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Philip V of Spain: The King Who Reigned Twice. By Henry Kamen. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-300-08718-7. Map. Illustrations. Appendix. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Index. Pp. viii, 277. $29.95.
Philip V was the first king of the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon, which still reigns in Madrid. Conventional wisdom has long held that Philip was only an instrument in the hands of his second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, the so-called "termagant of Spain," who was believed to have profited from the king's lack of will to carry on Spanish foreign policy as she saw fit. Thus, Philip V has been written off as a minor figure...