Queen Christina of Sweden and her Circle: The Transformation of a Seventeenth-Century Philosophical Libertine (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 21)

Book info: Queen Christina of Sweden and her Circle: The Transformation of a Seventeenth-Century Philosophical Libertine (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 21) (Leather Bound, 358 pages) – Brill, 1991. Language: English.

The life and works of Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) have often been obscured behind a haze of Iurid myths and legends. This book looks again at her notorious abdication of 1654, seeing it against the background of her reputation as a "libertine", a heterodox religious thinker. Her subsequent conversion to Catholicism is therefore understood as a consequence of messianic and millenarian expectations during those turbulent years, and her bizarre attempt in 1657 to become the ruler of Naples is revealed to be the political wing of a comprehensive religious and intellectual philosophy. Editorial Reviews Review '...advances new insights and fresh interpretations...It may very well remain the "final word" on this complex issue...'
K.Smemo, Choice, 1992.

‘...éclaire singulièrement le portrait considéré jusque là comme incohérent de la Reine de Suède, formant une très intéressante contribution sur la XVIIe siècle...'
Alain Touwaide, Scriptorium, 1992.

'This book is a mine of information, a challenge to anyone who tries to reconstruct the philosophy of the past in the image of the present.'
Sarah Hutton, Br. Jrnl. for the History of Philosophy, 1993.

'...monumental study...Åkerman's clear-headed and thoroughly researched account throws light on virtually everything she duscusses...'
Metascience, 1992.

'...anyone will appreciate the careful research that informs this complex, densely woven narrative.'
Paula Findlen, The Sixteenth Century Journal, 1992.
'...brings together with learned enthusiasm a great deal of relevant or circumstantial information about this bibliophile queen.'
John Stoye, Notes and Queries, 1993.

'...an exciting and well argued interpretation of the intellectual life and political ambitions of a seventeenth-century philosophical libertine...'
Bruce T. Moran, Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, 1993. About the Author Susanna Kristina Åkerman (b. Stockholm 1959), Ph.D. (1988) in Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis after studies at the Universities of Stockholm (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and Köln. She is presently a Research Assistant at Uppsala University, working on a project Swedish-Baltic Immaterialism 1622-1688.