I have to say I found this quite boringly written. But I bet many people think history is dull and tedious,but history is full of interesting things. Its only for the author to get the reader interested in it.

This book failed to do that.

( )

An immensely readable biography of a woman who has an apparently unshakeable bad reputation in French history. Catherine emerges from this biography as a tough, practical political animal with some huge blindspots regarding both her opponents and her own family. ( )

...because it was boring, The author made her out to be nearly a saint & excusing her enabling behavior on her son Henri and her part in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre... "What had been intended as a relatively small-scale surgical operation designed to excise the canker in the heart of French politics...." She had the people she invited to her daughter's wedding murdered in cold blood & would have had Henry Navarre murdered as well.....

The author began almost at the beginning of her lineage & that of her husband Henry II.... the details presented were painstaking as well as painfully minute and headache inducing

393 pages of sheer biased drivel & an utter waste of time ( )

A fascinating look at the life of one of France's most infamous queens, Catherine de Medici. Catherine has long been the subject of much debate: was she involved in witchcraft, poison, murder, etc. Leonie Frieda attempts to bring this queen from the shadows and into the light, laying to rest any of your preconceived notions about her. In this work, she separates fact from fiction. To read the life of Catherine is to read the history of France. In this regard, the book can become a bit dry, but the way Catherine wove herself tightly into the reigns of her two sons is nothing less than intriguing. Recommended reading. ( )

3.75 stars

In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici came to France from Italy to marry the future king of France, Henri II. She loved him, but had to share him with a mistress, the woman he loved, Diane de Poitiers. Over the years, Catherine and Henri had ten children and Catherine outlived all except two of them. Three of her sons became kings of France, and Catherine was always there to help them rule. There were a number of religious wars in France over the years she ruled.

I’ve only read a little bit of fiction about Catherine (this is nonfiction). It was good. Being nonfiction, though, there were dry parts to it, but there were plenty of interesting things going on, as well. It’s funny, from the fiction I read, I remember the rivalry between Catherine and Diane more than anything else, yet she is apparently best remembered for her part in a massacre pitting Protestants against Catholics (which I don’t recall from the fiction at all, though it must have been there!). I did feel particularly bad for her when Henri was alive and she had Diane de Poitiers to contend with, but she did have a ruthless side, particularly when it came to protecting the crown for her sons. ( )