The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici

strong biographical novel

In 1533 her powerful Florence family arranges the marriage between Catherine de Medici and heir to the French throne Henry who will become King Henry II as a political convenience; both are fourteen at the time. However, Catherine vows to make the best of her unwanted marriage by supporting her spouse and his kingdom so her heir inherits the throne. Over the years reality proves not as nice as her dream as she finds her husband is more interested in his consort, the manipulative Diane de Poitiers
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Though superstitious Catherine is a de Medici so is used to acting against enemies like the mistress, whom she arranges a marriage with a prince. She consults with the astrologer Ruggieri who persuades her to commit horrors including a major role in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre so that her children well inherit what she believes is rightfully hers and theirs as her husband simply ignores her since she gave him the heir and the spare.
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Moving from the fifteenth century Italy (see I, MONA LISA and THE BORGIA BRIDE) to sixteenth century mostly France, historical fiction writer Jeanne Kalogridis provides a strong biographical novel of the aptly titled Catherine de Medici. The lead is an intriguing character painted by most historians as a devil, but Ms. Kalogridis provdes an interesting counter-theory that claims instead Catherine was not the evil one, but lost the PR war by choosing to do what she was trained to perform as her duty as a wife and mother to the monarchy. Although well written, readers will still come away with the belief that Catherine was THE DEVIL'S QUEEN though accepting she was doing what was expected of her (doing one's job is no excuse for crimes against humanity).
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Harriet Klausner

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great!

I am a huge historical fiction fan, but this is the first book about Catherine de Medici I've read. Some of it was a little far fetched (magic spells to encourage conception, reading the stars to tell the future, talismans to protect people) but it was overall a great read! It broke my heart, it made me smile, and it made me think. Jeanne Kalogridis created a person that was easy to relate to, sympathize with and someone that I really wanted to see happy in the end. Even though I know it is fiction and Henri's relationship with Catherine wasn't like it is portrayed in this book it was a great twist on it. I think it would be interesting to do a sequel based on Diana's point of view.
I've researched some of Catherine de Medici since (and during) reading this book and this book piqued my curiosity about her. I will definitely be looking for more books based on her and possibly by this author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Bit Far-Fetched, But Great Reading

If you're ready to suspend belief and buy into the idea that Henri II grew to love his wife Catherine d'Medici - contrary to all historical evidence - you'll enjoy this novel as much as I did. Several other jaw-dropping historical revisions also show up in the story, but it IS fiction, after all, and makes for lively reading. "Madame Serpent" by Jean Plaidy (not usually one of my favorite authors) tells the same sad story of the Catherine-Henri-Diane de Poitiers triangle in a more believable way and is a bit better. (It's out of print, but can still be found through used book sellers.) But "Devil's Queen" is still an excellent novel, and I recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommend

It is more a work of fiction then a historical book. I enjoy history and I wish the auth had not made up part of the story. It was still a good read.

Enjoy

I enjoyed the insight that I gained into Catherine Divicci. How she was humanized through all the horrible things that are known about Catherine. The story and the plot are well written.

Loved this

Its been such a long time since I have been sad that a book ended. I found myself wanting to continue in the lives of the characters. Truly fascinating.

Excellent and Exiting

The book grabbed me immediatley. It is a page turner and is full of facts about Catherine D'Medici, as well as all the supporting cast; from pope to King Francis I. I will look forward to reading much more of Kalogridis' work. This is a must for anyone interested in the Renaissance in France and Italy during the 1500's.

Catherine de Medici in a very different light

I was surprised reading this book. It shed a very different light on Catherine De Medici. She wasn't the cunning sly witch I was so used to reading. In fact, it was the opposite. The book put her as a young girl, who married and had a husband who was in love with someone else and everyone in the French court knew it. She couldn't have children which put tremendous pressure on her. This is where she meddles with magic and "witchcraft" to help her. This book definitely put Catherine in a very sympathetic light and I thought it was an interesting read.

I actually felt myself drawn to Catherine and felt for her during her hard times - especially during her marriage and her desperation to have children. She didn't seem like the evil Queen we all know her as. Eventually when she did have children, she seemed like a very devoted mother, and despite her rocky marriage, she was also very devoted to her husband (even though he wasn't). The plot is told entirely in Catherine's point of view, which is interesting and it highlights her intelligence and her willingness to learn politics even though women didn't have a place for it. I admire her strong will and determination to hold her position in court, even though she's been shadowed by Diane de Poitiers. Her relationship with Diane is a strange one, it went from enemies to a silent agreement and respect for one another. The references to magic and astrology is the main theme in the book and it shows Catherine's hobby turn into something more serious that had a great impact on her life and for those around her. I thought that was an interesting addition

The plot was well done and well written. The events that turned to the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre was interesting as many people were blamed (Including Catherine) for it. I liked how Catherine, eventually found out that turning things to her advantage and by avoiding events that are meant to be has serious consequences, and things still don't turn out the way she wanted it to be, she accepted it, in the end, and it just seemed that it had made her a better person and free from all the pressure, and the worries that were heaped onto her during the book. When she found out about Edouard's involvement in the Massacre, perhaps that was her breaking point. I was personally shocked about it and I could feel Catherine's emotions. It certainly did feel like a slap in the face.

I felt the ending did drag out and could have been faster paced. It seemed to drag and slow to a snail's crawl and extremely redundant. Also, there are certain parts of the book where an execution is involved (a rather gruesome one) and a hunt gone wrong. This may not please those that are squeamish.

Overall an interesting view on one of history's most villified Queens. Certainly sympathetic and very different from what we are all used to seeing in Catherine De Medici. I recommend this to historical fiction fans. It was a great read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

an exciting novel

i thought that this was a very exciting book. the excitement carried you from beginning to end. the characters are strong and the plot is dramatic.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Review of the "The Devil's Queen"

If you like historical fiction then this is a book for you.

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