Book description
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.
Swedish by birth, but educated in Britain, Leonie Frieda speaks five
languages and is a member of the Institute of Linguists. Her long
interest in Catherine de Medici has taken her to archives in Paris,
Florence, Rome and Madrid, as well as the chateaux of the Loire. She
lives in London with her children Elisabeth and Jake.
