Leonie Frieda

Catalina de Médicis (1519-1589) ha sido descrita como “la Reina Negra” y “el gusano de la tumba de Italia”, pero según su nueva biógrafa, Leonie Frieda, la verdad es muy distinta. Huérfana en su infa

Catherine de Medici was half French, half Italian. Orphaned in infancy, she 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 - Leonie Frieda's magnificient, throat-grabbing opening chapter - 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 - he was left standing with his assassin's dagger in one hand, and his own entrails in the other.Her political influence waned, but she survived long enough to ensure the succession of her son-in-law who had married her daughter Margaret. Leonie Frieda has returned to original sources and re-read the thousands of letters left by Catherine. There has not been a biography in English of Catherine for many years and she believes that the time has come to show her - like Queen Elizabeth I of England - as one of the most influential women in sixteenth-century Europe.

Poder, estratégia, paixão e vingançaÓrfã desde a infância, herdeira de um nome antigo e de uma vasta fortuna, Catarina de Médici foi educada na corte Florentina. Com apenas 14 anos, o seu tio, o Papa

The women who wielded the real power behind the throne in Renaissance Italy, from a bestselling historian.This book is one of drama on a grand scale, a Renaissance epic, as Christendom emerged from the shadows of the calamitous 14th century. The sweeping tale involves inspired and corrupt monarchs, the finest thinkers, the most brilliant artists and the greatest beauties in Christendom. Here are the stories of its most remarkable women, who are all joined by birth, marriage and friendship and who ruled for a time in place of their men-folk: Lucrezia Turnabuoni (Queen Mother of Florence, the power behind the Medici throne), Clarice Orsini (Roman princess, feudal wife), Beatrice dEste (Golden Girl of the Renaissance), Caterina Sforza (Lioness of the Romagna), Isabella dEste (the Acquisitive Marchesa), Giulia Farnese (la bella, the family asset), Isabella dAragona (the Weeping Duchess) and Lucrezia Borgia (the Virtuous Fury). The men play a secondary role in this grand saga; whenever possible the action is seen through the eyes of our heroines.These eight women experienced great riches, power and the warm smile of fortune, but they also knew banishment, poverty, the death of a husband or the loss of one or more of their children. As each of the chosen heroines comes to the fore in her turn, she is handed the baton by her sister, and Leonie Frieda recounts the role each woman played in the hundred-year drama that is THE DEADLY SISTERHOOD.

Enrique es un joven profesor universitario obsesionado con un poema. Quiere escribir un poema igual, quiere descubrir qué significa y quiere conocer a su autor. Pero a veces un poema es más que una union de versos; a veces un poema esconde una historia.Comedia con tintes de realismo magico.Mas informacion en ytodolodemasesliteratura.blogspot.com

Enrique es un joven profesor universitario obsesionado con un poema. Quiere escribir un poema igual, quiere descubrir qué significa y quiere conocer a su autor.Pero a veces un poema es más que una union de versos; a veces un poema esconde una historia.Comedia con tintes de realismo magico.Mas informacion en ytodolodemasesliteratura.blogspot.com

SOON TO BE THE TV SERIES THE SERPENT QUEEN, STARRING SAMANTHA MORTONThe bestselling revisionist biography of one of the great women of the 16th centuryOrphaned 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 Bartholomews 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.

The inspiration for the STARZ original series, The Serpent Queen second season premiering July 12th!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. . . . Frieda has brought a largely forgotten heroine-villainess and a whole sumptuously vicious era back to life. . . . This is The Godfather meets Elizabeth. Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red TsarPoisoner, besotted mother, despot, necromancer, engineer of a massacre: the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen of France to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds.Based on comprehensive research including thousands of Catherines own letters, Frieda unfurls Catherines story from her troubled childhood in Florence to her tumultuous marriage to Henry II of France; her transformation of French culture to her reign as a queen who would use brutality to ensure her childrens royal birthright. Brilliantly executed, this enthralling biography goes beyond myth to paint a very human portrait of this remarkable figure.

Francis I (1494-1547) was inconstant, amorous, hot-headed and flawed. Arguably he was also the most significant king that France ever had. A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw himself as the first Renaissance king. A courageous and heroic warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be reckoned with. Bestselling historian Leonie Friedas comprehensive and sympathetic account explores the life of the most human of all Renaissance monarchs - and the most enigmatic.