Review | The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: May 25th, 2010
Source: I received this ARC from the publisher for review.

The Catherine de Medici most know of from historical fiction of days gone by is the infamous Dowager Queen of France who dabbled in the black arts and used her royal children as pawns on her chessboard, setting her country on a path of bloody religious discord. But C.W. Gortner has never been one to accept historical stereotypes as reality, and his latest novel proves to be no exception to his quest to reveal the human side of infamously maligned women from history.

Forced by politics to marry for Italy and not for love, Catherine de Medici is sent abroad at a young age to marry Henri, the second son of King François I of France. She had never presumed that she might one day become queen; after all, her husband is the younger son and simply fills the role of the spare in the requisite heir-and-a-spare dynastic setup. But when tragedy strikes and Henri has to step up to the plate as King, Catherine finds herself in a new position at court. However, Queen of France as she may be, Catherine would never be Queen of Henri’s heart. That position was already occupied by his mistress the chilly Diane de Poitiers. The Mrs. Robinson of the 16th Century, Diane was a cougar who wasn’t afraid to show her claws, often at Catherine’s expense.

Catherine actually holds more queenly powers as a widow after her husband’s death, no longer queen in name but queen in the eyes of the people, as regent to her young sons who reign consecutively. With this newfound power, she sets to righting the wrongs her powerful enemies at court had once wrought on the nation, and to securing peace between the Catholics and Huguenots. Gortner addresses the rumors that give Catherine the reputation of power-seeking sorceress, but with an eye for characterizing Catherine as a human and never as one who sought to wreak havoc between the two faiths. Many historians are of the belief that were it not for Catherine de Medici, the French monarchy would have fallen two hundred years before the Revolution ever took place, and Gortner portrays Catherine from this same perspective. Strong, intelligent, and strategically minded, Catherine is a force to be reckoned with. There are definitely some “confessions” to be revealed in this book; some unexpected twists you won’t find in the history books that add an impassioned spark to this already blazing storyline!

I really love the way Gortner tells his stories from the first person perspective, something he does incredibly well. His other historical fiction novel, The Last Queen is one of my favorites and I find myself constantly recommending it to people. Gortner’s inherent writerly voice consistently shines through in his novels, yet the two protagonists he profiles in both have inimitable voices of their own, formulated with the artistry of a master at his craft.

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici hits stores May 25th. C.W. Gortner’s next novel focuses on another so-called ruthless queen: Isabel of Castile, and I cannot wait to read it!