Catherine de Medici was born into Florence's most powerful family, the de Medicis. An heiress to a family fortune, she learned at an early age that life would be one fight after another. When she is nine years old, her family faces a revolt and she stands with her aunt against the family's enemies. She soon finds herself imprisoned in a convent. Suffering but still strong, she is rescued by a French cousin and taken to a more friendly convent but her peace doesn't last long. Once again, enemies of the de Medicis manage to imprison her and threaten her life. When her imprisonment finally comes to an end, she finds herself married off to a French Prince by her uncle Pope Clement.

At 14, she finds married life no easier. While the French King Francois likes her very much, her husband Henry is less enthralled. He does seem to have a genuine regard for her but there is no love at first. Henry takes a mistress and Catherine goes childless for many years knowing that her life in France is tenuous without an heir. Always the student of mathematics and astrology, she turns to a trusted adviser for help. She buys the lives of her children with blood and dark magic and finds the flimsy hold she has on happiness pulled very thin. With the death of her husband, her life becomes one fight after another to keep her promise to her dead husband --- to keep the throne of France in Valois hands.

Catherine's interest in the occult brings a mystical quality to the story. She very much wants to protect her family and those she loves so much so that she is willing to go to great lengths to buy their doomed happiness. Disgusted by what she has to do, she does feel some remorse but it doesn't stop her. You see how badly she wants to please others and to be happy but it's not in her stars, literally. She makes a lot of bad choices along the way but still believes she is only doing what is right for her family.

I enjoyed this book a lot. While I'm not sure if I liked Catherine or not by the end of the book, I do know that every small turn in her life was interesting. I wanted to see how she would handle the next hurdle and what magic she would turn to. I also felt sorry for her. She wanted so badly to be happy and to make those around her happy but her attempts only brought on more hurt. It was a sad life but it made for a good read.

Kalogridis has a way of bringing characters life. The clothing, palaces, and events were done so well that you can imagine each and every detail. It's historical fiction that way I like it.

Almost every story or history book I've read about Catherine de Medici has cast her in a bad light: I'm happy to finally see something that casts her as human, even if the author seems to have had to resort to "magic" to do it. ( )

Wonderful! Kalogridis does it again, with a beautifully written, mesmerizing, can't-put-it-down, just-one-more-chapter, stay up all night read! This novel puts a human face on Catherine de Medici, considered by those in her time to be the most evil royal figure of them all, not the brilliant and devoted leader and queen that she truly appears to have been. Based around factual details of Catherine's life, the story moves quickly from her childhood in Florence, hiding from those who would hunt and kill the de Medici clan, to her politically arranged marriage to a prince of France, and her life as a queen. Fast-paced and entirely believable, Catherine's story is one of heartbreak, betrayal, love, and the intrigues and complications of royal politics. Poignant and captivating, Kalogridis's story takes us to 16th-century Italy and France, and tells a story of one of the strongest and most misunderstood women in history.

Also highly recommended: The Borgia Bride and I, Mona Lisa, also by Kalogridis. ( )

http://shelfandstuff.blogspot.com/200... ( )

Review of the CD: Jeanne Kalogridis' novel of Catherine de Medici, "The Devil's Queen," is skillfully read by Kate Reading in this five disc collection. In Reading's capable hands, the story of Catherine becomes a compelling one. Kalogridis' historical novel, which at times borders on melodramatic, allows the often vilified French queen to tell her own story. And quite a story it is.

Catherine is famous as the wife of one French king and the mother of three others; she is infamous as the architect of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants. And history has further condemned her close relationship with the astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri.

Was Catherine an evil queen of epic proportions? Kalogridis attempts to purchase a little compassion for Catherine by explaining her tumultuous background and her compelling mission to both protect her husband and to ensure the continuation of his line. Surely she was a strong queen who faced adversity - whether in the form of revolting French Protestants or her husband's much beloved mistress, Diane de Poitiers - with courage and élan.
Did she rule through witchcraft? The French people seemed to think so, and Kalogridis shows her making her deal with the devil.

The novel itself is dramatic and fast paced; Reading's presentation is compelling. But it is not a happy story; not only is Catherine not a sympathetic figure, but also the novel itself can be rather graphic and heavy handed.

Three and a half stars: It will appeal to many listeners but is too melodramatic for serious readers and not romantic/sympathetic enough for those looking for a good historical romance. ( )