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Catherine de' Medici

The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen

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Catherine de' Medici

By: Mary Hollingsworth
Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge
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Bloomsbury presents Catherine de' Medici by Mary Hollingsworth, read by Sophie Hunter and Rachel Bavidge.

A new biography of Catherine de' Medici, the most powerful woman in sixteenth-century Europe, whose author uses neglected primary sources to recreate the life and times of a remarkable – and remarkably traduced – woman.

History is rarely kind to women of power, but few have had their reputations quite so brutally shredded as Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-born queen of France and influential mother of three successive French kings during that country’s long sequence of sectarian wars in the second half of the sixteenth century. Thanks to the malign efforts of propagandists motivated by religious hatred, history tends to remember Catherine as a schemer who used witchcraft and poison to eradicate her rivals, as a spendthrift dilettante who wasted ruinous sums of money on building and embellishment of monuments and palaces, and most sinister of all, as instigator of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572, in which thousands of innocent Protestants were slaughtered by Catholic mobs.

Mary Hollingsworth delves into contemporary archives to discover deeper truths behind these persistent myths. The correspondence of diplomats and Catherine’s own letters reveal a woman who worked tirelessly to find a way for Catholics and Protestants to coexist in peace (a goal for which she continued to strive until the end of her life), who was well-informed on both literary and scientific matters, and whose patronage of the arts helped bring into being glorious châteaux and gardens, priceless work of art, and magnificent festivities combining theatre, music and ballet, which display the grandeur of the French court. Europe Politics & Activism Renaissance Royalty War Middle Ages
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Critic reviews

At last an authoritative English biography of this most powerful and fascinating of queens of France. Mary Hollingsworth uses her unique knowledge of the Medici and Italian sources to illuminate this queen torn between rival dynasties and religions, tolerance and fanaticism, ballets and massacres. To be devoured.
Thoroughly engaging, a tour de force of scholarship that tells the story of Catherine de' Medici as it should be told.
Mary Hollingsworth exhibits her trademark blend of meticulous scholarship and narrative verve – this time incorporating some fascinating new material to reinforce her skilful re-reading of Catherine's character. Highly recommended, and highly readable.
A nuanced and sympathetic portrait that does much to unpick the black legend woven by Catherine’s detractors and reveals how she used all her tenacity, resourcefulness and guile to try and bring peace to a nation torn apart by sectarian hatred and vicious rivalries.
Thoroughly researched ... Hollingsworth [makes] a compelling case that Catherine was not just a leading light of the French Renaissance but an unfairly maligned figure, whose foreignness and femininity made her an easy scapegoat (Katherine Harvey)
Hollingsworth's knowledge of Catherine's life, as well as her mastery of Italian history, enables her to portray Catherine as the true European Renaissance queen she was ... This expert biography reveals Catherine as a woman of virtue, loyalty and, ultimately, power ... Hollingsworth's eloquent prose and fine research sheds light on a Renaissance queen who truly deserves to be remembered as such. (Estelle Peranque)
This book is a treat for fans of well-told history
Praise for The Medici:


This forensic study of the Renaissance banking dynasty conjures up a world of art, literature, philosophy – and brutality - Telegraph, Book of the Year


Likely to become the standard work of reference on the members of the family that dominated Florence - TLS


A lucid and beautifully illustrated family history - The Times, Book of the Week


A vital acquisition for anyone who studies the Renaissance and seeks the true role of the Medici in the history of Florence
All stars
Most relevant
I wanted to enjoy this book, but I zoned out repeatedly. It’s incredibly detailed and packed with facts, but it reads more like a textbook than a compelling narrative. The best nonfiction history writers bring the past to life, delivering facts like they’re telling a story—but this didn’t do that. The characters felt flat and one-dimensional, with little insight into their personalities or motivations. I had to return!

Flat

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The narrator, who has a pleasant voice, clearly has no knowledge of French and her mispronunciation of every French name was painful. Please employ someone who knows something of the language, instead of mangling it. The book itself is a real disappointment. This was written by someone with no feeling for history. You cannot look upon 16th century France with 21st century eyes - you will not understand it. Hollingsworth fails to bring Catherine to life. She simply ignores what made Catherine so hated and feared - her belief in the occult- just because we find the idea absurd in the 21st century. The believed it then, which is what matters. Catherine is a very modern figure, someone who believed in tolerance in an age of religious intolerance, just like now. Leonie Frieda's book on the same subject is vastly superior.

Dreadful narration

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Loved the narrator, and Mary Hollingsworth has written another good book. We'll thought out and shed light on a divisive figure.

Good Narrator!

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There was no break in continuity, all very informative and totally interesting from start to finish. Thoroughly recommend.

Informative throughout

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This was such a disappointment. So so arid. I much preferred the biography by Freida, Catherine in this book is flat and limited. I could build up very little attachment to her or anyone else mentioned. It was like listening to lists rather than human history. I will re visit the FAR BETTER biography by , did I mention this already…. Leonie Frieda!

If I were you buy the one by Leonie Freida

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