Queen of Shadows by Anna BelfrageI read my first historical novel when I was about 12, and it started with a girl my age from a royal family in medieval Europe who is about to be wed to a 14-year-old prince. Anna Belfrage’s new book, Queen of Shadows, re-ignited my love of that period and type of story. Hers features the complicated relationships among the inner circle of King Alfonso of Castile, whose struggles in the 1330s against Muslim incursions from the south forced him into a loveless, politically expedient marriage with Maria of Portugal while his heart and life-long passion lay with Leonor de Guzmán. The story is told mainly through the eyes of one of Leonor’s ladies-in-waiting, Alma, a brave, resourceful young woman who struggles to accept the norms of courtly life.
Belfrage clearly knows this period of history extremely well. She provides an enormous amount of detail to immerse us in the time and place. At times, perhaps, a bit too much. One challenge in writing about this period is that so many royals had similar-sounding names, so it can be complicated to keep track of who is who. I don’t normally refer to ‘cast of characters’ listings, but this is one book that could have used one. Certain events, such as attempts on Leonor’s or Alma’s lives, are repeated more than is strictly necessary for the story. I think that with tighter editing, the novel would have been stronger. Even without it, though, it does a wonderful job of bringing the tumultuous times of medieval Spain to life.
View all my reviews
[This review first appeared in the Historical Novel Society’s August 2026 book reviews section.]
