Francis I

Leonie Frieda, the bestselling author of Catherine de Medici, returns to sixteenth-century Europe in the evocative and entertaining biography, Francis I.

Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman—a national identity was modeled on his character. So great was his stamp, that few countries even now are quite so robustly patriotic as is France. Yet as Leonie Frieda reveals, Francis did not always live up to his ideal; a man of grand passions and vision, he was also a flawed husband, father, lover, and king.


With access to private archives previously unused in a study of Francis I, Frieda recreates a remarkable era of French history to explore the life of a man who was the most human of the monarchs of the period—and yet, remains the most elusive.

"Superb and vivid . . . brings the world of Francis I to life, skillfully delineating the moves and major players in both European and domestic politics . . . and also gives the reader wonderful glimpses of the often licentious court life of that time . . . Frieda suggests that, under Francis I, France preserved its political power, greatly increased its cultural influence, and positioned itself for the Grand Siecle that his Bourbon successors would soon preside over." —Wall Street Journal