{"product_id":"catherine-de-medici-the-life-and-times-of-the-serpent-queen-hardcover","title":"Catherine De' Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMary Hollingsworth\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe life and times of Catherine de' Medici--the most powerful woman in sixteenth-century Europe--as seen through her often controversial role in religion and the arts.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDuring an age of heightened religious conflict, Catherine de' Medici lived her life at the center of sixteenth-century European and French politics. Daughter of Lorenzo II, the Medici ruler of Florence--and then wedded to a French prince by papal decree at the age of fourteen--Catherine first became queen consort of France and then mother to three French kings (Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III) who reigned in an era of almost continuous civil and religious strife. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A lavish promoter of the arts, Catherine patronized poets, painters, and sculptors; lavished ruinous sums on the building and embellishment of monuments and palaces; and masterminded spectacular entertainments and tournaments that prefigure the splendor and ritual of the court of Versailles. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Catherine maintained eighty ladies-in-waiting at court; it was rumored she used these women as bait to seduce courtiers for her political ends. Her admiration for the seer Nostradamus fueled claims of her love for the occult and the dark arts. Posterity has condemned her as the epitome of the scheming royal matriarch, her reputation tainted forever by her role in instigating the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Protestants in 1572. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eCatherine de' Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen\u003c\/i\u003e is Mary Hollingsworth's evocative, authoritative biography of the most extraordiary woman of the sixteenth-century.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary Hollingsworth\u003c\/b\u003e is a scholar of the Italian Renaissance. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Cardinal's Hat\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Borgias: History's Most Notorious Dynasty\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eThe Family Medici: The Hidden History of the Medici Dynasty\u003c\/i\u003e. She divides her time between Italy and England.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 480\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.52 x 9.3 x 6.26 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 02, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48730413760760,"sku":"9781639367016","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0698\/5629\/7208\/files\/7jiwmiFHc59781639367016.webp?v=1780253266","url":"https:\/\/barneysbooksellers.com\/products\/catherine-de-medici-the-life-and-times-of-the-serpent-queen-hardcover","provider":"Barney's Book Sellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}