Description:
Orphaned from infancy, Catherine de' Medici endured a tumultuous childhood. Married to the French king, she was widowed by forty, only to become the power behind the French throne during a period of intense civil strife.
In 1546, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth de Valois, who would become the queen of Spain. Two years later, Catherine welcomed to her nursery the beguiling young Mary, Queen of Scots, who would later become her daughter-in-law.
Together, Catherine, Elisabeth, and Mary lived through the sea changes that would transform sixteenth-century Europe, a time of expanding empires, religious discord, and populist revolt, as concepts of nationhood began to emerge and ideas of sovereignty inched closer to absolutism. They would learn that to rule as a queen was to wage a constant war against the deeply entrenched misogyny of their time.
Following the intertwined stories of the three women from girlhood into adulthood, Leah Redmond Chang paints a picture of a world in which a woman could wield power at the highest level yet remain at the mercy of the state, her body serving as the currency of empire and dynasty, sacrificed to the will of husband, family, kingdom.
Review Quotes:
"Olivia Dowd is so good at delivering this history that it's like listening to a historical novel set in the sixteenth century. Dowd gives each woman a unique voice in this true account...The production provides twenty-four hours of captivating listening....Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award."
-- "AudioFile"