Catherine De Medici
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Catherine De Medici
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Narrated by:
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Anna Massey
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By:
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Leonie Frieda
About this listen
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 Barthlomew'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.
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Critic reviews
"Leonie Frieda tells an enthralling story that includes incest, vicious religious wars, assassination, poison, the occult and, in Catherine's own words, 'passion, hatred and vengeance'." (Options XIII)
"Leonie Frieda does this remarkable woman full justice. Refusing to play judge, she reveals her to us through the best of means, which is narrative. The skill with which Frieda finds her way through the maze of this confusing period is exemplary. You read on eagerly. An enthralling book." (Allan Massie)
"This masterful and compelling biography delivers a beautifully written portrait of a ruthless, subtle and fearless woman fighting for survival and power in a world of gangsterish brutality, routine assassination and religious mania. I quickly found I could not stop reading. This is narrative history at its best, both scholarly and as captivating as a thriller. Leonie Frieda has brought a largely forgotten heroine-villainess and a whole sumptuously vicious era back to life again. She is equally at home in the royal court as she is in the blood-reeking gutters of Paris: this is The Godfather meets Elizabeth." (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
What listeners say about Catherine De Medici
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Gillian
- 20-01-10
An Amazing Woman!
This biography of Catherine De Medici takes you to the centre of life in the 16th century. Anna Massey is excellent as a narrator as she guides through the trials and tribulations of Catherine's life from a child to her death.
I thoroughly recommend it!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- S. Todd
- 04-05-17
Ignoble histories of power struggles
A detailed account of an ignoble period of French history, focusing on Catherine de Medici and her blighted family. Beautifully and subjectively written, masterfully performed (albeit with a few mistakes regarding French pronunciation), this book draws one into the perilous chess game that was the Queen's life during the turbulent time of religious division within the kingdoms of Europe. Greatly enjoyable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Robyn
- 19-06-12
wonderful book beautifully read
This book is a pleasure to listen to. Catherine de Medici and the other characters are interesting and presented in fascinating detail and full colour. It is a scholarly work but accessible to all - full marks to Leonie Frieda. Anna Massey's reading is perfect. Some readers have voices which are difficult to listen to hour after hour and some struggle with foreign words, but Anna Massey is easy on the ear and - so important - her French and Italian pronunciations are spot on. This is one of my favourite audiobooks.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Susan Jane Firth
- 08-05-20
Addictive
Listened to 3 times in a row. Really interesting and easy to listen to. Fascinating woman
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Teresa Cooper
- 26-03-15
Will the real Catherine please stand up.
I'm very pleased to say this book filled my expectations nicely. Well written and well read it shows Catherine De Medici in a totally different light. We still saw the woman made bitter by her husbands affair, but we were also presented with a peace maker. A cleaver and resourceful women who seems to be miles away from the poisoner we had previously known.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- lady-yeah
- 17-02-15
A romp through history with Catherine
Extremely interesting book, difficult to put down. Beautifully read by Anna Massy, but she speaks far too quickly to be able to assimilate all the many characters and places. I kept getting left behind and had to re-listen to most chapters in order to understand who was who and what was going on. But still very entertaining, enlightening and incredible.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- phantom lover
- 27-04-16
Did she deserve her reputation?
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would if they were interested in history.Very informative.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Catherine de Medici.I'm very interested in the Medici family
What about Anna Massey’s performance did you like?
Her pronounciation is amazing.A very good narrator.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Near the beginning Catherine was treated very badly because of who she was,not because of anything she had done. Also her husband humiliated her by setting his mistress above her at all times.
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