Book description
This edition does not include illustrations.
The groundbreaking biography of one of the most progressive, influential
and entertaining women of the seventeenth century, Christina Alexandra,
Queen of Sweden.
In 1654, to the astonishment and dismay of her court, Christina
Alexandra announced her abdication in favour of her cousin, Charles.
Instrumental in bringing the Thirty Years War to a close at the age of
22, Christina had become one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe.
She had also become notorious for her extravagant lifestyle.
Leaving the narrow confines of her homeland behind her, Christina cut a
remarkable path across Europe. She acted as mediator in the
Franco-Spanish War and, in return for financial support, was received
into the Roman Catholic Church despite the fierce condemnation of her
protestant countrymen. Christina settled in Rome at the luxurious
Palazzo Farnese where she established a lavish salon for Rome's artists
and intellectuals. More than once she was forced to leave Rome while one
scandal or another died down; she was painted a lesbian, a prostitute
and even a hermaphrodite. Her most impassioned affair was with a
well-connected Cardinal. Later, when financial support from the Pope and
the Spanish crown dried up, Christina began to court French favour,
eventually even plotting with them to overthrow the Spanish at Naples,
where she hoped to be installed as queen.
Despite her political vacillations and a lifelong refusal to restrain
her appetites, Christina ended her days in Rome relatively free from
disfavour and financial strife. At the express order of the Pope, she
was buried, with full ceremony, in the walls of St Peter's Basilica, one
of only two women to be so honoured.
Reminiscent of Amanda Foreman's Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and
Claire Tomalin's Jane Austen: A Life, Buckley combines a personal
approach with a lively interest in the social and historical world of
seventeenth-century Europe to bring this remarkable personality to life.
'A stunning debut and an absorbing page-turner. Veronica Buckley writes
with immense style, vitality and great humanity. As compelling as the
most riveting of novels.' Alison Weir
'Her book is much less a debut than the highly polished work of a writer
who has been thinking about and loving her subject for years, and her
enjoyment in the writing of Queen Christina's life is wonderfully
translated into our pleasure in reading it.' Stella Tillyard, Sunday Times
'Veronica Buckley has a flair for description and relates this
extraordinary life with sympathy and engaging panache.' John Adamson,
Sunday Telegraph
'This is a splendidly robust and colourful account of a remarkable woman
and the turbulent age in which she lived. Astonishingly, this is
Veronica Buckley's first book. May she write many more.' Philip Ziegler,
Daily Telegraph Veronica Buckley was born in New Zealand. She has
worked in diverse fields from music to the oil industry, and now lives
in Paris with her husband,
writer Philipp Blom. This is her first book.
