At last an authoritative English biography of this most powerful and fascinating of queens of France. Mary Hollingsworth uses her unique knowledge of the Medici and Italian sources to illuminate this queen torn between rival dynasties and religions, tolerance and fanaticism, ballets and massacres. To be devoured.

Philip Mansel, author of King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV

Thoroughly engaging, a tour de force of scholarship that tells the story of Catherine de' Medici as it should be told.

Josephine Wilkinson, author of Louis XIV

Mary Hollingsworth exhibits her trademark blend of meticulous scholarship and narrative verve – this time incorporating some fascinating new material to reinforce her skilful re-reading of Catherine's character. Highly recommended, and highly readable.

Paul Strathern, author of The Medici

A nuanced and sympathetic portrait that does much to unpick the black legend woven by Catherine's detractors and reveals how she used all her tenacity, resourcefulness and guile to try and bring peace to a nation torn apart by sectarian hatred and vicious rivalries.

Anne Somerset, author of The Affair of the Poisons

Thoroughly researched ... Hollingsworth [makes] a compelling case that Catherine was not just a leading light of the French Renaissance but an unfairly maligned figure, whose foreignness and femininity made her an easy scapegoat

Katherine Harvey, Sunday Times

Hollingsworth's knowledge of Catherine's life, as well as her mastery of Italian history, enables her to portray Catherine as the true European Renaissance queen she was ... This expert biography reveals Catherine as a woman of virtue, loyalty and, ultimately, power ... Hollingsworth's eloquent prose and fine research sheds light on a Renaissance queen who truly deserves to be remembered as such.

Estelle Peranque, BBC History Magazine