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The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici, by Jeanne Kalogridis
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Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is brought to life by Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of I, Mona Lisa and The Borgia Bride.
Born into one of Florence's most powerful families, Catherine was soon left a fabulously rich orphan. Violent conflict tore apart the city state and she found herself imprisoned before finally being released and married off to the handsome Prince Henri of France. Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the gorgeous, conniving Diane de Poitiers, and unable to bear children, Catherine resorted to the dark arts of sorcery to win Henri's love and enhance her fertility―for which she would pay a price. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's blood-soaked visions of the future, Kalogridis reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband, Henri, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.
- Sales Rank: #149638 in Books
- Published on: 2010-05-25
- Released on: 2010-05-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.29" h x 1.39" w x 5.47" l, .97 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 496 pages
From Publishers Weekly
In this soap opera rendition of 16th-century power and politics, the ruthless and manipulative wife of France's King Henry II, reviled for her role in the civil and religious wars that roiled France, is conned into a deal with the devil. After her arranged marriage to the future French king, Catherine de Medici dedicates her life to protecting her husband and his reign, bartering away her soul to ensure that she provides heirs. Seasoned historic novelist Kalogridis (The Borgia Bride) nails the palace intrigue and lush pageantry of the Renaissance, but can't get a grip on her heroine's slippery, troubled heart. Catherine confesses to a core of evil, and history certainly supports that view, but Kalogridis suggests that the real trade-off of Catherine's Faustian bargain was to become a royal doormat, swallowing her courage and pride to become a dutiful and ignored wife and mother. For all her passion and attention to detail, however, Kalogridis doesn't quite bring the powerful, tortured figure back from her historical purgatory. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Catherine de Medici (1519–89) was the wife of one French king and mother to three. Intensely disliked by the French and kept in the background during her husband's reign, she came into her own after the death of her eldest son. The period of her strongest influence was also one of great political and religious unrest in France; she will be forever associated with the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants. Making her hardcover debut with this well-researched and highly readable historical novel, Kalogridis (The Borgia Bride) treats Catherine with far more sympathy than most chronicles. In this portrayal, Catherine is highly superstitious, and her dealings with the astrologer Ruggieri lead her to commit unspeakable acts for the sake of her husband and children. In the end, though, fate cannot be cheated, and Catherine must deal with the consequences of her actions. Good for most collections, especially those where historicals are in demand. There are a couple of graphic sexual scenes, but they are not gratuitous. [With a 125,000-copy first printing; library marketing.]—Pamela O'Sullvian, SUNY at Brockport Lib.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Kalogridis puts a human face on one of the most reviled women in history. By portraying Catherine de Medici as a victim of circumstance who shrewdly did what was necessary to safeguard her birthright and the security of her family, she definitely provides a more sympathetic angle than usual. From her pampered Florentine childhood, to her imprisonment by rebel insurgents, to her arranged marriage to her beloved King Henri II of France, Catherine displays a cunning guile and a ruthless streak tempered by her great love for her husband and children. Interwoven into her life story and lending this fictional biography an almost mystical bent is her symbiotic relationship with Cosimio Ruggieri, a mysterious medieval psychic who plays an ever-expanding role in Catherine’s fortunes. --Margaret Flanagan
Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Five Stars
By Ann Williams
Great
37 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
An intriguing portrayal of a controversial queen
By S. McGee
Catherine de Medici learned the ugly realities of power politics, Renaissance style, while she was still a child. When her family is deposed from power in Florence, Catherine is first imprisoned in the city's convents, and then is denied the chance to return to govern the city of her birth. Instead, her uncle, Pope Clement, sends her to France as the reluctant bride of an equally-reluctant Henri, duke of Orleans, the second son of the king of France, Francois I. This novel follows her life from her first encounter with the astrologer who helps her understand her destiny and helps her shape it, Cosimo Ruggieri, to their final days as allies at the French court, which Catherine now rules as Regent and mother of the king.
Kalogridis tackles the most controversial aspects of Catherine's character head-on. Catherine is an unusual girl, to say the least; she is far more interested in astrology (along with philosophy and mathematics) than in the more orthodox subject of religion. Ironically, religious conflict comes to dominate her life, as the clashes between France's Catholic majority and the Huguenots become increasingly grave. While Kalogridis does a good job in tackling the complexities of the looming religious wars and the power politics of the era, she devotes a lot more time to exploring Catherine's controversial relationship with Ruggieri. Catherine may love only her husband (who, in turn, has eyes only for his much-older mistress, Diane de Poitiers) but her strongest and longest-lived relationship, in Kalogridis's view, is with Ruggieri. In her cause, he indulges in some pretty nasty stuff -- with Catherine's tacit acquiescence. (No spoilers here, but there's a lot of explicit sorcery aimed at consolidating Catherine's power.)
To Catherine, it has been clear since childhood that the ends, however bloody, justify the means. (She seems to learn this lesson rather rapidly, in Kalogridis's narrative.) The author does a solid job of portraying hte impact of a long series of abandonments, betrayals and losses on Catherine; even when I recoiled at some of Catherine's actions, I could understand her motivation. The reason I couldn't give this book five stars (and came close to rating it 3.5 instead of 4 stars) is the degree to which the author's need for drama sometimes damages both plot and character. Sometimes, the pace of the narrative is so rapid that Catherine's emotions never felt convincing. Characters disappear abruptly, never to reappear, or to reappear only in abrupt or implausible ways. Sometimes, the author's hand is pulling her characters' strings too visibly. One particular problem I had was with Catherine's love for her husband. While the roots of this are laid out early in the plot, never really felt convincing to me -- it was presented for me to accept. Lust or passion, sure; but love? It was also hard for me to see Catherine, as a strong and independent character, being as apparently vulnerable to the plotting of those nearest and dearest to her late into her life. Could she really have seen herself, as Kalogridis portrays her viewing herself, as being "drawn and tortured and dazed by guilt" after some of the apocalyptic violence in the final chapters? It's unclear to me whether this was Catherine being disingenuous, or whether the author really believed she felt this way.
At its best, this is a nuanced and intriguing portrayal of one of the 16th century's most controversial and intriguing rulers; and the book is at its best about 2/3 of the time. That makes it worth reading for anyone interested in a dramatic, fast-paced historical novel. While not a revisionist history of Catherine -- she never emerges as someone that you'd enjoy having a cosy chat with -- it does make her appear more human and shows clearly what factors turned her into the ferociously determined monarch that she became. In this novel, Kalogridis has thankfully dialed down the over-the-top and occasionally irrelevant explicit sex scenes that distracted me from the plot of her novel about the Borgias; there's more sex than romance here, but it all fits into the plot in this case.
This will appeal to historical fiction readers who value both lively, fast-paced reads and historical accuracy -- a rare combination. It's also a pleasant change to read a novel that isn't set in the Tudor or Plantagenet courts! (It's still manageable for readers without any knowledge of the period; those familiar with Mary, Queen of Scots, will find her cameo appearance and Catherine's perception of her to be intriguing.) But anyone looking for historical romance should steer clear; Catherine has little charm or beauty, few feminine wiles and resorts instead to Machiavellian stratagems and a bit of sorcery on the side.
Those interested in Catherine can also turn to a less-sympathetic and more prosaic trilogy by Jean Plaidy, beginning with Madame Serpent. Personally, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for another novel featuring Catherine due out early next year by C.W. Gortner, author of The Last Queen: A Novel, a writer with a knack for turning historical lives into pulse-pounding fiction without descending quite as far into melodrama as Kalogridis sometimes does.
(Note to the editors: it would be great if someone could clear up the errors in the French phrases. They aren't over used and are always appropriate -- but "ma fils"? Argh...)
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
An evil queen brought to life?
By Lazy Day Gardener
Review of the CD: Jeanne Kalogridis' novel of Catherine de Medici, "The Devil's Queen," is skillfully read by Kate Reading in this five disc collection. In Reading's capable hands, the story of Catherine becomes a compelling one. Kalogridis' historical novel, which at times borders on melodramatic, allows the often vilified French queen to tell her own story. And quite a story it is.
Catherine is famous as the wife of one French king and the mother of three others; she is infamous as the architect of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants. And history has further condemned her close relationship with the astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri.
Was Catherine an evil queen of epic proportions? Kalogridis attempts to purchase a little compassion for Catherine by explaining her tumultuous background and her compelling mission to both protect her husband and to ensure the continuation of his line. Surely she was a strong queen who faced adversity - whether in the form of revolting French Protestants or her husband's much beloved mistress, Diane de Poitiers - with courage and élan.
Did she rule through witchcraft? The French people seemed to think so, and Kalogridis shows her making her deal with the devil.
The novel itself is dramatic and fast paced; Reading's presentation is compelling. But it is not a happy story; not only is Catherine not a sympathetic figure, but also the novel itself can be rather graphic and heavy handed.
Three and a half stars: It will appeal to many listeners but is too melodramatic for serious readers and not romantic/sympathetic enough for those looking for a good historical romance.
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