ANNA OF SAXONY: SCANDAL OF COURT AND CAN Format: Paperback

A scandalous woman of the Renaissance who made history through her uncompromising defiance

In the early 1570s, Anna of Saxony (1544-77), second wife of the Dutch nobleman and rebel leader William of Orange, set Europe's noble courts ablaze with one of the sixteenth century's most sensational scandals. Although destined to a life of fabulous riches on the side of her glamorous husband, Anna failed to find happiness as political reversals and revolution in the Low Countries led to near destitution and a profound marital crisis. The embittered princess embarked on a love affair with the father of one of the age's greatest painters and gave birth to an illegitimate child.
The first biography of its kind in any language, the book follows young Anna from an unhappy girlhood in Germany to conjugal life inthe sophisticated Netherlands, while exploring her ruinous loveaffair with a married commoner. The author also interlaces Anna's lifelong personalbattles with absorbing details about Renaissance religious and social customs. Anna of Saxony breaks new ground in uncovering the little known tale of a female rebel, who dared to defy convention and the strictures of gender, irregardless of the consequences.

Ingrun Mann was born in Germany and lives in the United States. After a career as a political analyst, she is now a lecturer of history at Northwest Florida State College.