Isabella of Castile

Combining the romance and enchantment of princesses with a message of youthful female empowerment, these books are about girls who didn't just sit around waiting to be rescued. Against great odds, they changed their own lives--and their worlds. Stories of princesses from different cultures and different epochs in history are richly illustrated with photographs, maps, and lovely pen-and-watercolor paintings that help bring these fascinating females to life. In a twist on the classic fairy tale, a princess in 15th-century Spain refused to wait to be rescued by a prince and instead chose one for herself. Even then, she would not marry him until they'd reached an agreement that was revolutionary for her time--their marriage was an equal partnership captured in the motto 'To stand as high, as high to stand, Isabella and Ferdinand.' This book tells Isabella of Castile's story with sections on the clothes she wore, the foods she ate, and why she is remembered today. Without her, both Spain and the United States would not exist in their current forms.