Giles Tremlett’s biography of the 15th-century queen of Spain, Isabella of Castile, is subtitled “Europe’s First Great Queen”. It could just have been subtitled “Europe’s Toughest Queen”, as Tremlett tells the story of the woman who not only succeeded in a traditionally masculine world, but excelled. As in his previous biography of Isabella’s daughter, Catherine of Aragon, Tremlett describes a world full of uncertainty and cruelty, in which the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition was just one of the ways that she reconquered Spain from the Moors. In grippingly told and evocative pages, the military success of Isabella is evoked as she ordered her armies: that “we lose ourselves to fury rather than allow moderation to triumph”. Tremlett’s style is both scholarly and hugely readable, and he particularly excels in depicting Isabella’s relationships with her husband, Ferdinand, and, towards the end, with Christopher Columbus. This superb book is a pleasure to read.

• Isabella of Castile by Giles Tremlett is published by Bloomsbury (£25). To order a copy for £21.25, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99