Wild Things Read Online Free PDF Page A

times."
    "A perfect example," I interjected. "I think I would have tackled Elizabeth if there weren't already hundreds of biographies available."
    "Instead, you chose another English queen, Maud."
    "Not everyone agrees she was ever queen," I reminded her.
    "As your book so clearly points out. For the listeners, Faith's first book, Maud, detailed the twelfth-century struggle for control of England which Empress Maud — sometimes called Matilda — almost won. It portrays how Maud's own strength of character is what kept her struggle going, while all the visible action, especially the warfare, was masterminded by her brother. Faith's latest book is Isabella and I found it stunning."
    In her pause, I said, "Why thank you. I take that as high praise."
    "What is it about these women that made them so compelling for you?"
    "When I was a lowly undergraduate I was infected by history. I majored in it, I lived it, I read it every chance I could." I laughed a little and added, "It won't surprise anyone if I say I found the mention of women's influence on history completely missing or stated only as a conduit or background for the male activities."
    "What a shocker," Liz said dryly. "I can hardly believe that's true."
    "Oh, it's true," I said, equally droll. More briskly, I went on, "What I noticed about many influential women in history was that they had economic resources. Maud was heir to several principalities, including Britain. Isabella was queen of two countries, and that's how she financed Cristobal Colon's expedition."
    "That's what struck me so vividly about Isabella," Liz said. "You portray her financial backing as a business decision, not as a romantic indulgence to a young, adventurous lover."
    "There are historians who don't agree with me," I said, my tone now dry. "They would prefer to portray Colon as the dynamic lover who talked Isabella into giving him her jewels secretly. I don't know why her financing Colon would have been a secret. Isabella wasn't some country maid fortunate enough to marry the king of Spain. She was queen of Castile and Leon. Ferdinand was the king of Aragon. Together they unified Spain. She seized control of the military religious orders and took the Inquisition under royal influence. She administered law in her own lands. She was a brilliant strategist and knew how to take risks. It's so frustrating to read children's Christopher Columbus books and have her referred to unfailingly only as Ferdinand's wife. Her own titles are never mentioned." I realized I was running on and talking too fast. "Anyway, the funds she used to finance the expeditions were from her own lands and income. Ferdinand had turned Colon's request for money down. Colon didn't skulk off and beg money from Isabella, he applied to her as queen of Castile in open court—her court."
    "You don't portray Colon as Isabella's lover."
    I smiled. "Maybe he was, but I doubt it. Isabella was a devout Catholic, and one of the outcomes of her faith was the Inquisition. She had no qualms about having people tortured and killed. But she was never referred to by anyone as a hypocrite. She publicly decried adultery. I think she practiced what she preached. Spain was a violent place close to the Holy Land, and religion was a violent matter."
    "It still is," Liz said archly.
    "You're quite right," I acknowledged. "Other biographers argue that her religious fervor would not have stopped her from taking a lover. She was, after all, an aristocrat. She could buy her reputation if need be. In that regard she is the same as the woman in the book I'm currently working on, Eleanor of Aquitaine."
    "I can't wait," Liz said, her eyes widening with interest. "Talk about daring women! Let's come back to her at the end of the program, because I'm not ready to leave Isabella." She sipped her water. "You made an interesting choice of narrators for the story."
    I nodded, then realized only Liz could see me. "One of the difficulties of telling Isabella's story is