Ruth MacKay works as an editor and writer at Stanford University, where she is also a visiting scholar. Her previous books are The Limits of Royal Authority: Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile and "Lazy, Improvident People": Myth and Reality in the Writing of Spanish History.

"Ruth MacKay draws upon a wealth of new materials culled from various archives, both Spanish and Portuguese, together with an array of printed primary sources-chronicles, spiritual treatises, ambassadorial reports, etc.-to offer new insights into the gripping tale of the pastelero de Madrigal. Her account of the young King Sebastian and his 1578 death in Morocco at the fabled 'Battle of the Three Kings' is by far the best I have ever read. The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal is beautifully crafted and a true delight to read." -Richard L. Kagan, Johns Hopkins University"

Ruth MacKay works as an editor and writer at Stanford University, where she is also a visiting scholar. Her previous books are The Limits of Royal Authority: Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile and "Lazy, Improvident People": Myth and Reality in the Writing of Spanish History.

"Ruth MacKay draws upon a wealth of new materials culled from various archives, both Spanish and Portuguese, together with an array of printed primary sources-chronicles, spiritual treatises, ambassadorial reports, etc.-to offer new insights into the gripping tale of the pastelero de Madrigal. Her account of the young King Sebastian and his 1578 death in Morocco at the fabled 'Battle of the Three Kings' is by far the best I have ever read. The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal is beautifully crafted and a true delight to read." -Richard L. Kagan, Johns Hopkins University"

Ruth MacKay works as an editor and writer at Stanford University, where she is also a visiting scholar. Her previous books are The Limits of Royal Authority: Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile and "Lazy, Improvident People": Myth and Reality in the Writing of Spanish History.

"Ruth MacKay draws upon a wealth of new materials culled from various archives, both Spanish and Portuguese, together with an array of printed primary sources-chronicles, spiritual treatises, ambassadorial reports, etc.-to offer new insights into the gripping tale of the pastelero de Madrigal. Her account of the young King Sebastian and his 1578 death in Morocco at the fabled 'Battle of the Three Kings' is by far the best I have ever read. The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal is beautifully crafted and a true delight to read." -Richard L. Kagan, Johns Hopkins University"