Sep 28, 2026 · 14 min · 8 segments
Step into the shadows of medieval power! On this episode of Hidden Heroines of History, author and host Gayvin Powers sits down with acclaimed writer Sherry Jones to discuss her riveting novella…
Sherry JonesGuest
Gaben PowersHost
I found that Blanche de Castille, like so many women of her era and so many of the women who have been in my books, had these formidable odds.
Married at age 12, her first three children died in childbirth because she was so young.
And then she had two more children who died when they were infants, maybe for the same reason.
Louis was her fifth, sixth child, I think, and he was the first one who lived to adulthood.
Men didn't have to endure that, right? And then also women didn't generally get real power.
She was able to hold on to power for quite a long time, even after Louis became king.
But also a woman's sexual power is, I mean, pleasure and sexuality are the source of so much of our power as women.
And that's one reason why patriarchy has worked so hard to repress it and to in various ways, right? All these different ways.
Before Louis, one reason he married Marguerite, he was, I think, 13 or 15, also pretty young, was because he was starting to have affairs.
And so Blanche is like, I better nip this in the bud before he gets someone pregnant.
You know, we have these illegitimate people claiming their heirs to the throne.
I found that Blanche de Castille, like so many women of her era and so many of the women who have been in my books, had these formidable odds.
Married at age 12, her first three children died in childbirth because she was so young.
And then she had two more children who died when they were infants, maybe for the same reason.
Louis was her fifth, sixth child, I think, and he was the first one who lived to adulthood.
Men didn't have to endure that, right? And then also women didn't generally get real power.
She was able to hold on to power for quite a long time, even after Louis became king.
But also a woman's sexual power is, I mean, pleasure and sexuality are the source of so much of our power as women.
And that's one reason why patriarchy has worked so hard to repress it and to in various ways, right? All these different ways.
Before Louis, one reason he married Marguerite, he was, I think, 13 or 15, also pretty young, was because he was starting to have affairs.
And so Blanche is like, I better nip this in the bud before he gets someone pregnant.
You know, we have these illegitimate people claiming their heirs to the throne.
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