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A review by xxstefaniereadsxx
The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom by Nancy Goldstone
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
My internet has been out for a week and a half, so I am lacking in book reviews and catching up on homework. If you are a follower of my reviews, I apologize for the flood of them you are about to receive. I certainly got plenty of reading done while living in the Stone Age.
This book discusses the relationship between Catherine de Medici, wife of Henri II of France, and her daughter Marguerite de Valois. Catherine's story itself is full of shady doings and intrigue. If you have watched the show Reign, that is a dramatized introductory into her conniving and manipulation. Marguerite had a different personality than her mother, often causing clashes. Catherine forced Marguerite to marry Henry III of Navarre. Their marriage was particularly controversial, as it was between a Roman Catholic and a Huguenot. Despite the difference in religion, Henry was a relative and from a French royal house, and this marriage was meant to strengthen ties and good relationships between the two royal houses. Right after the wedding, Catholics wound up murdering some of the Huguenots that were in Paris for the festivities, resulting in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Catherine's actions surrounding this are questionable at best. This was a really wild series of events, and made for some dramatic reading.
The author of this book is a wonderful writer. I have enjoyed her work, and I also enjoyed interacting with her on a human level before I joined the exodus from Twitter. She conducts her research in a thorough and methodical way, and tells the story of her subjects in a way that is informative and engaging. I had known about Catherine Medici and Marguerite's relationship prior to reading this book, but the details presented included some facts I didn't know and provided more in depth details to supplement my previously learned facts. This was a little longer than some of the other books that I selected for this month, coming in at just over 400 pages, but wasn't a slow paced read. Certainly worth checking out.
This book discusses the relationship between Catherine de Medici, wife of Henri II of France, and her daughter Marguerite de Valois. Catherine's story itself is full of shady doings and intrigue. If you have watched the show Reign, that is a dramatized introductory into her conniving and manipulation. Marguerite had a different personality than her mother, often causing clashes. Catherine forced Marguerite to marry Henry III of Navarre. Their marriage was particularly controversial, as it was between a Roman Catholic and a Huguenot. Despite the difference in religion, Henry was a relative and from a French royal house, and this marriage was meant to strengthen ties and good relationships between the two royal houses. Right after the wedding, Catholics wound up murdering some of the Huguenots that were in Paris for the festivities, resulting in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Catherine's actions surrounding this are questionable at best. This was a really wild series of events, and made for some dramatic reading.
The author of this book is a wonderful writer. I have enjoyed her work, and I also enjoyed interacting with her on a human level before I joined the exodus from Twitter. She conducts her research in a thorough and methodical way, and tells the story of her subjects in a way that is informative and engaging. I had known about Catherine Medici and Marguerite's relationship prior to reading this book, but the details presented included some facts I didn't know and provided more in depth details to supplement my previously learned facts. This was a little longer than some of the other books that I selected for this month, coming in at just over 400 pages, but wasn't a slow paced read. Certainly worth checking out.