The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis
“I had learned a fundamental truth about killing: The victim's anguish is brief and fleeting, but the murderer's endures forever.”
History can be dry and uninspiring, but Kalogridis infuses Catherine de Medici’s life from 1527 to 1572 with the unique characteristics of a Medici and the unfolding events of history, the melding of politics and superstition. Although it is impossible to include all the nuances of these turbulent years, the author focuses on Catherine’s life from her imprisonment in Florence to her regency in France and the gruesome St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572.
The Dark Queen is all about Catherine De Medici. It begins the tale when she is just a child. Instead of seeing Catherine as an evil woman who is obsessed with witchcraft and murder, we get to know her as a young girl, then a woman with a passionate nature and a gift for a ruling. We get to follow Catherine through her childhood, her marriage, and her children. Most interesting of all is her relationship with her alchemist and their dark secrets together.
Religious wars plague France, Catholics vs. Huguenots, violence escalating throughout the country, Catherine at the center, cajoling, plotting, humiliating herself when necessary, calling upon the dark arts. The hubris of those who would war in the name of God is matched only by the misdirected hubris of a regent queen who would harness evil in the pursuit of protection of the throne. The author’s beleaguered protagonist is riddled with nightmares and false interpretations of what she has dreamed a prisoner of the terrors she seeks to avert. Facing overwhelming odds, Catherine’s dependence on the stars cannot save her from the most painful betrayal yet to be endured. The Devil’s Queen is a rich tapestry, pitting the passions of zealots against an astute regent queen beset by betrayals and disappointments, the ultimate clash in Paris and the charnel of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572.
Catherine is depicted as super intelligent, she does whatever she needs to do, but is still a likable character. Not evil at all just manipulates “destiny” and follows her purpose, to look out for her family and France, her adopted country. I was completely sucked into the events, and Catherine’s demeanor and cunning.
The Devil’s Queen is a fascinating look at a controversial figure. While some assumptions are perhaps on the exaggerated side, one cannot dismiss the fictional imagination of Jeanne Kalogridis for delivering such a vivid, encompassing tale.
My Rating
✬✬✬✬✬
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