The Scroll of Seduction (36 page)

Historical research for a novel like this owes a lot to others' work. I would like to express my gratitude for certain books that were absolutely essential in my reconstruction of the period and of Juana's life: Bethany Aram's extraordinary book,
La reina Juana
(Marcial Pons, Ediciones de Historia, S. A., 2001); Miguel Ángel Zalama's exhaustive, intellectual study,
Vida cotidiana y arte en el palacio de la reina Juana I en Tordesillas
(Universidad de Valladolid, 2003); Michael Pradwin's
Juana la Loca
(Editorial Juventud, 1953); Manuel Fernández Álvarez's
Juana la Loca, la cautiva de Tordesillas
(Espasa, 2000); and José Luis Olaizola's
Juana la Loca
(Editorial Planeta, 2002). I would also like to mention, of the many other books I consulted, Nancy Rubin's
Isabella of Castile
(St. Martin's Press, 1991), William Manchester's
A World Lit Only by Fire
(Little, Brown & Co., 1992), José Antonio Vallejo-Nájera's
Locos egregios;
Julia Kristeva's
Black Sun, Depression and Melancholia
(Columbia University Press, 1989); Michel Foucault's
Madness and Civilization
(Vintage Books, 1988); John Adamson's (ed.)
The Princely Courts of Europe 1500–1750
(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999); and Thomas Kren and Scott McKencrick's
Illuminating the Renaissance
(Getty Publications, 2003).

I would also like to sing the praises of the Internet, that fabulous source of data we now have at our disposal and which was invaluable to me for any number of diverse consultations. I want to thank Professor Teófilo Ruiz at UCLA for personal conversations as well as his The
Teaching Company lectures on the Catholic Monarchs of Spain; thanks also to Doctor Charles Hoge, Doctor Toni Bernay, and Doctor Iván Arango, for their contributions on Juana's illness.

I want to express very special thanks to my sister Lucía, who lent me not only her name for the protagonist of the novel, but also helped compile books and information from Madrid, where she lives. I thank her and my niece Teresa for their company on visits to different places where Juana lived in Spain, especially Tordesillas. I thank my sister Lavinia, my daughter Melissa, the tireless and indispensable Sergio Ramírez, Claribel Alegría, Anacristina Rossi, and my editors, Elena Ramírez, in Spain, and Rene Alegría at Rayo, HarperCollins, for their time, their advice, and their encouragement. To Bonnie Nadell and Guillermo Schavelzon, my agents in the United States and Spain, thank you for your support and enthusiasm for my work.

Jacket design by Laura Klynstra

Jacket photograph © Mikael Dubois/Johner Images