Blood, Fire and Gold: The story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici

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From writing transcripts of conversations the queens had which makes the reader feel they are in the room with them to using a number of different sources which gives an extremely fair and balanced look at both queens. Catherine had to deal with the antics of her children and her daughter-in-law, Mary Queen of Scots, who would become one of Elizabeth’s biggest rivals. It’s a big world, and the book does a good job of introducing the outside influences without going off into the weeds. Her parents died when Catherine was young, leaving her to be a wealthy heiress and a powerful pawn in the marriage market.

Catherine and Mary are trying to preserve the supremacy of Catholicism while Elizabeth was promoting the spread of Protestantism.

So did Catherine’s protests to Elizabeth about the imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots when she fled to England from an uprising of her Scottish subjects. Although Catherine de Medici got the same amount of time in the book somehow Elizabeth dominates it. After all, Elizabeth is the first woman who’s name was named after an age- The Elizabethan Age, or the Golden Age for that matter. Similarly, we are made aware of the dangerous line of succession that Henry VIII leaves behind, but only as it affects Elizabeth.

Paranque highlights the personalities of her subjects masterfully through the use of modernised quotes which allows insight to the complex nature of how political leaders communicated with one another as such the situation benefited them whether it be war or even marital prospects. Overall though, extremely informative and it’s hard to find good history book authors that actually know how to tell a story. But she supported the Huguenots in the eight religious civil wars in France between 1562 and 1593, which of course put a strain on the relationship between the two women. Here the complexity of Catherine's role is shown as she navigates Mary as representative of the Catholic cause, as having a legitimate claim to the English throne and being a niece/cousin of Catherine’s powerful Guise rivals. This book gets a little hard to follow in audiobook format as you try to keep track of the various English and French diplomats and their conversations with Catherine and Elizabeth, but it is otherwise a worthwhile and enjoyable read/listen.Despite issues with Diane, Henry and Catherine had a huge family, including several sons, including King Francis II, King Charles IX, King Henry III, and Francis, Duke of Anjou. Dr Estelle Paranque masterfully draws together the strands of narrative of two of the most powerful Queens of Europe, engaged in a relentless and delicate balancing act of rivalry and common cause.

I have long been fascinated by Elizabeth and I have been collecting numerous nonfiction books about her both old and new. At a time when women were given no voice at all and were considered, in every aspect, as less than men, these two lead armies, squashed rebellions and shaped Kingdoms. Mary’s mother, Marie de Guise, was her regent in Scotland, and was much hated by the protestant lords there whom Elizabeth supported and with whom she signed the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 which Mary Stuart refused to ratify. For example, I didn’t realize Marie didn’t care all that much for Mary, Queen of Scots, her daughter-in-law for a short time.

Not sure why but I was looking forward to be reminded about her death and the pageantry that would commence after it. Not only is the writing style somewhat lacking a proper scholarly tone and thus discounts the work right from the start; but, this early content is easily ignored by those well-versed on the subject as there is nothing new to absorb. Shining new light on their legendary kingdoms Blood, Fire and Gold provides a new way of looking at two of history's most powerful women, and how they shaped each other as profoundly as they shaped the course of history. She has also participated in Secrets d'Histoire ( France 2/ France 3) as well as the history podcasts, HistoryHit , Not Just the Tudors , and Talking Tudors .