Catherine de' Medici was born in 1519 in Florence. She was raised by family members, as both her parents died before she was a month old. She was from a very wealthy family, but not a terribly noble one. She was married to Henri, Duke of Orleans in 1530. Henri was not very interested in her as a wife, and openly took a mistress. They did manage to have several children, six of which survived infancy. Henri was absolutely in love with his mistress, but the did respect Catherine and her position. She was eventually crowned Queen Consort when Henri attained the throne. She survived her husband and several of her children. (Joan, Victoria, Francis II, Charles IX, and Henri III) Aside from that, she was a patron of the arts. She also was rumored to be very capable with poisons to eliminate her enemies, which is featured on the show Reign. She was accused of having ties to the occult, using witchcraft to conceive children and entertaining Nostradamus at her court. She was interested in astronomy and astrology, which added fuel to those rumors.

All I knew about Catherine before reading this book was what I saw on the television show Reign. I really wanted to read something that was a more historically accurate picture, and I happened to run across this book for .75! I really enjoyed learning about the actual woman behind the tv character. This book was an entertaining read, but full of facts as well. I enjoyed it.