In 1557 a prematurely aged, ill, and very irritable Charles V (H.R.E.) retires to a small isolated monastery in western Spain. He is burdened by his failures and unresolved political, military and religious problems. His only comfort and solace are his memories and reveries of his much loved mistress Barbara.Blomberg who bore him a son who became Europe's celebrated and idolized, Don Juan of Austria. And his revelations of his lifelong relationship with Barbara are revealing and make a wonderful touching; and emotional love story.

Philip II of Spain was overburdened by many problems and one of the most exasperating was the lack of a healthy legitimate male heir. But healthy boys were born to his mistresses. One them was the very alluring and seductive beauty with the bewitching black patch over her right eye, the very influential Ana de Mendoza, The Princess of Eboli, claimed by many to be the power behind the throne. In a court seething with rumours of plots and conspiracy Ana was always alert, watching and listening; was she reporting to her husband Ruy Gomez, one of Philip's ministers, or to her lover Antonio Perez, Philip's secretary - or to the French?

Queen Juana I of Spain was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and sister of Catherine of Aragon. She was contracted to marry Philip the Fair, a known womaniser and political schemer, and fell passionately in love with him at first sight. The marriage was very passionate and stormy but his early death made it short-lived. When her mother died Juana should have reigned as Queen of Castile but she was callously denied power and status throughout her life, most of which she spent imprisoned. by the three men in her life who sought power for themselves: her husband Philip, her father Ferdinand and her son Charles. She faced their relentless physical and mental cruelty with courage and determination, her spirited resistance earning her, unjustly, the nickname by which she is remembered, Juana la Loca (Joan the Mad.)

Ana, known as Ana of Austria, was the illegitimate daughter of Juan de Austria, who was himself the illegitimate son of Charles V (HRE). She was raised by the same nanny as her father until she was seven then placed in a convent in Avila. Later her confessor introduced her to the convent's young, handsome pastry chef, Gabriel de Espinosa. He claimed to be King Sebastian I of Portugal, who was never convincingly accounted for after a battle in Morocco. With the complicity of her confessor they started courting. Espinosa bore a surprising resemblance to the missing king Sebastian and Ana was duped into believing his claim to the throne. And dazzled by his charm and the hope of becoming queen of Portugal, she fell in love with him and became involved in the complicated and dangerous political intrigue surrounding the Portuguese crown.

At a time when men, especially kings, were expected to produce male heirs Philip embarked on several dynastic marriages but was always disappointed and frustrated. Wives & Other Women focuses on these loveless marriages - and his compulsive pursuit of other women. With a background of family turmoil and a court plagued by intrigue and treachery, the result is

The novel, which will evoke as many laughs as tears, begins in 1557 when a prematurely aged, ill, and very irritable Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, (Carlos I of Spain and always known as Carlos), retires to a small isolated monastery in western Spain. He has brought with him memories of his past loves, his years in power, and his many military campaigns, most of them failures, and his delusions that his disastrous dynastic arranged marriages for all his family have been strokes of sheer genius. Among his few specially chosen companions is his outspoken major domo, who has been his lifelong aide and confidant. He knows Carlos better than Carlos knows himself and, uniquely, he is allowed total freedom to speak his mind, no matter what. The result is often very funny. With the other members of his household revealing tragicomic anecdotes from his past and the unremitting critical yet supposedly objective observations of an all-knowing narrator we see a warts and all picture of a ruler often called the greatest Holy Roman Emperor since Charlemagne. But was he? Or was he just a blustering, bumbling, egotistical, ultimately very humane, loving and lovable, ordinary, generous man; Barbara thought so.

Queen Juana of Spain was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabel, and sister of Catherine of Aragon. She was instrumental in creating the powerful Hapsburg houses of Spain and Austria which would endure for centuries. Throughout her life Juana was callously denied power and status by three men: her husband Philip, her father Ferdinand, and her son Charles. She faced their relentless physical and mental cruelty with courage and determination, her spirited resistance earning her, unjustly, the nickname by which she is remembered; Juana la Loca, Joan the Mad.