“Built upon a base of impressive archival research, Mitchell has provided an illuminating analysis of a ruler whose historical reputation has been the victim of incomplete, stereotypical, and even misogynist characterizations.”
—Elizabeth A. Lehfeldt, Renaissance Studies
Read More“An impressive work of scholarship that adds a great deal not only to our knowledge of late Hapsburg Spain, but also to the field of queenship studies by increasing our understanding of both the life of this formidable royal woman and the mechanisms and challenges of female regency itself.”
—Elena Woodacre, Royal Studies Journal
Read More“An imaginative and wholly original account of a ruler who is regarded as the personification of Spain’s seventeenth-century decline as an imperial power. Mitchell revises the traditional view of Mariana as the hapless pawn of her confessors and male courtiers and shows her to be a fiercely independent woman capable of decisive action in domestic and foreign affairs as well as a ruler who successfully managed to defend the interests and reputation of Spain’s Habsburg monarchy. This book is a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on early modern queenship.”
— Richard L. Kagan, author of Clio and the Crown: The Politics of History in Medieval and Early Modern Spain
Read More“Silvia Mitchell’s work is an important revisionist study of the regency of Mariana of Austria, mother of the last Spanish Habsburg. Based upon wide-ranging and detailed research, it has considerable implications for a much more positive understanding than has prevailed hitherto not only of the last decades of Habsburg rule in Spain but also, more broadly, of female political agency in early modern Europe.”
— Christopher Storrs, author of The Resilience of the Spanish Monarchy, 1665–1700
Read More“Mitchell mines court archives and state records to demonstrate that Mariana of Austria had clear and consistent diplomatic and military strategies as queen regent, and she establishes her as part of a long tradition of strong female leadership in early modern European courts. This work fills a significant gap in our understanding of the late seventeenth-century Spanish court and supports recent arguments in favor of Spanish resilience rather than decline under the last Habsburgs.”
— Jodi Campbell, author of At the First Table: Food and Social Identity in Early Modern Spain
Read More“Countering the common perception of Mariana de Austria as weak, too young to govern, and easily manipulated, Silvia Mitchell demonstrates that Mariana was a forceful, effective regent during the period of her son’s minority (1665-75). Grounded solidly in fresh archival research, Queen, Mother, and Stateswoman will advance the historical debate on Mariana, on seventeenth-century royal favorites, and on the court of Charles II of Spain.”
— Magdalena S. Sánchez, author of The Empress, the Queen, and the Nun: Women and Power at the Court of Philip III of Spain
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