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allowvera's review against another edition
4.0
Catherine de Medici has, over time, collected a long list of derogatory nicknames depicting her as a heartless villain for her regency in France. Using the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France, the author Leonie Frieda sets out to reintroduce Catherine in an unbiased and objective form by simply presenting the facts alongside anti-Catherine propaganda in the form of a historical biography. In doing so, Frieda hopes for the reader to see Catherine as she truly was; a courageous woman trying to withstand the tumultuous waters of the converging foreign diplomacy, ideas from the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance, and the ever capricious French political scene.
Catherine de Medici was born on April 13, 1519. Promptly after her birth both of her parents die, leaving her an orphan of Florence. As Catherine grows into womanhood she becomes a marriage pawn for her relatives, particularly Pope Clement VII, because of her family name and inherited properties. King Francis I of France proposes to Clement VII that she marry his second son Henry on the grounds that her dowry include territories in Italy. Once enduring the embarrassment of the Pope and the King watching the newlyweds consummate their marriage it was official; Catherine was now a part of the French royal court. Catherine quickly took to charming the most important members of the royal family. Although never winning over her own husband, she did win over the heart of the King; thus becoming his companion and he her teacher.
Catherine’s stay at court for the first ten years was tense due to her inability to produce an heir until finally giving birth to a son, Francis, followed almost yearly by 9 more children. She becomes invaluable to the Francis I after the birth of her first son. He adored her intelligence and viewed her as a powerful asset to Henry, who would soon assume the throne. As Frieda states, in order to understand Catherine’s later decisions, you have to understand the essential points of Henry’s reign. He has a close band of nobles whom he imprudently grants too much power, unknowingly making Catherine’s regency over her sons hazardous (70).
When Henry becomes king he grants his friends and mistress Diane more power and prestigious gifts than Catherine, but after years of dealing with conflict he finally sees her as an asset and seeks her counsel more often; eventually placing her as regent in his stead as he goes off to war on the continent. Due to the many power hungry nobles Henry II made, Catherine faces a huge decision when Henry dies and her young son Francis II is to take the throne. She ultimately has to entangle herself with the Guises to protect her family and their rise to power. She is declared regent in her son’s stead and chooses how to handle all foreign and domestic affairs how, for the most part, she saw fit. No one now stood in the way of her goal to rebuild and heal France. As the nobles appointed by Henry II allies themselves and backstabs for power the turmoil, combined with religious differences, ignites the all-consuming fire that is the eight French Wars of Religion; the wars that lead to the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Catherine is notorious for. The duration of Catherine’s life is spent trying to reconcile the religious and political differences within the nobility and the people of France while combating the problems of the ever decreasing treasury. Catherine never lives to see peace or the absolute power that will accrue from her son-in-law’s reign. Nevertheless, no one can doubt her utter devotion to her children, the renaissance spirit, and France.
Leonie Frieda’s book is an ambitious undertaking and very well presented. She has a vast bibliography and uses copious amounts of citations in which she effectively builds her credibility with the audience. Frieda claims the book is about Catherine but more than half of it is devoted to her sons and other nobles of the French court. After the death of her husband, Catherine fails to shine through and becomes a virtual background character to a biography written solely to shed light on her.
There are many small annoyances encompassing Catherine de Medici such as the dry narration used to describe the scandalous French royal court. This combined with the frustration of having to read passages over and over to keep straight the relationships forming from the liberal amount of name dropping, can lead the reader to hair-pulling. Not to mention the countless times Frieda brings up something and assumes the reader knows exactly what she is talking about and never explains it, but on the other hand over explaining bits of information that do not matter. For instance, she briefly mentions Catherine’s occult palace rooms but never explains any of it. What was in there? Why was it there? Who else knew about it? What kind of occult practice was it? This point goes hand in hand with another major issue – the French phrases. Frieda continuously includes French phrases and assumes the reader will know from context clues or maybe does not think twice about it because she speaks French. Without a background in French a reader would never be able to guess what “raison d’être” or “père et fils” means (49).
One of the worst flaws of all is the off putting bias Frieda seems to have towards Diane de Poitiers. The author prides herself on her supposed objective view of Catherine but paints Diane in such an unflattering light that it seems she lets her own opinion intrude on the historical facts and context of the book. Why get so emotional in the description of Diane and her undermining of Catherine at every turn but almost become emotionally detached from how poorly Catherine treats her own daughter Margaret? Frieda succeeds in transforming Catherine into something other than a black-hearted monster. She does not succeed in her attempt to portray her as a compassionate woman with a complex personality. As the story became focused on her sons and politics, Frieda lost touch with the message she was trying to send and instead it fell apart. Ultimately, anyone interested in French culture, history, or Catherine de Medici would find this book intriguing despite its listed flaws but, be warned, it will make for a very long and arduous read.
Catherine de Medici was born on April 13, 1519. Promptly after her birth both of her parents die, leaving her an orphan of Florence. As Catherine grows into womanhood she becomes a marriage pawn for her relatives, particularly Pope Clement VII, because of her family name and inherited properties. King Francis I of France proposes to Clement VII that she marry his second son Henry on the grounds that her dowry include territories in Italy. Once enduring the embarrassment of the Pope and the King watching the newlyweds consummate their marriage it was official; Catherine was now a part of the French royal court. Catherine quickly took to charming the most important members of the royal family. Although never winning over her own husband, she did win over the heart of the King; thus becoming his companion and he her teacher.
Catherine’s stay at court for the first ten years was tense due to her inability to produce an heir until finally giving birth to a son, Francis, followed almost yearly by 9 more children. She becomes invaluable to the Francis I after the birth of her first son. He adored her intelligence and viewed her as a powerful asset to Henry, who would soon assume the throne. As Frieda states, in order to understand Catherine’s later decisions, you have to understand the essential points of Henry’s reign. He has a close band of nobles whom he imprudently grants too much power, unknowingly making Catherine’s regency over her sons hazardous (70).
When Henry becomes king he grants his friends and mistress Diane more power and prestigious gifts than Catherine, but after years of dealing with conflict he finally sees her as an asset and seeks her counsel more often; eventually placing her as regent in his stead as he goes off to war on the continent. Due to the many power hungry nobles Henry II made, Catherine faces a huge decision when Henry dies and her young son Francis II is to take the throne. She ultimately has to entangle herself with the Guises to protect her family and their rise to power. She is declared regent in her son’s stead and chooses how to handle all foreign and domestic affairs how, for the most part, she saw fit. No one now stood in the way of her goal to rebuild and heal France. As the nobles appointed by Henry II allies themselves and backstabs for power the turmoil, combined with religious differences, ignites the all-consuming fire that is the eight French Wars of Religion; the wars that lead to the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Catherine is notorious for. The duration of Catherine’s life is spent trying to reconcile the religious and political differences within the nobility and the people of France while combating the problems of the ever decreasing treasury. Catherine never lives to see peace or the absolute power that will accrue from her son-in-law’s reign. Nevertheless, no one can doubt her utter devotion to her children, the renaissance spirit, and France.
Leonie Frieda’s book is an ambitious undertaking and very well presented. She has a vast bibliography and uses copious amounts of citations in which she effectively builds her credibility with the audience. Frieda claims the book is about Catherine but more than half of it is devoted to her sons and other nobles of the French court. After the death of her husband, Catherine fails to shine through and becomes a virtual background character to a biography written solely to shed light on her.
There are many small annoyances encompassing Catherine de Medici such as the dry narration used to describe the scandalous French royal court. This combined with the frustration of having to read passages over and over to keep straight the relationships forming from the liberal amount of name dropping, can lead the reader to hair-pulling. Not to mention the countless times Frieda brings up something and assumes the reader knows exactly what she is talking about and never explains it, but on the other hand over explaining bits of information that do not matter. For instance, she briefly mentions Catherine’s occult palace rooms but never explains any of it. What was in there? Why was it there? Who else knew about it? What kind of occult practice was it? This point goes hand in hand with another major issue – the French phrases. Frieda continuously includes French phrases and assumes the reader will know from context clues or maybe does not think twice about it because she speaks French. Without a background in French a reader would never be able to guess what “raison d’être” or “père et fils” means (49).
One of the worst flaws of all is the off putting bias Frieda seems to have towards Diane de Poitiers. The author prides herself on her supposed objective view of Catherine but paints Diane in such an unflattering light that it seems she lets her own opinion intrude on the historical facts and context of the book. Why get so emotional in the description of Diane and her undermining of Catherine at every turn but almost become emotionally detached from how poorly Catherine treats her own daughter Margaret? Frieda succeeds in transforming Catherine into something other than a black-hearted monster. She does not succeed in her attempt to portray her as a compassionate woman with a complex personality. As the story became focused on her sons and politics, Frieda lost touch with the message she was trying to send and instead it fell apart. Ultimately, anyone interested in French culture, history, or Catherine de Medici would find this book intriguing despite its listed flaws but, be warned, it will make for a very long and arduous read.
boomwormbrittany's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Catherine de Medici is a biography about the Renaissance French queen Catherine de Medici and the life that she lived.
I picked up this book because I am watching the show The Serpent Queen and found that Catherine de Medici as a person really interested me. I found this book when looking up books to read about her and I thought this was a really interesting look at her life. A lot of what we know about Catherine is through contemporary writings of her and her own letters that were saved throughout the centuries.
It was so fascinating to read about a woman who had so much turmoil in her life and how she handled those tumultuous times. Through loss of her husband and some of her children and her having to continually take over as regent, she stayed a pretty strong woman. She was someone who knew how to scheme and politic her way to the top. She tried to make both sides happy considering that France was in the midst of Catholic and Protestant civil war. She was stuck in tough spots yet I found it interesting how she was able to influence things happening in court and in the country.
I would say that if you have an interest in Catherine as a person, definitely pick this book up as I thought it was an interesting read.
I picked up this book because I am watching the show The Serpent Queen and found that Catherine de Medici as a person really interested me. I found this book when looking up books to read about her and I thought this was a really interesting look at her life. A lot of what we know about Catherine is through contemporary writings of her and her own letters that were saved throughout the centuries.
It was so fascinating to read about a woman who had so much turmoil in her life and how she handled those tumultuous times. Through loss of her husband and some of her children and her having to continually take over as regent, she stayed a pretty strong woman. She was someone who knew how to scheme and politic her way to the top. She tried to make both sides happy considering that France was in the midst of Catholic and Protestant civil war. She was stuck in tough spots yet I found it interesting how she was able to influence things happening in court and in the country.
I would say that if you have an interest in Catherine as a person, definitely pick this book up as I thought it was an interesting read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Child death
twisty's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
This read more like a novel than a biography, which I always enjoy.
trejondunkley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
sea_uh_dahmay's review against another edition
3.0
minus a star bc these religious alliances are more confusing than any st*m class I’ve ever taken