Catherine de Medici

Renaissance Queen of France

De: Leonie Frieda

Narrado por: Sarah Le Fevre

Poisoner, despot, necromancer - 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 to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds - from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons' birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown.

©2018 Leonie Frieda (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group

Exceptional

Excellently written and the narrator is soothing yet not boring. I loved this book and listened to it twice in two weeks.

Better than TV series

Nothing like the STARs TV series. It is much better if you actually want the facts.

I wish MY mother had read this book!!

Other than the monotone narration, I would however stay for the conclusion of a revelatory testament of one of histories most intriguing sovereigns, Catherine DeMedici.

A good listen

I liked it. It was informative and detailed but not to the point of being too wordy. This is the first book about Catherine de Medici that I’ve listened to, so I can’t say for sure, but I felt it gave a balanced look into her life.
The narrator was pleasant, her speed and pronunciation clear and easy to listen to.

Catherine is a badass

Great details; Catherine is one of the most under rated historical figures. Henry was a idiot for choosing Diane. Boo Henry boo!

Informative but less engaging personal account

Good narrator and informative account of a political nature. However, less engaging personal account. Worth the time. I'll pursue other biographies about Catherine de Medici for a more well rounded picture of her.

A little bias, easily recognized

It is a very nice deep dive into the life of Catherine de Medici. You can easily pick up the author’s personal dislike of Henry II’s mistress, and attempts to downplay the major disaster in Catherine’s multiple regencies with the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre. The narrator is good, but her strange pronunciation of a few words pulled me out a few times, but I can’t say ‘soot’ properly, so who am I to judge.

Thoroughly research ed

I've read four or five books on this subject and this one had more personal information on Catherine Dr Medici than the others; such as, her creating a side saddle for woman and, among many other more personal tidbits, she established the wearing of petticoats so she won't expose her privates when dismounting a horse, etc.
The author's opinion of Diane De Poitier was overly biased, I thought, against her and in favor of Catherine. There is definitely an argument to be made for both sides but I don't agree with her assessment of Diane as overly venal and overall disinterest in sex. She and Henry II had a passionate sex life where they genuinely made love to both of their intense satisfaction.
Overall, i loved this book and would highly recommend it to any person interested in this subject as it was detailed and the authors perspective was far ranging and meticulous research. I will definitely read this author's books again.

Can't Miss Reading about Medici

This book covers the very interesting life of Catherine de Medici. Well written and well narrated, the story maintains a good pace with several chilling twists in this woman's mind set, actions and decisions that changed many events in history.

Great insights

Have started to study this period
, great insights from this book. Only problem is keeping the names straight.