From Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of I, Mona Lisa and The Borgia Bride, comes a new novel that tells the passionate story of a queen who loved not wisely...but all too well.
Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history. In her latest historical fiction, Jeanne Kalogridis tells Catherine's story-that of a tender young girl, destined to be a pawn in Machiavellian games.
Born into one of Florence's most powerful families, Catherine was soon left a fabulously rich heiress by the early deaths of her parents. Violent conflict rent the city-state and she found herself imprisoned and threatened by her family's enemies before finally being released and married off to the handsome Prince Henry of France.
Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the gorgeous, conniving Diane de Poitiers, and unable to bear children, Catherine resorted to the dark arts of sorcery to win Henry's love and enhance her fertility-for which she would pay a price. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's blood-soaked visions of the future, Kalogridis reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband, Henry, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.
"Jeanne Kalogridis writes a visionary story featuring lush and descriptive places . . . and expertly tells the story of the life of Catherine de Medici. . . . The relationship between Catherine and the mysterious Cosimo Ruggieri is fascinating and surprisingly tender while Catherine's relationship with her husband, King Henri is heartbreaking. . . . Jeanne Kalogridis is a very thorough and detaile
Examiner.com
"Seasoned historic novelist Kalogridis nails the palace intrigue and lush pageantry of the Renaissance."
Publishers Weekly
"Kalogridis puts a human face on one of the most reviled women in history. . . . Catherine displays a cunning guile and a ruthless streak tempered by her great love for her husband and children. Interwoven into her life story and lending this fictional biography an almost mystical bent is her symbiotic relationship with Cosimo Ruggieri, a mysterious medieval psychic who plays an ever-expanding rol
