Book by Frieda Leonie
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Poisoner, besotted mother, despot, necromancer, engineer of a massacre: the stain on the name of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen of France to reveal a skilled ruler battling against extraordinary political and personal odds.
Orphaned in infancy, imprisoned in childhood, heiress to an ancient name and vast fortune, Catherine de Medici was brought up in Florence, a city dominated by her ruling family. At age fourteen, the Italian-born young woman became a French princess in a magnificent alliance arranged by her uncle the pope to Henry, son of King Francis I of France. She suffered cruelly as her new husband became bewitched by the superbly elegant Diane de Poitiers. Henry's influential and lifelong mistress wisely sent her lover to sleep with Catherine, and after an agonizingly childless decade when she saw popular resentment build against her, she conceived the first of ten children. Slowly Catherine made the court her own: she transformed the cultural life of France, importing much of what we now think of as typically French -- cuisine, art, music, fashion -- from Italy, cradle of the Renaissance.
In a freak jousting accident in 1559, a wooden splinter fatally pierced Henry's eye. Hitherto sidelined, Catherine found herself suddenly thrust into the maelstrom of French power politics, for which she soon discovered she had inherited a natural gift.
A contemporary and sometime ally of Elizabeth I of England, Catherine learned to become both a superb strategist and ruthless conspirator. During the rise of Protestantism, her attempts at religious tolerance were constantly foiled, and France was riven by endemic civil wars. Although history has always laid the blame for the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day massacre by a Catholic mob of thousands of French Protestants at Catherine's door, Leonie Frieda presents a powerful case for Catherine's defense.
This courageous queen's fatal flaw was a blind devotion to her sickly and corrupt children, three of whom would become kings of France. Despite their weaknesses, Catherine's indomitable fight to protect the throne and their birthright ensured the survival of the French monarchy for a further two hundred years after her death, until it was swept away by the French Revolution.
Leonie Frieda has returned to original sources and reread the thousands of letters left by Catherine, and she has reinvested this protean figure with humanity. The first biography of Catherine in decades, it reveals her to be one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown.
“A carefully nuanced portrait...[Leonie Frieda] achieves remarkable balance as she freshly interprets Catherine...a revealing biography.” (Booklist)
“”Riveting and dramatic . . . there is no mistaking the abiding pleasure of this book.” (Washington Times)
“Vivid and entertaining...a convincing human portrait against the backdrop of a brutal age.” (Wall Street Journal)
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Vendeur : ccbooksellers, Front Royal, VA, Etats-Unis
paperback. Etat : very good. cover shows minor signs of shelf wear including a sticker on front. pages are clean and unmarked. 2. N° de réf. du vendeur SM0000023688
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Vendeur : Roundabout Books, Greenfield, MA, Etats-Unis
Hardcover. Etat : Very Good. Condition Notes: Clean, unmarked copy with some edge wear. Good binding. Dust jacket included if issued with one. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders. N° de réf. du vendeur 1620684
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Hardcover. Etat : Near Fine. Etat de la jaquette : Very Good. 1st Edition. First American edition. Bound in gold paper with cream colored cloth around the spine. Gilt lettering on spine. Spine and boards are straight and binding is tight. Pages, text block edges, and cover are clean and unmarked. No visible defects. The dust jacket has a wrinkle along the back top (see image). The images shown, both with and without the dust jacket, are of the actual item. Free shipping within the US. N° de réf. du vendeur ABE-1726099496722
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hardcover. Etat : Book in acceptable condition. Some wear on edges and corners. Clean pages with no markings. The image in this listing is stock photo for reference. Actual item may differ. Any queries, just ask for photos. Your satisfaction matters!Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc.Ships same day in most cases!. N° de réf. du vendeur L2-15-09-24-004
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Vendeur : Reliant Bookstore, El Dorado, KS, Etats-Unis
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hardcover. Etat : Very Good. Hardback--excellent condition. N° de réf. du vendeur TA240813080U13
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Vendeur : Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, Etats-Unis
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