The Devil's Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis

Jeanne Kalogridis is known for her powerful narrative portraits of women whose inner lives are lost to history.  Now, in THE DEVIL’S QUEEN (St. Martin’s Press; July 21, 2009) she spins the tale of power and passion that was the life of Catherine de Medici, a girl from Florence who became the monarch of France.

Kalogridis weaves a rich tapestry out of Catherine’s life, from her early days of imprisonment by her family’s enemies to becoming a prodigy of mathematics and languages.  After being forced to marry an uninterested French prince at a young age, she was almost ousted from the throne after the first ten years of her marriage to Henri yielded no children.  She makes the modern-day reader sympathize with and understand Catherine’s struggles: despite the distance of centuries, Catherine’s fears and emotions are our own.

Often blamed for the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, she is also recognized as one of the most intelligent individuals to ever wear the French crown, and used her knowledge of power to keep her sickly sons on the throne and rule France as regent for years. Yet her reputation as an adherent to the “black arts” often overshadows all of her other accomplishments.

It is through this lens—the sentiment that a mother will do anything for her family—that Kalogridis explains the pull of the dark magic that led one determined woman to fight for her family’s survival at the expense of great bloodshed.

Jeanne Kalogridis lives with her partner in California, where they share a house with two dogs.  She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Borgia Bride, and other numerous dark fantasy and historical novels.

Author's Website

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