In Triumph's Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid for Glory

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Macmillan, Nov 25, 2008 - Biography & Autobiography - 404 pages

The powerful and moving story of three royal mothers whose quest for power led to the downfall of their daughters.

Queen Isabella of Castile, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and Queen Victoria of England were respected and admired rulers whose legacies continue to be felt today. Their daughters—Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England; Queen Marie Antoinette of France; and Vicky, the Empress Frederick of Germany—are equally legendary for the tragedies that befell them, their roles in history surpassed by their triumphant mothers. In Triumph's Wake is the first book to bring together the poignant stories of these mothers and daughters in a single narrative.

Isabella of Castile forged a united Spain and presided over the discovery of the New World, Maria Theresa defeated her male rivals to claim the Imperial Crown, and Victoria presided over the British Empire. But, because of their ambition and political machinations, each mother pushed her daughter toward a marital alliance that resulted in disaster. Catherine of Aragon was cruelly abandoned by Henry VIII who cast her aside in search of a male heir and tore England away from the Pope. Marie Antoinette lost her head on the guillotine when France exploded into Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Vicky died grief-stricken, horrified at her inability to prevent her son, Kaiser Wilhelm, from setting Germany on a belligerent trajectory that eventually led to war.

Exhaustively researched and utterly compelling, In Triumph's Wake is the story of three unusually strong women and the devastating consequences their decisions had on the lives of their equally extraordinary daughters.

 

Contents

PART II Empress Maria Theresa and Queen Marie Antoinette
131
PART III Queen Victoria and the Empress Frederick
239
Epilogue
341
Notes
345
Bibliography
377
Acknowledgments
387
Index
389
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About the author (2008)

Julia Gelardi is the author of "Born to Rule" and "From Splendor to Revolution." Educated in the United States and Canada, she is an independent historian and author, currently living in Minnesota with her husband and two daughters.

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