Excellent historical novel
Captain from Castile is a novel about the conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes. It is the story of one of his men, Pedro de Vargas, of a noble family in southern Spain, who flees the Inquisition and goes to the New World. There he joins the expedition to Mexico, then returns to Spain, as did many conquistadors. There are various subplots, all very well worked in with the overall story.
The novel is very well written and largely historically accurate, mixing real historical figures in with the novel's fictional characters very well. I offer only one caution-to get the full effect the reader should have at least a basic knowledge of the period in Spanish and Mexican history. But it is a good read in any event. Too bad the movie didn't follow it more fully.