Women Of Power

Description for WOMEN OF POWER:  THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CATHERINE DE'MEDICI by Mark Strage:

The life stories of three women---two of who were queens, while the third was queen in fact though not in name---fall into a time when women held unprecedented political power.  Catherine de'Medici, a Florentine, dominated France for three decades, through and in spite of the kings who were her husband, her sons, her son-in-law.  Henry II of France, the king she married, was ruled by his mistress, the fabled Diane de Poitiers; though considerably older than her lover, she held sway over him up to his death.  The third, Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, Catherine's daughter, presided over the most delightful and civilized Court of Europe through her talents, her kindness, and her generosity with her person.  Catherine represents intelligence, and statecraft; Diane, calculation; Marguerite, seduction.  In this spirited account of their various power games, the author pays homage to three formidable ladies, each getting her will in her own way.  And contemporary readers may be struck by the astonishing fact that these women were superior to their husbands and lovers in education and in their fostering of the arts.