and smells of the artist’s studio and work. [An] absorbing, well-told story.”
––Library Journal

“Sensitively sketched…highly atmospheric. Readers will cheer for this colorful cast, especially the likable heroine and the understanding and peace she crafts with her father.”
––Publishers Weekly

“Cullen creates a powerful family drama, fleshing out father and daughter into whole, heartbreaking individuals whose inner lives are glimpsed with acute sensitivity. An absorbing, romantic story.”
––Booklist Starred Review