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Review
'well-written and engaging.' -- Sally Cousins THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'this dense often funny account... it is full of choice details.' -- Robbie Hudson THE SUNDAY TIMES 'It's a tale of poisonings, duels, black magic and incest that Frieda does full justice to in this detailed by colourful study' -- Simon Beckett THE OBSERVER 'a scholarly yet immensely readable biography.' WATERSTONE'S QUARTERLY 'she's written a history book that has al the pace and excitement of a novel, a rare achievement indeed.' CHOICE 'it is skilfully written and on balance sympathetic to Catherine's stewardship.' -- Owen Dawson THE IRISH TIMES
Sally Cousins, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'well-written and engaging.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 72 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Leonie Frieda has written a truly fascinating account of the swirling maelstrom of murder, assassination, betrayal, religious schism and premeditated massacre that was politics in the Age of the Valois Kings of France. I was gripped from the first sentence when Catherine de Medici's husband King Henry II, was killed horribly in a freak jousting accident. Although it's very scholarly and well researched, this book reads like a thriller. I can't recommend it enough.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Unlike the other reviewers of this book I have to say that I thought this book was rather flawed. Frieda has assembled a wealth of material and some of what she says is very interesting- I especially liked her portrayal of the complex, and somewhat contradictory Henri III. Also despite the fact that she is not English Frieda does generally write very well. However her attempts to portray Catherine not as the Machiavellian and ruthless creature history remembers her to be but instead as a committed wife, loving mother and tolerant ruler do not entirely ring true. Frieda is obviously trying to avoid the hackneyed portrayal of Catherine mentioned above. I believe though that she over states her case. I also disliked some of the conclusions she drew on the more peripheral characters. I thought it was especially harsh to describe Antoinne de Bourbon as "bird brained," and that maybe Frieda was a little to uncritical on his brother Condé. Despite this Frieda does offer a very detailed account of the period, gives interesting pictures of many of the figures of Catherine's life and comes up with a different, if debatable conclusion.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Witty, incisive and as exciting as any thriller, I found 'Catherine de Medici' impossible to put down. For half the book I admired the heroine for the way she fought for her three sons who became Kings of France after her husband died in a jousting accident, for the other half I despised the ruthless, manipulative monster she'd become after the King's gory death. Certainly it's brought the Renaissance alive for me better than any book I've read before, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in a true story of assassination, betrayal, high politics and maternal love.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
messy
it might be me, but i found this book far too much effort to read. it's not the information and research - which, as far as i can tell, is detailed and comprehensive - but the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by wordophile
Best historical life story of Catherine de Medici
Since I watched the film La Reine Margot I was very much interested in Catherine de Medici and her time in French history. Read more
Published 6 months ago by F. Filiz Ali
'no mother in history has done more to prom ote her children at...
Brilliantly researched yet always readable biography, Frieda takes us from Catherine's inauspicious start as 'orphan of Florence' to a marriage where she always played second... Read more
Published 6 months ago by sally tarbox
catherine de medici. a biography
this is a very interesting book..... very well written....i have learnt a lot about that era.... a felt i was almost there .... couldnt put it down.
Published 7 months ago by JJ
Fact that reads like fiction
This book is a fantastic work of research presented in such a digestible and visual manner that you practically feel like you are living with Catherine as she grows up and lives... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Sontee
The Black Widow of France
Although she was one of the most powerful women of the 16th Century, Catherine de Medici remains a mystery to most English speaking readers who, if they know her at all, would... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Thomas Hand
Greatness
I can't remember a thing about its contents, but the finest book title I know is "The need for roots", by Simone Weil. Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2009 by Mr. J. Morris
A much misunderstood woman
My entire view of Catherine, before I read this book, was she was a scheming and manipulaive woman, out for her own ends. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by Kathleen Mccann
loved it
What can I say about this biography? Before I read this, I had only a very general knowledge of Catherine de Medici, but reading Leonie Frieda's biography turned me into an... Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2008 by Stew Carr
Very readable and colourful
A great read that demonstrates that real history can have the kind of characters and bizarre situations that, were a novelist to have created them, would be deemed too far-fetched. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2008 by John Hopper
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