The Confessions of Catherine De Medici by C.W. Gortner – Book Review

May 262010

The Confessions of Catherine De Medici by C.W. Gortner

Catherine de Medici’s early life was rocky. She was orphaned mere weeks after her birth, then at 8 was forcibly placed in a hostile convent when Medici power was overthrown in Florence. Finally, at 11, she was able to go live with her uncle, Pope Clement VII. Rome having recently been sacked by the troops of King Charles of Spain, Clement saw Catherine as an opportunity to cement an alliance with France by wedding her to Henry, second son of King Francois.

Unfortunately, Catherine and Henry didn’t exactly have a fairy tale marriage, since he was far more interested in his nursemaid-turned-mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Catherine’s early denigration at Henry’s neglectful hands require her to become politically savvy and crafty, a trait that will serve her well when she has to advise her son the King – or will it.

I’ve loved C.W. Gortner’s writing since his debut novel, “The Last Queen.” One of my favorite things about him is that he does not simply write the same story that is already dominating the shelves, but chooses amazingly strong and misunderstood women in history, women whose stories are still fresh to the reader. Catherine de Medici is no exception. A patron of Nostradamus, Catherine’s mythology includes a woman who practices dark magic and planned the massacre of France’s Huguenots in the St. Bartolomew’s Day Massacre.

Gortner’s Catherine knows what it is to be persecuted for who you are from the days when the Medicis were overthrown in Florence, and accordingly she actually has a good deal of sympathy for the plight of the Huguenots and advocates a measure of religious tolerance. When conflict between the Catholics and Protestants begins to threaten her familys reign, however, she is forced to take action.

A good half of “Confessions of Catherine de Medici” focused on the conflict between the Catholics and Huguenots, leading up to and following the St. Bartolomew’s Day Massacre. This could have perhaps been overkill, but Gortner made it work very well. I never felt that I’d been reading the same thing over and over, but he kept the story moving forward, even though it was progressing through one main source of conflict.

I highly recommend “The Confessions of Catherine de Medici,” and I can only hope that Gortner is hard at work on another book!

Buy this book from:
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A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the publisher.
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The Queen’s Governess – Book Review

Mar 302010

The Queen’s Governess by Karen Harper

Kat Ashley, nee Champernowne is well known by those who have read about Queen Elizabeth I. Not only was Ashley Elizabeth’s governess when she was young, but she remained a devoted servant when Elizabeth ascended to the throne. What many may not know – I certainly didn’t! – is that her original sponsor when she arrived at court was none other than Thomas Cromwell. Harper’s version of Kat had her groomed from her relatively poor family as a protege of Cromwell and a sometimes-spy for him at court who grew to love both her first mistress Anne Boleyn and her daughter Elizabeth. Kat stood by Elizabeth during many of the greatest trials and scandals of her young life.

Yay! I like the Tudors again! Time and time again recently I’ve tried to read a novel based on the Tudors and I’ve just been bored and sort of annoyed, major Tudor fatigue. I should have known, however, that Karen Harper wouldn’t let me down. While she doesn’t necessarily create a complete air of time and place, Harper’s storytelling ability pulls me right into the lives of her characters. While Kat was occasionally ever-so-slightly modern sounding, she was a strong and engaging main character and I loved the relationships she built with her husband John Ashley and, of course, with Elizabeth. It all seemed to flow in an entirely plausible and convincing series of events, I thought Harper supported her interpretation of these women’s story very well.

There were a few anachronisms, however, one in particular that really jumped out with me was John Ashley quoting a nursery rhyme:

“I hear Humpty Dumpty is heading for a fall, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men will never put him back together again – or want to” – p. 143

Popular belief is that this nursery rhyme was based on a cannon used in 1648 against the Royalists in the English Civil War. Ashley is speaking in 1540. Even so, the couple of anachronisms didn’t pull me out of the story as much as it might have done. Other than having to run to Wikipedia after the Humpty Dumpty incident, I was actually able to stay in the story really very well.

Don’t let the anachronisms throw you, this is some of the most engaging Tudor fiction I’ve read lately. Love me some Karen Harper!

Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*