The Italian Woman

Rather than picking up from where “Madame Serpent” leaves off, this sequel backtracks several years, beginning by showing the reader one of Catherine de Medici’s greatest rivals, Jeanne of Navarre. Only when we reach the second of the three long chapters in this book does Catherine once again take centre stage, carrying on from where events in Book One finished.

There’s more scope in “The Italian Woman” than in “Madame Serpent”. Whilst Book One’s main focus was on Catherine, particularly her unrequited love for her husband and her hatred for the king’s mistress, Book Two features many more characters and follows events in their lives. Thus, in a sense it’s better to have more variation, but I still prefer “Madame show more Serpent” for its more limited yet more engrossing themes.

I admit to feeling much less sympathy for Catherine in this novel, as she’s no longer the neglected queen who’s considered a meek fool. Now she desires power in place of the love she never found, not caring who suffers along the way. In fact she only cares for her third-oldest son, the future Henry III. The rest of her children, including French kings Francis II and Charles IX, are scared of their mother – a mother who’d readily see them dead if it meant advancement for her favourite son.

It’s hard to feel any warmth for a character of this nature, but she nevertheless is the best-drawn character of the book. She, like the real Catherine de Medici, is a fascinating woman. As the author says in her afterword, much of Catherine’s reputation is based on rumours and on the reputation that sixteenth-century Italians had for poisoning those who stood in their way. Even so, there’s evidence enough to show she was no saint.

Although I like the first in the trilogy more than this second instalment, “The Italian Woman” still proved to be an entertaining read. show less

3.75 stars

This is the 2nd book in Plaidy’s trilogy of Catherine de Medici. Catherine was known as Madame le Serpent and was often thought to have poisoned her enemies. She was power-hungry and cunning.

This book follows her through her husband’s death, during the time of her oldest son’s (Francis’s) reign, as well as during her son, Charles’s (who was thought to be mad) reign. Part of the book also focuses on Jeanne of Navarre, as – at this point in Catherine’s life – Jeanne and Catherine’s lives are quite intertwined.

Another good book by Plaidy. Jeanne of Navarre is someone who I knew nothing about and I am only learning of Catherine through this series by Plaidy. It’s hard to compare with Madame Serpent, the first show more of the trilogy, because it’s been too long since I read it. I do recall feeling some sympathy for Catherine (or at least some understanding), but it’s harder to feel that for her in this book. She seems to have hardened as she got older. show less

Jean Plaidy is certainly a prolific historical fiction author, but more and more I find that her work is hit or miss with me. I seem to fare better with her Tudor-centric novels than I did with this novel set during Catherine's life as regent of France for her sons. I read the first novel in the series, Madame Serpent, and was unimpressed if still engaged enough in the storyline being recreated to continue reading this second novel about one of France's most infamous Queens. While this is not the author's best novel, The Italian Woman does still manage to capture the time period shown and the essence of the unscrupulous woman at its heart. Coldly pragmatic and personally avaricious, Catherine was no saint but she was and remains an show more intriguing player in a game of court intrigue and power.

I would've enjoyed this more if it had felt less disjointed, especially as it starts. For one, The Italian Woman begins in the middle of Madame Serpent's chronology - Francis the First of France is still alive, Henry is still devout to this mistress Diane de Poiters - and, for another, the first ~80 pages are devoted to a character previously unknown on the scene -- the Catholic-turned-Huguenot Queen Jeanne of Navarre. An important player in the end of the Valois line and the beginning of the royal Bourbon line, her story is directly tied to that of Catherine and her sons, but I felt the way it was introduced slowed up the pacing and the storyline set up in the first novel. Jeanne is drawn into Catherine's web of manipulation and machinations, and provides a nice foil for the amoral Queen with her fortitude and certainty - but the first few chapters of this novel are stiff, and hard to engage the reader.

I could've done with more 'showing' than 'telling.' As a writer, Plaidy often veers more to the wrong side of storytelling, and it is very present as a problem here. Readers are told who/what/why about characters and events, instead of subtly crafting characters and situations that reveal themselves naturally. It's a bummer, because the cast of varied and often infamous characters (like.. Charles, or Henry, Duke of Guise) should be able to speak for themselves, yet Plaidy hardly ever allows them to. Instead of showing Margot to be passionate and headstrong, it is stated. Explicitly. Repeatedly. The Italian Woman is still very readable, but the characters are remote and more outlines than fleshed out interpretations of real people who lived, breathed, manipulated, vied for power, and usually if in so doing crossed Catherine's desires, died.

A fascinating woman in a turbulent time of civil wars and religious upheaval deserves more than the often lackluster version offered here in the second of Plaidy's trilogy about the "daughter of merchants" raised high - through luck, ill-fortune, or poisoning - whichever version of her ascension you choose to believe. Not the best offering of Jean Plaidy, but I will probably seek out the final leg of the series, Queen Jezebel, sometime in the future. The Italian Woman is a decent look at the issues surrounding the Valois court in the time of the "Reformed Faith", if one that stumbles occasionally. I think fans of Plaidy will enjoy, but those who are new to her brand of historical fiction may want to start elsewhere and work there way to The Italian Woman. show less

Alas. I had enjoyed Jean Plaidy when I was (much) younger and I was curious to see whether her writing “aged” well. The answer was no, there was too much head-hopping….but it took a while to answer that question because it was not the book I expected. The novel opened with Jeanne d’Albret and stayed with her for the first 13% (I checked). This was Jeanne’s story more than Catherine’s - it was more Margot’s story than Catherine’s - and never really went anywhere.

Book two of three about the life of Catherine de Medici. This follows Catherine through middle age, as she focuses her energy on keeping her children on the throne of France against the backdrop of religious reformation. While I felt sorry for her in part one, as a young woman in love with a man who loves someone else, I found her a much less sympathetic character this time around. However I'll look out for the third book so I can see how low she is prepared to stoop to hold on to power.

I gave it 4 stars because although I enjoyed the book I preferred the first one - Madame Serpent better. It was still intriguing but with the in and out of Jeanne of Navarre it seemed to venture off from Catherine. Looking forward to the final of the series Queen Jezebel!

oh the wickedness of Catherine! A childhood favourite