Isabella: The Warrior Queen Author: Kirstin Downey Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History Publisher: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday Release Date: 2014 Pages: 544 Source:Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Isabella of Castile, the controversial Queen of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history. Born at a time when Christianity was dying out and the Ottoman Empire was aggressively expanding, Isabella was inspired in her youth by tales of Joan of Arc, a devout young woman who unified her people and led them to victory against foreign invaders. In 1474, when most women were almost powerless, twenty-three-year-old Isabella defied a hostile brother and a mercurial husband to seize control of Castile and León. Her subsequent feats were legendary. She ended a twenty-four-gene...