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Catherine de Medici Audiobook Summary

The inspiration for the STARZ original series, The Serpent Queen, premiering September 11.

“A beautifully written portrait of a ruthless, subtle and fearless woman fighting for survival and power in a world of gangsterish brutality, routine assassination and religious mania. . . . Frieda has brought a largely forgotten heroine-villainess and a whole sumptuously vicious era back to life. . . . This is The Godfather meets Elizabeth.” –Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar

Poisoner, besotted mother, despot, necromancer, engineer of a massacre: the dark legend 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 extraordinary political and personal odds.

Based on comprehensive research including thousands of Catherine’s own letters, Frieda unfurls Catherine’s story from her troubled childhood in Florence to her tumultuous marriage to Henry II of France; her transformation of French culture to her reign as a queen who would use brutality to ensure her children’s royal birthright. Brilliantly executed, this enthralling biography goes beyond myth to paint a very human portrait of this remarkable figure.

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Catherine de Medici Audiobook Narrator

Sarah Le Fevre is the narrator of Catherine de Medici audiobook that was written by Leonie Frieda

Leonie Frieda is the author of a bestselling biography of Catherine de Medici and The Deadly Sisterhood: A Story of Women, Power and Intrigue in the Italian Renaissance. She lives in London.

About the Author(s) of Catherine de Medici

Leonie Frieda is the author of Catherine de Medici

More From the Same

Catherine de Medici Full Details

Narrator Sarah Le Fevre
Length 21 hours 36 minutes
Author Leonie Frieda
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date October 16, 2018
ISBN 9780062905901

Subjects

The publisher of the Catherine de Medici is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Biography & Autobiography, Women

Additional info

The publisher of the Catherine de Medici is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062905901.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Colleen

November 27, 2022

This is a well-written and captivating biography of a woman too often categorized as "the black queen" primarily for the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre which Frieda and other more recent historians have found unfair. By the standards of the day, her plan was acceptable. The leaders of the Huguenots were to be killed but handled poorly, tens of thousands of innocent people lost their lives.Catherine was a Florentine, one of the deMedici's, wealthy bankers and patrons of the arts. Machiavelli's "Prince" was written about her uncle. Her marriage to Henry II, of the Valois dynasty was an arranged one but even though he died only 12 years after taking the crown, she loved him dearly although he did not reciprocate, taking a mistress who was treated more like a queen than the queen herself. Still, Catherine bore Henry 10 children and through a long widowhood, steered her incompetent, sickly, and spoiled children through their lives. She was the mother of three kings, acting as regent through their young lives and maintaining influence as they reached their majority. Unfortunately, none of the three made good rulers despite their mother's attempts to steer them in the right direction. The Sixteenth Century was a time strife with plague, and other diseases, violence, and short lives and Catherine's attempts to create the growing differences between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) was a losing battle. According to the author, she did not have the same abilities of Elizabeth I (although it must be remembered that Elizabeth tolerated only one religion and the people of Ireland paid dearly for it). This is a fascinating read and I highly recommend it.

Jennifer (JC-S)

March 14, 2009

‘I wonder that she did not do worse’I very much enjoyed this biography. Catherine deMedici is so often painted in the blackest of terms that it is actually a delight to read a more balanced account.This is a biography of Catherine de Medici (1519 -1589). Her husband became King Henri II of France, and three of their sons in their turn became Kings of France after Henri’s death in 1559. As Queen Mother, Catherine was both important and powerful in France for thirty years.Catherine was orphaned as an infant and imprisoned as a child. As heiress to an ancient name and a vast fortune, Catherine was brought up in the Florentine court and married off by her self-styled uncle (Pope Clement VII) to Henri, Duke of Orleans son of King Francis I of France. The history itself, full of dynastic and political intrigues, is fascinating, and it is a credit to Ms Frieda’s style that she is able to accurately render the history without confusing it.At various times it has been fashionable to paint Catherine de Medici in the darkest of hues as a murderer, and as a self serving intriguer who presided over the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 24 August 1572 when thousands of French Protestants were slaughtered. Such a picture of Catherine is incomplete. She was a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I of England and while she may have lacked some of Elizabeth’s ability and skill, she equalled her in courage and determination.This is a very readable biography which puts some much needed context around the life and times of Catherine de Medici. The Valois dynasty ended some months after Catherine’s death with the death of Henri III. The French crown then passed to Henri IV (Henri of Navarre): a fascinating monarch in his own right.I recommend this book both as an example of a wonderfully written biography but also as a study of a multi-dimensional woman who was fascinating in her own right.Jennifer Cameron-Smith

M.M. Strawberry

December 18, 2020

One thing I can say after reading this - Catherine had seen a LOT of shit. Like so many women in her time - and before that time, and after that time - she was seen as a power-hungry bitch, and so on and so forth. Any history buff is well aware how women with power often got the shaft in history due to a patriarchal/macho mind-set.I do not claim that Catherine did nothing wrong. Back then, sometimes you just had to stab someone in the back or get stabbed yourself, or have to do something questionable to satisfy the political majority. I do not envy Catherine or her life, but this was nonetheless a fascinating biography with plenty of history factoids which should please any history/biography buff.

Elizabeth

December 05, 2013

This is a real history, full of facts, relationships, and events that filled the long life of Catherine de Medici who became queen (consort) of France's Henri II and then was the queen regent of three of their sons during the era of France's Religious Wars. Fortunately, there are numerous records, letters, and memoirs from this era. This Italian descendant of the de Medici family was hard to "marry off" in France because she was not of royal lineage, but from a "merchant family." The book begins with a summary of the Medici family but did not stress the contributions to the arts by the family, especially Lorenzo "The Magnificent." Catherine herself continued the family history of sponsoring the arts. Catherine de Medici was treated as an evil manipulative queen and she certainly was manipulative, including using her voice and statements to ingratiate herself when needed. Childless for 10 years, she then rapidly had 10 children and she made certain that her sons inherited the crown but she was the real ruler of France. As Freida portrayed her, the real period of evil was the Massacre on Saint Barthalomew's day in which Huguenots and Royal armies battled gruesomely under her rule. Prior to that time she had led to many treaties that were intended to pacify the land. Frieda distinguished the treaties that allowed for freedom of religion and, later in Catherine's reign, freedom of thought. While Catherine was regent, she continued to rule and advise her sons long after they reached a normal age of rule on their own (18 usually but "contracts" could set different ages). While her Catholicism would have led her to support Mary, Queen of Scots, she and England's Queen Elizabeth communicated quite often near the end of Catherine's life. After finishing this history, I read the historical fiction by Jeanne Kalogridis, The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici. The novel appears to be based on much of the documentation of this history with two large differences. In the novel, pages and pages are based on Catherine's meetings with astrologers and other students of magic throughout her life. In the history, it is barely mentioned and the characters of the astrologers and Nostrodamus are not mentioned. In the novel, the author says she only depicted 5 of the children because it would "take up too much space" to have the others born. Ironically, the history deals with the births and names of all the children on ONE PAGE.

Mme

June 30, 2020

I've had this on my bookshelf for years, and as our county libraries are closed to the public, I figured it was time to pull it out and get to work.Catherine de Medici is known to history as a conniver, a climber full of ambition for her children, a woman suspected of doing away with troublesome associates, and possibly a force behind the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. She is -- at least to some degree -- all of these, except probably for the doing away with people thing. Catherine was far too subtle to put a contract out on someone and hang around waiting for the murder.Catherine came to France in 1533, to be the wife of the man who would become Henri II of France. She was grateful to Henri and to his father, Francis I, for raising her from her mercantile beginnings (rich, but in BANKING, how bourgeois) to the heights of glamour and power. Henri II died at 40 -- Catherine's age then too -- and she spent the rest of her life protecting the French throne for her sons, promoting her children's interests through advantageous marriages, and ensuring that her sons enjoyed power for as long as possible, once they sat on the throne. She lived through no fewer than EIGHT religious wars, as the Protestant faith grew throughout Europe and encroached on the formerly monolithic French monarchy. In 1572, on the occasion of the marriage of her daughter Marguerite (la reine Margot) to Henri of Navarre (eventually to rule France as Henri IV), Catherine and her coterie plotted a surgical strike to decapitate the Protestant movement by assassinating its leaders. That did happen, but it exploded into a massacre of innocent French subjects that lasted for days in Paris and spread throughout the country over several months. This was not the only time that Catherine's plans spun out of control, but it is the one that she's become known for.I'm not going to tell Catherine's life story here, because there's far too much to tell. Let's just say that it was a rich life, and a long one (compared to her children, all ten of them, only two of whom outlived her), and she was a daughter of Florence, and a queen of France, and the wife and widow and mother of kings, and a stateswoman and a regent of a kingdom and a builder of palaces and a presenter of magnificent pageants and a collector of art and artifacts...far from a typical life in Renaissance Europe but one that has come down to us because of the events that she brought about and those that she witnessed. As Europe passed through the Renaissance and France moved into the Grand Siecle, Catherine was there to see it all -- and to bring some of it about.

Shanequa

December 27, 2020

Whew! This was a bit of a doozy to read. Frieda definitely did her research and it shows. While this is a long read I do appreciate the effort Frieda put into telling Catherine's story. I also appreciate her perspective on Catherine. I could still be smarting from The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom (where I did not like Catherine's portrayal at all) which could be making me a bit more generous than if I hadn't read that book but I think Frieda was very fair in her portrayal of Catherine. I thought there was a good balance of admiring her intelligence and determination and acknowledging her shortcomings and missteps. If you can get past that this is a bit of a slower read I think it is a great book to read if you want to learn more about Renaissance France and Catherine de' Medici.

Christina

January 17, 2023

I read this book because I enjoyed the soundtrack for the Starz show, which seems like a silly reason to read a book, especially because I did not actually watch the Starz show and only listened to the soundtrack. But I also enjoy Italians so it seemed like a good move anyway.Even though Catherine de Medici was born in Italian she was very French, and I have no love of anyone French except for Claude Monet. However, it was easy to read this book because her children were complete and utter train wrecks except for Margot. And this, I admit, was entertaining.Also, one of the names of cities in this book sounds like "bleuaurgh" and it's hilarious. French is such a fake language.One star has been removed because of France but four stars have been allowed to remain because this book was well written and her children were disasters.Total score: 4/5 stars

Susan

July 29, 2008

I have been drawn to Catherine de Medici's story for some time. After reading Susan Carroll's fictional account of her in her Cheney Sisters books, I became even more interested in her. Catherine was a fascinating sixteenth century woman. She was the Italian-born Queen of France, wife of Henri II.Catherine Maria Romola di Lorenzo de Medici was born in Italy in 1519. She endured a lonely childhood, isolated in convents most of the time, exiled from her rightful place in her own country. Like many women of her time, she became a tool in the diplomacy of her two powerful uncles, who basically sold her off to marry the future king of France.Catherine de Medici was married to Henri II when she was just 14 years old. She endured the dominance of Henri's mistress, Dian de Poitiers, with patience and grace, for 16 years. She adored her husband, even though he obviously preferred the company of his much older mistress. She was able to maneuver her way through shifting family alliances, and learned self-possession, deception, and strategy. The twists and turns of life at the French court led her to form brilliant political skills which held her in stead for the rest of her life.Catherine de Medici had 10 children: three became French kings, one became Queen of Spain (as wife of Philip II). Her youngest son was a serious candidate to wed England's Queen Elizabeth. The sudden death of Henri in 1552 at a jousting event, launched Catherine into three decades as regent and chief advisor to three sons who ruled France in succession. Her sons were weak kings, and she became the power behind the throne for many years. She was the all powerful Queen-Mother, the ruler of France in all but name. During this time, Catherine gained a reputation as the ultimate schemer, a woman without scruples or bounds. She presided over eight Wars of Religion: civil wars between Protestants fighting for their right to worship freely, and Catholics trying to keep the country from splitting apart. The author discusses Catherine's many diplomatic efforts to resolve the difficulties peacefully. But treacherous behavior among hardcore Huguenots eventually hardened her attitude, culminating in the disastrous Massacre of St Bartholomew of 1572, which killed as many as 30,000 men, women, and children all over France. Although her hands will be forever stained by the religious wars that sent France into frenzies during her watch, the author contends that Catherine attempted to reach compromise in the religious strife of her adopted country whenever possible.Poisoner, despot, necromancer -- the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. Catherine is widely seen as a talented, scheming and ruthless power-behind-the-throne figure, doing almost anything to promote and protect her children which included two Kings of France. In this biography, the author reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds -- from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henri, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons' birthright. This biography is a persuasive rehabilitation of Catherine, not as a nice woman, but as a shrewd leader who did what she had to.

Faith

January 28, 2011

Long, long ago in a youth far, far away, I read a biography of Catherine de Medici; so I was already familiar with her story. I have to admit, the details were hazy: I remembered something about poison, religious wars and that she was Mary, Queen of Scots’ mother-in-law. Then a couple of years ago, my husband and I took a biking vacation in the Loire valley and visited numerous castles and gardens along way, several associated with Catherine and her rival Diane de Poitiers; so I was reacquainted with the general outlines of her story. Which brings me to: Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda.Catherine de Medici led a fascinating life. She was one of the most powerful people (man or woman) of her times; and those times were fraught with religious divisions, territorial wars and internecine politics. She was an enormously complex woman: well educated, sophisticated, erudite, and tremendously superstitious; politically astute, a fanatically hard worker and a glutton; ruthless with enemies, generous with friends and blind with her family. In a time when women legally couldn’t rule because of the Salic law, Catherine did rule as regent during her sons’ minorities and as their agent and representative during their majorities. She prosecuted war, negotiated peace, arranged treaties and marriages, raised money, placed ministers and oversaw intelligence gathering. Her descendants continued to rule through-out Europe down through the centuries.In summary, I enjoyed this book. The language is accessible to the lay reader and not at all “scholarly.” The story progresses with rich detail. As with any biography covering a long-lived person in a huge political theater, the cast of characters can become overwhelming. It helped to have the genealogies in the front and the pictures of several of the main actors. I have to admit, over the generations, characters blurred into “the Guises” and “the Huguenots,” among others, but that’s my problem, not the author’s. Catherine de Medici is an entertaining biography of a woman who deserves to be as well-known as her contemporaries: Elizabeth I of England and Phillip II of Spain.This is an abbreviated version of a much longer review available on my blog.

Emilie

April 18, 2013

I'd read a little about Catherine de Medici in passing when she was mentioned in other historical works, but I'd never read an entire biography. I'd read about her dark reputation and the whispers of her using witchcraft and poison but it was incredibly interesting to read about her as a person, not just a dark figure. She is painted in as dark a light as Richard III has been to English history, and it is refreshing to read a work that presents her in a more realistic way. Frieda accepts that Catherine did have a dark side, but she also makes sure that the reader understand that some of the things she did and said have been taken out of context. Catherine was a strong woman, married to a man that she was passionately in love with (even obsessed with) that did not seem to care for her romantically one way or the other. He did grow to respect her near the end, giving her political power, but she was cast into the shadows by Diane de Poitiers. The story of Diane and Catherine is well written by Frieda; the two women were rivals, yet they sometimes did share a mutual respect, even banding together a couple of times when politics called for it. Frieda makes Catherine a real person; one of not just evil desires, but one with a complex personality. She explains that Catherine did have compassion; for her country, her husband and her children. She loved her adopted country and wanted it to be unified during the times of the religious wars. Her relationships with her children were complicated, she clearly loved them, but did not know how to show it. Catherine was a woman of power in a time when women were not supposed to hold any power, and she managed to hold onto it, even if some of her actions (acknowledged by Freida) were not in good taste. Frieda also spends time on Catherine's interest in the occult and fortune telling. Catherine clearly believed that she could see the future (she is said to have dreamed of Henri's death before he died), and took others who were said to have the sight seriously. All in all, an exceptional work about a complicated woman.

Alenka

December 22, 2020

Fascinating woman for whom I still have little sympathy, even after understanding her childhood traumas, her personal humiliation and dedication to her children. This book is well-researched, but sometimes the mess of the 16th century France gets simply too much to read. I had to take long breaks to get through some of the chapters.

Melisende

October 04, 2016

I love this re-telling of the life of Catherine de Medici - this was my third reading - and still happy to indulge my interest.

Abby

December 31, 2019

A comprehensive biography of one of the most influential monarchs of Renaissance Europe. Since Catherine de Medici was an influencer, her story cannot be told without also exploring the interpersonal relationships between her children and children-in-laws, and their opponents, and their marriage prospects, and ... what a complicated family! What a complex period of history! She decorated a room with stuffed crocodiles hanging from the ceiling, she hung out with dwarfs, and she consulted Nostradamus. What a quirky queen.

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