QUEEN Juana I of Spain (Juana La Loca), the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella has always had a bad press, so it is refreshing to read a work that shows that the sister of Catharine of Aragon was far from a lunatic nonentity.

A woman who was instrumental in creating the powerful Habsburg houses of Spain and Austria, she defied family cruelty and betrayal to stay true to her own beliefs and principles.

This is an historical novel which looks beyond the glamour of courts and crowns to the harsh realities of royal life - especially if you were a princess with a mind of your own (Contact Veritas Publishing at 8 Vane Road, Barnard Castle DL12 8AQ. Also available from the Teesdale Mercury and Curlews in Barnard Castle.)