I really like how these stories have a base in truth and are told as nice tales. Joanna gathers the storyline and knits a tale from it. You get to enjoy a book and might learn a bit as well. The indirectness of her history lessons also gives it a nice view. It gives the reader a nice view of the play instead of being the main character.
Only downside that I had was the time jumps. In the first few chapters, the pace is very constant. In later chapters we start to jump and with jump it mean years.