The Devil’s Queen - Softcover

Kalogridis, Jeanne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007252145 ISBN 13: 9780007252145

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2010

Synopsis

A compelling tale of love, lust and murder which traces the evolution of Catherine de Medici – the great-granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent – from an unloved, timid orphan to France's most cunning monarch

A cold, ruthless murderess and occultist, or a loyal wife and mother, and the most competent monarch France ever knew?

In The Devil’s Queen, Jeanne Kalogridis examines Catherine de'Medici’s attraction to astrology and the dark arts, as well as the political, religious and personal forces that converged during her life.

Catherine de'Medici was one of France's most notorious and blood thirsty monarchs, feared by some as an occultist, seen to be consorting with the likes of Nostradamus and thought to have been responsible for the brutal St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

For many she was loved as a monarch devoted to bringing about peace during the Wars of Religion. Others saw her as an unfortunate victim of circumstances, struggling to come to terms with the death of her own husband whom she loved dearly, as well as the tragic death of her own parents at an early age.

In Kalogridis' most passionate and thought-provoking novel yet, we follow in the footsteps of France's orphan queen and her rise to power in the tumultuous climate of sixteenth century France.

About this title

Review:

Praise for Jeanne Kalogridis:

The Borgia Bride:

‘Love, lust, incest and murder: this historical romance has it all’
Mail on Sunday

'From sexual passion to mortal danger, the dramatic shift of real historical events will keep the reader turning the pages'
Philippa Gregory

'Corset-busting escapism'
The Sunday Times

Synopsis:

The Medici Queen traces the evolution of Catherine de Medici - the great-granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent - from an unloved, timid orphan to France's most cunning monarch, often blamed for the horrific 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. From childhood, Catherine is troubled by bloody visions of her adopted country's evil future, a future she struggles to prevent by practical and occult means. Three times she consults with the astrologer Nostradamus in an effort to learn how to prevent the coming scourge. But when she is unable to give her husband heirs to the French throne, she resorts to the darkest magic possible in order to conceive - only to discover, in the end, that her most beloved child, King Henri III, will be the author of the bloodshed she so fears unless she risks her life and kingdom to destroy him. The Medici Queen is the tale of a country torn apart by religious strife and the savage internecine wars of the royal Valois, Bourbon and Guise dynasties.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0007252145
• ISBN 13: 9780007252145
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480