Catherine de'Medici (Profiles in Power)

Rating:
Summary: WELL-RESEARCHED AND INTERESTING
Review: I agree completely with the previous reviewer from Florida and I, too, would like to know why all of Catherine's children were considered bad. Professor Knecht has done a very admirable job in this well-researched book and it is quite obvious that he knows his subject well. Catherine de'Medici was an interesting woman--a member of the Florentine Medici, but an insignificant one. All that changed when she married the man who was to become Henry II, King of France. Although she may have been a peripheral member of the Italian aristocracy, Catherine was of pre-eminent importance to French history. She was controversial, but, as the previous reviewer states, Professor Knecht was very fair. He explores both Catherine's virtures and faults in a level-headed fashion. This book, however, is far more than a biography of one of France's most controversial and enigmatic figures. It is also a fascinating narrative heavily laced with French history. If you like your biographies a little light, I wouldn't recommend this book. But if you really want to understand this period in French history, and this fascinating woman, I would recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: MYTHS EXPLODED AND QUESTIONS RAISED
Review: I enjoyed Prof. Knecht's profile of Catherine de' Medici. It was carefully written and humanized this lady who was, first and last, a mother. A number of her own writings (letters) are used, which shed light on her courage and determination. This treatment is balanced and even-handed, whatever the reader's preconceptions may be. I appreciated the author's fairness. However, the preface says that "there is no denying that her children were all dreadful." I'm still uncertain...why? Maybe the author will follow up and explore the dreadfullness of Catherine de' Medici's offspring? I would love to know more.

Rating:
Summary: "Names and dates, names and dates"
Review: I'm surprised that the author completely ignored the economic conditions of France during the reign of Catherine. No mention of the economic force played by the Huguenots. Just names and dates. Author took a three-dimensional figure and reduced her to one-dimension. Just names and dates.