MAY 2018 - AudioFile
Most Americans are not so familiar with French history; if they know Francis I at all, it's as the patron of Leonardo da Vinci. But this audiobook shows how he deliberately moved France into the Renaissance, setting it on the road to modernity. In an era of great leaders—his contemporaries were Henry VIII of England and Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire—Francis held his own. Historian Leonie Frieda does not conceal his flaws, but narrator Carole Boyd evokes compassion for the struggles even autocrats must face. She keeps the story lively and active, even though we know, for example, that Francis and his sons will, eventually, be released from imprisonment. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
In the lively colorful prose of this fast read…Leonie Frieda seeks context and truth for Francis I…who pulled his country together after…a time of great dissent caused by the Hundred Years War and feudal infighting.” — New York Journal of Books
New York Journal of Books
In the lively colorful prose of this fast read…Leonie Frieda seeks context and truth for Francis I…who pulled his country together after…a time of great dissent caused by the Hundred Years War and feudal infighting.
John Steele Gordon
A superb and vivid biography…that brings the world of Francis I to life, skillfully delineating the moves and major players in both European and domestic politics…and also gives the reader wonderful glimpses of the often licentious court life of that time…Ms. Frieda suggests that, under Francis I, France preserved its political power, greatly increased its cultural influence, and positioned itself for the Grand Siècle that his Bourbon successors would soon preside over.
MAY 2018 - AudioFile
Most Americans are not so familiar with French history; if they know Francis I at all, it's as the patron of Leonardo da Vinci. But this audiobook shows how he deliberately moved France into the Renaissance, setting it on the road to modernity. In an era of great leaders—his contemporaries were Henry VIII of England and Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire—Francis held his own. Historian Leonie Frieda does not conceal his flaws, but narrator Carole Boyd evokes compassion for the struggles even autocrats must face. She keeps the story lively and active, even though we know, for example, that Francis and his sons will, eventually, be released from imprisonment. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-01-10
Thoroughgoing biography of the French ruler who allied with Islam in an effort to resist his Habsburg neighbors."If ever there were a king who warrants rehabilitation, it is Francis." So writes Frieda (The Deadly Sisterhood: A Story of Women, Power, and Intrigue in the Italian Renaissance, 1427-1527, 2013, etc.), who makes a solid effort here. Allowing that Francis I was a "deeply flawed figure" who was committed to the principle of absolutist rule and violently suppressed dissenting religionists, the author lends him humanity by examining his scholarly and artistic interests. As she shows, Francis was a man of letters who supported the work of Andrea del Sarto, Leonardo da Vinci, and other artists even if he sometimes experienced disappointment at their hands—Leonardo never produced the great work of art while residing in Paris that Francis hoped for, though he did leave the Mona Lisa, which explains why it's housed in the Louvre, which Francis had restored. He also took considerable effort to learn the many and diverse regions that made up his domain. Events placed him in contention with the neighboring powers of Europe, including the Habsburgs of Austria and the pope. While Francis "mired himself in a succession of skirmishes and conflicts on too many fronts," he took some interesting and daring risks, including forging a short-lived alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent, the leader of the Ottoman Empire, leading to the arrival of a "large and potentially dangerous Muslim population" within France; another anti-Italian alliance with the pirate king Barbarossa led to the ransacking of the French fleet. For all his diplomatic and military difficulties and problems with orderly succession, Francis was also a patron of explorers who soon extended France's empire into the Americas, Africa, and Asia.Though a figure of major importance, Francis has been forgotten against better known contemporaries such as England's Henry VIII. Frieda's work helps restore him to history.
