Catherine de Médicis (1519-1589)

This study offers a carefully measured portrait of a queen who straddled two worlds—born to a Florentine father and a French mother, raised amid Italian courts, then thrust into French royal life at fourteen. As a devoted wife to Henri II and later a powerful queen‑mother, she presided over a kingdom torn between Protestant reform and Catholic reaction, navigating intrigue, rebellion, and the looming specter of civil war.

Drawing on a wealth of unpublished letters and diplomatic dispatches, the author seeks to move beyond the familiar vilifications and mythic glorifications. By letting Catherine’s own words speak, the narrative reveals her intellectual training, diplomatic skill, and the personal ambitions that shaped her decisions. Richly illustrated and written with scholarly restraint, the book invites listeners to reconsider a figure long portrayed as either saint or villain, presenting a nuanced view of her complex legacy.