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Diane de Poitiers

(see under "By Era" for French Revolution fiction)
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SonjaMarie
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Post by SonjaMarie » Wed June 24th, 2009, 1:53 am

I did not get this vision of Diane when I read "Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals For the Love Of A Renaissance King" by HRH Princess Michael of Kent, but then again Princess Michael is a descendant of Diane's (as well as Catherine's), so maybe she softened the views of her ancestors.

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Thu June 25th, 2009, 12:04 am

I read "The Serpent and the Moon" too and I think the author definitely favored Diane. That's not to say Diane wasn't extraordinary. She was: an older woman (in those days) who managed to retain the love of a younger king throughout his life and who reaped considerable power. I've had to "see" her through the prism of Catherine, whose POV I take in my next novel, and seen this way Diane isn't very appealing.

What's fascinating to me is that Catherine is burdened with the reputation of being a ruthless power-hungry woman, and Diane often escapes calumny, because she was "beautiful" and she had the king's love. It's a classic case of historical cliche, but in truth, I believe Diane was much colder a person than Catherine; she protected herself, at all costs, while Catherine sacrificed herself to protect her children and her realm.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Thu June 25th, 2009, 12:16 am

I've given up on it, Diane is just too perfect for me in this book (no one is that perfect). I'll be looking forward to CW's book and promise to put in a purchase request at the library as soon as I see an Amazon listing, they buy just about everything :) ;)
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Post by Chatterbox » Thu June 25th, 2009, 12:39 am

Now I'm looking forward even more to CW's next book! And also to seeing which currently disparged or maligned historical figure he will wave his magic wand over, Harry Potter style, and transform into a more fully-founded human being... Give us a hint???

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Post by boswellbaxter » Thu June 25th, 2009, 1:02 am

I just gave up on Jean Plaidy's The Italian Woman because its portrayal of Catherine was just too one-sided. I suspect it might be because the materials Plaidy relied upon in 1952, when she wrote the book, were hostile toward Catherine, but having come across more recent and more balanced portrayals of her, I bailed around page 100, when Catherine is menacing even her young children.
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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Thu June 25th, 2009, 1:39 am

There is another book out very soon about Catherine (the title escapes me). Apparently Dumas wrote several books on the Valois branch of the family. Anyone familiar with the particulars?
Last edited by Misfit on Thu June 25th, 2009, 1:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Thu June 25th, 2009, 2:11 am

Chewing through the actual letters of Bernardino de Mendoza, Philip II's ambassador to England and later France, gives a much more contemporary view of the difficulties Catherine was under, trapped in the political turmoil between the Hugenots and the powerful Guise family.
I always thought of her as the villain who authorized the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, but now I see there was much more going on than that.

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boswellbaxter
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Post by boswellbaxter » Thu June 25th, 2009, 2:15 am

[quote=""Misfit""]There is another book out very soon about Catherine (the title escapes me). Apparently Dumas wrote several books on the Valois branch of the family. Anyone familiar with the particulars?[/quote]

The one by Jeanne Kalogridis?

http://www.jeannekalogridis.com/news.html

I picked up Dumas' Queen Margot last fall at the library sale. Haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Think I'll wait for C. W.'s book and not bother with the other novels. I haven't much patience with black-or-white characters these days.
Susan Higginbotham
Coming in October: The Woodvilles


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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Thu June 25th, 2009, 5:32 am

[quote=""Chatterbox""]Now I'm looking forward even more to CW's next book! And also to seeing which currently disparged or maligned historical figure he will wave his magic wand over, Harry Potter style, and transform into a more fully-founded human being... Give us a hint???[/quote]

That's very flattering. I like seeing myself in a pointy hat and black cape, waving a wand to make brooms dance . . . The next book is about who else? Catherine de Medici! I'm doing final revisions from my editor now, due on August 15. Pub date is summer 2010. :D
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Thu June 25th, 2009, 5:38 am

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]I just gave up on Jean Plaidy's The Italian Woman because its portrayal of Catherine was just too one-sided. I suspect it might be because the materials Plaidy relied upon in 1952, when she wrote the book, were hostile toward Catherine, but having come across more recent and more balanced portrayals of her, I bailed around page 100, when Catherine is menacing even her young children.[/quote]

Yeah, I read the Plaidy trilogy years ago; I have a very rare first hc edition of Queen Jezebel with the most lurid cover: it's marvelous. I should scan it. Plaidy's books offer a very one-dimensional and unfavorable portrayal of Catherine. I think that in addition to relying on dated research material, Plaidy adopted an extreme Anglo Protestant viewpoint, and of course Catherine is not going to look good in that light. Protestants throughout Europe universally condemned the Massacre of St Bartholomew and contributed to her overall black legend. The Massacre was indeed terrible, no excusing it; but I firmly believe Catherine didn't deliberately instigate it but rather it started as a political assasination attempt that went horribly awry.

I've not read Kalogridis's book and I probaby won't because I've finished my own book and wouldn't want to find myself influenced by another author's interpretation of the same character. But I've heard from a few people who read ARCs that it's a very dark portrait of Catherine, similar to Plaidy's; and therefore quite different from what I've attempted to do. I believe Gyrehead posted an unofficial review of it here, as well, not too long ago.
Last edited by cw gortner on Thu June 25th, 2009, 5:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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