The Spanish Bridegroom Author:Jean Plaidy Set against the glittering court of 16th century Europe,the Spain of the dreaded Inquisition, & the tortured England of Bloody Mary,this powerful novel traces the story of Philip II--& of the women who came to know this man whom history lists as a cold-blooded monster only as a devoted father & sensual lover. Philip has remained a mysterious cha... more »racter through the centuries. Some see him as a tyrant, a murderer, a fanatic who reveled in the sufferings he witnessed at the autos-da-fe, which took place in his native country & which enjoyed his whole-hearted support. To others he is a devout Catholic, the founder of that monastic palace the Escorial, & a man whose harsh deeds were all committed in the cause of duty & self-sacrifice. Which was the real Philip? In "The Spanish Bridegroom" Jean Plaidy presents a fascinating portrait of Philip as a child robbed of childhood, then as bridegroom, husband & father.There was the first romantic union with child-like Maria Manoela, which brought him tragedy & a troublesome son, Don Carlos,to be the cause of perpetual anxiety, culminating in horror.Then followed marriage to Mary Tudor, jealously possessive, who prepared so pathetically for a nonexistant child.And finally marriage again,to a bride Philip stole from his unbalanced son,sowing the seeds of murder.Yet dominating all of the other characters in the book is that strange man,most powerful of kings,fanatic,murderer,husband,father,lover---Philip, the Spanish Bridegroom.« less