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| | Catherine de Medici - Reviewed by Ann Skea - Eclectica Magazine v9n2 |
 | | an Italian duchess without a duchy, a "barren wife," an "eclipsed consort": Caterina Maria Romula de Medici was called all of these things, but she was a most powerful and influential woman, Queen of France for eleven years, and Queen Mother, regent and de facto ruler for thirty more. |
| | Leonie Frieda sets out to show that such judgments were mistaken and bigoted, and that Catherine de Medici was, in fact, a remarkably courageous and pragmatic woman whose sole purpose in life was to ensure "the survival of her children, her dynasty and France." Overall, Frieda succeeds in her purpose. |
| | You may not end up liking Catherine—she was a product of her times, and she had learned hard lessons well—but you have to admit that she was impressive. |
| www.eclectica.org /v9n2/skea_demedici.html (789 words) |
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