Catherine De Medici

Orphaned in infancy, Catherine de Medici was the sole legitimate heiress to the Medici family fortune. Married at fourteen to the future Henri II of France, she was constantly humiliated by his influential mistress Diane de Poitiers. When her husband died as a result of a duelling accident in Paris, Catherine was made queen regent during the short reign of her eldest son (married to Mary Queen of Scots and like many of her children he died young). When her second son became king she was the power behind the throne.

She nursed dynastic ambitions, but was continually drawn into political and religious intrigues between catholics and protestants that plagued France for much of the later part of her life. It had always been said that she was implicated in the notorious Saint Barthlomew's Day Massacre, together with the king and her third son who succeeded to the throne in 1574, but was murdered. Her political influence waned, but she survived long enough to ensure the succession of her son-in-law who had married her daughter Margaret.

©2003 Leonie Frieda (P)2005 Orion Publishing Group Ltd

Critic reviews

"Leonie Frieda tells an enthralling story that includes incest, vicious religious wars, assassination, poison, the occult and, in Catherine's own words, 'passion, hatred and vengeance'." (Options XIII)

"Leonie Frieda does this remarkable woman full justice. Refusing to play judge, she reveals her to us through the best of means, which is narrative. The skill with which Frieda finds her way through the maze of this confusing period is exemplary. You read on eagerly. An enthralling book." (Allan Massie)

"This masterful and compelling biography delivers 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. I quickly found I could not stop reading. This is narrative history at its best, both scholarly and as captivating as a thriller. Leonie Frieda has brought a largely forgotten heroine-villainess and a whole sumptuously vicious era back to life again. She is equally at home in the royal court as she is in the blood-reeking gutters of Paris: this is The Godfather meets Elizabeth." (Simon Sebag Montefiore)

Brought to Life

What did you love best about Catherine De Medici?

The family and national history as well as how some of the "stories" came to be.

What did you like best about this story?

Catherine was neither all good or bad

Have you listened to any of Anna Massey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

na

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I couldn't

Any additional comments?

Audio is becoming one of my favorite ways to "read" history and biographies

Catherine De Medici

Excellent book. I have not found much on Catherine De Medici and it was just enjoyable to finally hear some of her accomplishment throughout her life time.

I would recommend this to other listeners.

Would you consider the audio edition of Catherine De Medici to be better than the print version?

I've never read the print version.

Any additional comments?

This book was an interesting and easy way to learn about Catherine De Medici.

Didn't realize it was abridged. Love Anne Massey.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes but I would have preferred the unabridged version which I ended up reading.

Which character – as performed by Anna Massey – was your favorite?

Anne Massey is a great narrator all around.

awesome biography

Definitely enjoy listening to this book. wake the interest on me to keep looking for historical books

A Great Historical Read

This book gives you a pretty detailed listing of who did what during the 1500's in France. I did enjoy the history lesson but next time I will have to prepare a flow chart of names to keep track of who is doing what to whom. This did provide an extremely good insight into the religious wars of the era.

Intriguing Valois history, extraordinary narration

It isn't easy to find much in English, far less on audio, about the Valois monarchs. It was for that reason I turned to this biography and am very glad I did. I knew little of Catherine before listening to this, and now find myself wanting to learn much more about those around her, from her friend and sister-in-law Marguerite, Duchess of Berry, to her nemesis Diane de Poitiers and many more besides. I also longed to learn more about the architecture and decoration of the many chateaux, such as Chenonceau and Anet, and it’s been enlightening to visit the castles virtually, online.

That feeling of wanting to know more is a great treat when reading history, and one can go off on a thousand tangents with the Valois.

I have been appalled at the gross errors and slapdash research in so much that passes for “historical” fiction. The Valois dynasty in particular suffers badly under such treatment, and don’t get me started on the television series “Reign!” If you’re interested in the reality of Catherine’s times, I recommend this book highly.

Frieda's biography is rich and dense with information, and there is never a dull moment for those who love French history. Anna Massey's performance is, as always, outstanding in every way. I only wish the book could have been three times longer, with many incidents gone into with greater detail, so greatly did I enjoy it. I hope you will love it, too, and go on to read Frieda’s biography of Catherine’s beloved father-in-law, Francis I.

Why isn't Catherine known as a she-wolf?

This is a most interesting biography of an extraordinary woman who appeared to be prepared to do almost anything for her children - she poisoned, she murdered and she dabbled in the dark arts for them. She was closely involved in the infamous St Bartholomew's Day Massacre of the Huguenots yet history sees her as the Queen Mother who was the power behind the throne of Charles IX and Henri III and as such a good ruler of France.

I've recently read about Isabelle who was labelled the She-Wolf of France which seems to a bit unfair, yet Catherine who quite clearly could be so labelled is fairly untarnished by history. I guess that proves the point History is written by the Victors!

English history seems very straight forward yet in comparison French history seems ridiculously complicated and convoluted - the time of the French Wars of Religion are no less tortuous and twisted yet thru it all schemed Catherine.

This is a book for history lovers particularly those interested in 16th Century and Tudor history wanting an understanding of French goings on at the same time as Elizabeth I. I personally would preferred to have been in the English Court at this time - far less confusing and far safer!

Great overview

This was a good survey of Catherine’s life. After visiting Amboise, I wanted to know more of the players of this time. It brought into sharper focus many events that were unclear to me. However, I wished there was more research into details seemed to be brushed over. A good survey.

Gushing royalist

The author acts as a cheerleader for a psychopathic social climber. The history is highly edited with Catherine given every benefit of the doubt and her enemies are all assumed to be evil.