Catherine de Medici
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4.3 • 19 Ratings
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- $32.99
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- $32.99
Publisher Description
The inspiration for the STARZ original series, The Serpent Queen, premiering September 11.
“A beautifully written portrait of a ruthless, subtle and fearless woman fighting for survival and power in a world of gangsterish brutality, routine assassination and religious mania. . . . Frieda has brought a largely forgotten heroine-villainess and a whole sumptuously vicious era back to life. . . . This is The Godfather meets Elizabeth.” —Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
Poisoner, besotted mother, despot, necromancer, engineer of a massacre: the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen of France to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds.
Based on comprehensive research including thousands of Catherine’s own letters, Frieda unfurls Catherine’s story from her troubled childhood in Florence to her tumultuous marriage to Henry II of France; her transformation of French culture to her reign as a queen who would use brutality to ensure her children’s royal birthright. Brilliantly executed, this enthralling biography goes beyond myth to paint a very human portrait of this remarkable figure.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Historian Leonie Frieda’s intense examination of Catherine de Medici will reset your ideas about the infamous French ruler. With the help of in-depth research, Frieda reassesses the reign of a woman painted for centuries as a villain. Orphaned and married off to the philandering King Henry II, Catherine was eventually widowed with 10 children to guide and a divided nation to keep on track. We found ourselves glued to our earbuds as Frieda blew up the conventional wisdom that Catherine was to blame for destructive events like the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Her storytelling makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a period drama full of intrigue and action—and narrator Sarah Le Fevre is a perfect fit. Prepare to be amazed by this deeply complex historical figure.
