100 books like Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain

By Allyson M. Poska,

Here are 100 books that Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain fans have personally recommended if you like Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Juana the Mad: Sovereignty and Dynasty in Renaissance Europe

Amanda Scott Author Of The Basque Seroras: Local Religion, Gender, and Power in Northern Iberia, 1550-1800

From my list on Spain’s golden age.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a stubborn teenager, and growing up, I vocally declared I would never set foot in Spain. The Spanish Empire was oppressive! It was full of religious fanatics! Yet… in college I took a course on Spain’s Golden Age, and for the first time I saw a different side of history, full of paradoxes and contradictions, Inquisitors and female mystics, bumbling priests and powerful nuns, decadence and poverty, emperors, tricksters, artists, pirates, scientists, and everything in between. Spain of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries was extraordinarily complex and far from one-dimensional. Now, years later, I have travelled to Spain over twenty times, lived in Pamplona, and I am a historian of early modern Spain at Penn State University.

Amanda's book list on Spain’s golden age

Amanda Scott Why did Amanda love this book?

This older book remains one of my favorites because it challenges a number of easy assumptions about queenship, mental illness, and political strategy.  Juana was the third child of Isabella and Ferdinand, trained and educated to marry for diplomatic alliance, but never expected to reign in her own right. Yet early modern dynastic strategy was at the mercy of mortality and fertility, and Juana eventually became the unlikely monarch of Spain and the mother of the powerful line of Habsburg kings of Spain. Juana is typically dismissed as mentally unstable following the death of her husband. This book reexamines this stereotype, arguing that her eccentric behavior may have been strategic given the limitations placed upon her by her family, and deployed intentionally to protect herself and her children’s inheritance.

By Bethany Aram,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Juana the Mad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Born to Isabel and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs whose marriage united the realms of Castile and Aragon, Juana "the Mad" (1479-1555) is one of the most infamous but least studied monarchs of the Renaissance. Conventional accounts of Juana portray her as a sullen woman prone to depression, a jealous wife insanely in love with her husband, and an incompetent queen who was deemed by her father, husband, and son, unable to govern herself much less her kingdoms. But was Juana truly mad or the victim of manipulative family members who desired to rule in her stead? Drawing upon recent scholarship…


Book cover of Lazarillo de Tormes / The Guide Boy of Tormes

Richard Zimler Author Of The Last Kabbalist in Lisbon

From my list on outsiders and misfits.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m originally from New York but have lived in Portugal for the last 31 years. I write my novels in English and my children’s books in Portuguese. When I discovered the Lisbon Massacre of 1506, in which 2,000 forcibly converted Jews were murdered and burnt in the city’s main square, I asked my Portuguese friends what they could tell me about it. They all replied, “What Massacre?” I found out then that this crime against humanity wasn’t taught in Portuguese schools. It had been nearly completely forgotten. That made me furious, so I decided to write a novel about it (The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon). When I’m not working on a book, I like to garden and travel. 

Richard's book list on outsiders and misfits

Richard Zimler Why did Richard love this book?

Published way back in 1554, this revolutionary novel is irreverent, amusing, and gloriously critical of the hypocrisy of 16th century Spanish society and, by extension, our own times. The main character is a destitute scoundrel named Lazarillo who seeks to better his fortunes while in the service of a brutal priest and host of other unseemly characters. By creating an anti-hero who is a witty misfit and outcast, and by portraying Spanish society as morally bankrupt, the author earned the wrath of the Spanish monarchy – which banned the novel – and the Catholic Church, which placed it on its Index of forbidden literature. My novel is also on the Church’s list of forbidden books, so I feel a special kinship with the unnamed author of this groundbreaking work.    

By Anonymous,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lazarillo de Tormes / The Guide Boy of Tormes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Los mejores libros jamás escritos

Edición de Florencio Sevilla Arroyo, catedrático de Filología Española en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

El Lazarillo de Tormes inauguró el género de la novela picaresca. Relata las desventuras que un joven de origen humilde sufre al servicio de sus amos, entre los que se cuentan un ciego, un clérigo y un hidalgo pobre. Los avatares por los que pasa Lázaro son un magnífico pretexto para plasmar una ácida crítica a la sociedad de la época. Asimismo, el tratamiento de la anécdota, el lenguaje sobrio y eficaz, y una nueva concepción en el uso de…


Book cover of Inquisitorial Inquiries: Brief Lives of Secret Jews and Other Heretics

Amanda Scott Author Of The Basque Seroras: Local Religion, Gender, and Power in Northern Iberia, 1550-1800

From my list on Spain’s golden age.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a stubborn teenager, and growing up, I vocally declared I would never set foot in Spain. The Spanish Empire was oppressive! It was full of religious fanatics! Yet… in college I took a course on Spain’s Golden Age, and for the first time I saw a different side of history, full of paradoxes and contradictions, Inquisitors and female mystics, bumbling priests and powerful nuns, decadence and poverty, emperors, tricksters, artists, pirates, scientists, and everything in between. Spain of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries was extraordinarily complex and far from one-dimensional. Now, years later, I have travelled to Spain over twenty times, lived in Pamplona, and I am a historian of early modern Spain at Penn State University.

Amanda's book list on Spain’s golden age

Amanda Scott Why did Amanda love this book?

No list of books about early modern Spain would be complete without something on the infamous Spanish Inquisition. Historians are well aware that Inquisition trials were complex, full of coercion and secrecy, but also sometimes appropriated by individuals for their own purposes. This is an extremely accessible introduction to the Spanish Inquisition, told through “autobiographies” of six prisoners, such as Islamic and Jewish converts, a prophet, and a transgender individual. The collection includes transcriptions of the actual trials, plus brief analyses that guide readers through religious, social, gender, and political themes.

By Richard L. Kagan (editor), Abigail Dyer (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Inquisitorial Inquiries as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On the first day of Francisco de San Antonio's trial before the Spanish Inquisition in Toledo in 1625, his interrogators asked him about his parentage. His real name, he stated, was Abram Ruben, and he had been born in Fez of Jewish parents. How then, Inquisitors wanted to know, had he become a Christian convert? Why had a Hebrew alphabet been found in his possession? And what was his business at the Court in Madrid? "He was asked," according to his dossier, "for the story of his life." His response, more than ten folios long, is one of the many…


Book cover of Black Saints in Early Modern Global Catholicism

Amanda Scott Author Of The Basque Seroras: Local Religion, Gender, and Power in Northern Iberia, 1550-1800

From my list on Spain’s golden age.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a stubborn teenager, and growing up, I vocally declared I would never set foot in Spain. The Spanish Empire was oppressive! It was full of religious fanatics! Yet… in college I took a course on Spain’s Golden Age, and for the first time I saw a different side of history, full of paradoxes and contradictions, Inquisitors and female mystics, bumbling priests and powerful nuns, decadence and poverty, emperors, tricksters, artists, pirates, scientists, and everything in between. Spain of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries was extraordinarily complex and far from one-dimensional. Now, years later, I have travelled to Spain over twenty times, lived in Pamplona, and I am a historian of early modern Spain at Penn State University.

Amanda's book list on Spain’s golden age

Amanda Scott Why did Amanda love this book?

This brand-new, prize-winning book is a gorgeous synthesis of some of the most important trends in current Iberian studies. Early modern empire-building, missionary efforts, and the African slave trade fostered a new cult of black saints, which Rowe documents through stunning photography from tiny and forgotten churches across the peninsula. In focusing on black saints and their devotees—a largely understudied part of early modern Catholic culture—Rowe not only centers and elevates the diverse and often marginalized individuals who shaped global Catholicism, but also emphasizes important conversations about race and inclusion in early modern society.

By Erin Kathleen Rowe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Black Saints in Early Modern Global Catholicism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Spanish and Portuguese monarchs launched global campaigns for territory and trade. This process spurred two efforts that reshaped the world: missions to spread Christianity to the four corners of the globe, and the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. These efforts joined in unexpected ways to give rise to black saints. Erin Kathleen Rowe presents the untold story of how black saints - and the slaves who venerated them - transformed the early modern church. By exploring race, the Atlantic slave trade, and global Christianity, she provides new ways of thinking about blackness,…


Book cover of Aspects of Louisbourg: Essays on the history of an eighteenth-century French community in North America

A.J.B. Johnston Author Of Louisbourg: Past, Present, Future

From my list on the history of Canada’s fortress of Louisbourg.

Why am I passionate about this?

For 23 years I was lucky enough to work in the 18th century. Well, as close as is possible for someone born in the 20th century. That happened because I was a staff historian at the Fortress of Louisbourg, where I passed many hours studying a million pages of documentation and over 500 maps and plans of the long-ago society. That research allowed me to write many books and articles—for both academics and the general public—about the onetime French stronghold and bustling seaport. I found the work fascinating, and I credit my time at the Fortress of Louisbourg for making me the historian and writer I became.

A.J.B.'s book list on the history of Canada’s fortress of Louisbourg

A.J.B. Johnston Why did A.J.B. love this book?

For a wide range of scholarly — yet highly readable — essays on the onetime French stronghold, Aspects of Louisbourg offers a great starting point. It’s an eclectic collection of fifteen essays by ten different authors. The focus in each paper varies, with some writers examining economic or social themes, and others looking at military history. From the rugged life of 18th-century fishers to gardens and material culture, to the complexities of the garrison or recent commemorative activities, the essays paint a comprehensive picture of both French colonial Louisbourg and what in the 20th century became the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada.

By Eric Krause (editor), Carol Corbin (editor), William O’Shea (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Aspects of Louisbourg as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Aspects of Louisbourg is an eclectic collection of essays that considers the economic, social, military, and commemorative events in the lives of the people of Louisbourg. From the rugged life of an 18th -century fishing family, to gardens and material culture, to today's commemorative activities, these essays paint a picture of the life of Louisbourg.


Book cover of Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History

Bill Kuhn Author Of Facts & Fury: An Unapologetic Primer on How the GOP Has Destroyed American Democracy

From my list on to understand the American political system.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write about politics. I grew up in a political household. My mother was a key fundraiser for the Democratic Party and my stepfather served as a White House counsel to President Clinton. Politics and the Washington experience were the air I breathed during my formative years. I followed in their footsteps and co-founded Fight for a Better America, an organization that invests in key battleground districts and states throughout the US, with the goal of either flipping them blue or maintaining a Democratic incumbent. Through my travels with the organization, I have made hundreds of contacts with folks in local civic clubs and organized hundreds of volunteers on the ground. 

Bill's book list on to understand the American political system

Bill Kuhn Why did Bill love this book?

In his characteristically funny and sardonic style, Andersen guides us through the historical connection between corporate America and the Republican Party. Needless to say, the relationship has been strong and fruitful (Democrats are guilty as well, but it’s hardly a comparison). He reports on the key conservative figures in both the private and public spheres who have funded and enabled the transformation of our laws and society. It is a remarkable story of power and greed written in concise witty prose. Highly recommend!

By Kurt Andersen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Evil Geniuses as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • When did America give up on fairness? The author of Fantasyland tells the epic history of how America decided that big business gets whatever it wants, only the rich get richer, and nothing should ever change—and charts a way back to the future.
 
“Essential, absorbing . . . a graceful, authoritative guide . . . a radicalized moderate’s moderate case for radical change.”—The New York Times Book Review

During the twentieth century, America managed to make its economic and social systems both more and more fair and more and more prosperous. A huge, secure, and…


Book cover of Sh*tshow! The Country's Collapsing...and the Ratings Are Great

Bruce Siwy Author Of Jailing the Johnstown Judge: Joe O'Kicki, the Mob and Corrupt Justice

From my list on for journalists by journalists.

Why am I passionate about this?

Today's reporter inhabits an environment ranging from hostile to apathetic. Somewhere beyond the blistering criticism and rabid mistrust is the writer's haunting suspicion that today's revelatory art will line the reader's birdcage before his or her lunchtime McChicken. I get it. My entire professional career has been spent filing Right-to-Know and other public information requests, working the phones, chasing the perfect photo, and hammering at the keyboard in the hopes of something legible. On occasion I've mined something of both meaning and impact. That's what the writers I've featured have done as well as anyone I've ever read. May you find their journalism as inspiring as I do.

Bruce's book list on for journalists by journalists

Bruce Siwy Why did Bruce love this book?

Believe it or not, this irreverently titled gem was recommended to me by a pastor.

Charlie LeDuff is no saint, but his sermons on racial unrest, politician-class hypocrisy, and the poisoned water of Flint, Michigan should evoke some Old Testament outrage in any red-blooded American.

LeDuff shrugs off the tired tropes and narratives for a God's-honest odyssey of the U.S. to document corrosions within our culture and society. I dig his style and, more critically, his clear-eyed examination of the problems average people are facing across the country.

Sh*tshow! is a fun and refreshing read, sure to help recharge the batteries of even our most cynical.

By Charlie Leduff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sh*tshow! The Country's Collapsing...and the Ratings Are Great as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A daring, firsthand, and utterly-unscripted account of crisis in America, from Ferguson to Flint to Cliven Bundy's ranch to Donald Trump's unstoppable campaign for President--at every turn, Pulitzer-prize winner and bestselling author of Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff was there

In the Fall of 2013, long before any sane person had seriously considered the possibility of a Trump presidency, Charlie LeDuff sat in the office of then-Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, and made a simple but prophetic claim: The whole country is bankrupt and on high boil. It’s a shitshow out there. No one in the bubbles of Washington,…


Book cover of End the Fed

Michael G. Pento Author Of The Coming Bond Market Collapse: How to Survive the Demise of the U.S. Debt Market

From my list on fiscal destruction of America’s foundation of freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is to prepare clients' investments for the impending debt crisis. That is why I started Pento Portfolio Strategies and created the Inflation/Deflation and Economic Cycle Model. The US faces an entirely new paradigm – due to onerous debt, central banks are forced to either massively monetize the nation's debt or allow a cathartic deflationary depression to reset the economy. Our government is now compelled to seek a condition of perpetual inflation to maintain the illusion of prosperity and solvency. Our central bank is now walking the economy on a tightrope between inflation and deflation. This will require a vastly different and active investment strategy to fit the new dynamic.

Michael's book list on fiscal destruction of America’s foundation of freedom

Michael G. Pento Why did Michael love this book?

This book explains the unchecked power of the Federal Reserve.

Perfect for those who don't have the time to read the 608-page The Creature From Jekyll Island. In this book, Paul explains in very simple terms that the Federal Reserve has been given absolute power over the most essential element of our economy – the price and supply of money.

Formed by a small group of powerful bankers who argued a central bank would stabilize the currency, over the past century since its creation, the Fed has not only destabilized the currency but also created a series of wealth-destroying asset bubbles.

It has also led to a trenchant and destructive wealth gap between the rich and the poor. 

By Ron Paul,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked End the Fed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During the 2008 presidential campaign over 4,000 students gathered at the University of Michigan to hear Republican candidate Ron Paul speak. As he began to address the topics of monetary policy and the coming depression, a chant came from the crowd, 'End the Fed! End the Fed!' As dollar bills were set on fire, it became clearer than ever that the real problem, one that nobody in the media was talking about, was the central bank - an unconstitutional entity and a political, economic and moral disaster. Most people think of the Federal Reserve as an institution that has always…


Book cover of Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women Are Worth

Valerie M. Hudson Author Of The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide

From my list on feminist international relations.

Why am I passionate about this?

Valerie M. Hudson is a University Distinguished Professor and holds the George H.W. Bush Chair in the Department of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where she directs the Program on Women, Peace, and Security. Hudson was named to the list of Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers, and was recognized as Distinguished Scholar of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA/ISA) and awarded an inaugural Andrew Carnegie Fellowship as well as an inaugural Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Australian National University. She has been selected as the Distinguished Scholar Award recipient for 2022 by the Political Demography and Geography Section (PDG/ISA) of the International Studies Association. 

Valerie's book list on feminist international relations

Valerie M. Hudson Why did Valerie love this book?

Waring, a former MP for New Zealand, wrote what I consider the foundational book in feminist political economy. Removing the scales from our eyes in this book, she questions how it is that when an oil tanker spills, that event adds to the GDP of a nation, but when a woman gives birth to a baby, that event adds nothing to the GDP. She was the first to note that the “production boundary” stipulated by the male-created GDP indicator completely invisibilizes—even erases—the enormous contribution of women, simply because it is unpaid and performed for members of the same household. Waring then goes further and asks how this gendered approach to understanding economic success actually destroys our goal of sustainable, functional societies.

By Marilyn Waring,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Counting for Nothing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Safe drinking water counts for nothing. A pollution-free environment counts for nothing. Even some people - namely women - count for nothing. This is the case, at least, according to the United Nations System of National Accounts. Author Marilyn Waring, former New Zealand M.P., now professor, development consultant, writer, and goat farmer, isolates the gender bias that exists in the current system of calculating national wealth.As Waring observes, in this accounting system women are considered 'non-producers' and as such they cannot expect to gain from the distribution of benefits that flow from production. Issues like nuclear warfare, environmental conservation, and…


Book cover of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

Fred Chao Author Of Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero

From my list on pop culture’s influence on the artistic process.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm the writer and artist of the Johnny Hiro graphic novels. In those books, I use pop culture reference humor, but never simply as a joke. A reference can act as a hint to a world beyond the story the writer tells. I often dig slightly into an emotional resonance behind that reference—perhaps the (fictional) story of why it exists, or perhaps it even becomes an integral plot point. Popular media and culture often have a direct influence on our creative arts projects. And just sometimes, that art becomes an integral part of the popular culture itself.

Fred's book list on pop culture’s influence on the artistic process

Fred Chao Why did Fred love this book?

This graphic novel is framed as an interview biography with Charlie, a 72-year-old Singaporean comics creator, as he reflects on his life. We see sketches from his old journals, and more interestingly, comics from his long and robust career. His comics start off as whimsical heroic tales about a boy and a giant robot. But as Charlie matures, he takes in the politics of Singapore—the protests, wars, and changing government. As he digests this world around him, his comics change, from action comics to comic strips to satire to autobiographical to, well, all over the board. We see his thoughts on a turbulent, evolving Singapore laced within these comics—sometimes subtlely, often overtly—as well as glimpses into his relationships and his financial struggles. This masterfully told story falls amongst my favorite comics.

By Sonny Liew,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A 2017 Eisner Award Winner for Best Writer/Artist, Best US Edition of International Material—Asia, and Best Publication Design
Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2016
A New York Times bestseller
An Economist Book of the Year 2016
An NPR Graphic Novel Pick for 2016
A Washington Post Best Graphic Novel of 2016
A New York Post Best Books of 2016
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
A South China Morning Post Top 10 Asian books of 2016
An A.V. Club Best Comics of 2016
A Comic Books Resources Top 100 Comics of 2016
A Mental Floss Most Interesting Graphic…


Book cover of Juana the Mad: Sovereignty and Dynasty in Renaissance Europe
Book cover of Lazarillo de Tormes / The Guide Boy of Tormes
Book cover of Inquisitorial Inquiries: Brief Lives of Secret Jews and Other Heretics

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