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NOW THE TV SERIES 'THE SERPENT QUEEN', STARRING SAMANTHA MORTON The
bestselling revisionist biography of one of the great women of the
16th century Orphaned in infancy, Catherine de Medici was the sole
legitimate heiress to the Medici family fortune. Married at
fourteen to the future Henri II of France, she was constantly
humiliated by his influential mistress Diane de Poitiers. When her
husband died as a result of a duelling accident in Paris, Catherine
was made queen regent during the short reign of her eldest son
(married to Mary Queen of Scots and like many of her children he
died young). When her second son became king she was the power
behind the throne. She nursed dynastic ambitions, but was
continually drawn into political and religious intrigues between
Catholics and Protestants that plagued France for much of the later
part of her life. It had always been said that she was implicated
in the notorious Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, together with
the king and her third son who succeeded to the throne in 1574, but
was murdered. Her political influence waned, but she survived long
enough to ensure the succession of her son-in-law who had married
her daughter Margaret.
Poisoner, despot, necromancer -- the dark legend of Catherine de
Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography,
Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to
reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and
personal odds -- from a troubled childhood in Florence to her
marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her
transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne
and her sons' birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it
is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women ever
to wear a crown.
The women who wielded the real power behind the throne in
Renaissance Italy, from a bestselling historian. This book is one
of drama on a grand scale, a Renaissance epic, as Christendom
emerged from the shadows of the calamitous 14th century. The
sweeping tale involves inspired and corrupt monarchs, the finest
thinkers, the most brilliant artists and the greatest beauties in
Christendom. Here are the stories of its most remarkable women, who
are all joined by birth, marriage and friendship and who ruled for
a time in place of their men-folk: Lucrezia Turnabuoni (Queen
Mother of Florence, the power behind the Medici throne), Clarice
Orsini (Roman princess, feudal wife), Beatrice d'Este (Golden Girl
of the Renaissance), Caterina Sforza (Lioness of the Romagna),
Isabella d'Este (the Acquisitive Marchesa), Giulia Farnese ('la
bella', the family asset), Isabella d'Aragona (the Weeping Duchess)
and Lucrezia Borgia (the Virtuous Fury). The men play a secondary
role in this grand saga; whenever possible the action is seen
through the eyes of our heroines. These eight women experienced
great riches, power and the warm smile of fortune, but they also
knew banishment, poverty, the death of a husband or the loss of one
or more of their children. As each of the chosen heroines comes to
the fore in her turn, she is handed the baton by her 'sister', and
Leonie Frieda recounts the role each woman played in the
hundred-year drama that is THE DEADLY SISTERHOOD.
'A captivating biography ... This rollicking story is packed with
anecdotes' The Times 'I can't suppose that there has been a better
English biography of Francis, or indeed is likely to be one'
Catholic Herald Francis I was inconstant, amorous, hot-headed and
flawed. Arguably he was also the most significant king that France
ever had. A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw
himself as the first Renaissance king. A courageous and heroic
warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and
an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be
reckoned with. Bestselling historian Leonie Frieda's comprehensive
and sympathetic account explores the life of the most human of all
Renaissance monarchs - and the most enigmatic.
In this epic drama of love, death, and betrayal, Leonie Frieda
charts the rise and fall of the Italian Renaissance through the
lives of the princesses who helped shape it.
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Heks
Dibi Breytenbach
Paperback
R320
R235
Discovery Miles 2 350
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