De Medici

When reading historical novels, I tend to stick to novels about English history. I know the history better, and I think that there are more of them in English language. However, I recently decided to branch out into French history with The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis.

For those of you who may not know, Catherine de Medici was Queen of France from 1547 to 1557. There is a lot of interest right now in that period in English history (I would call it middle Tudor - just after Henry VIII and before Elizabeth I) so I'm wondering if some of that interest will spill over into France and the other countries at the time. It is kind of neat to catch the references to some of the Tudor folk we know so well. (Not to mention Mary, Queen of Scots - briefly Queen of France when she married Catherine's son.)

However, I digress. Catherine grew up in Italy as part of the extended de Medici clan. At one point, apparently, she was imprisoned as a child. She eventually married Henri II - at that time just a Prince of France - and they had a number of children. The Dauphin predeceased their father, which eventually paved the way for Henri becoming King after his father, Francois. Henri is also probably very well known for his mistress; the beautiful Diane de Poitiers - who was probably 20 years older or so than the King. (Thanks, Wikipedia, for helping out with these facts!)

The book begins in Catherine's childhood. The unstable political times are set out, and we quickly learn of Catherine's precocious intelligence and early love for astrology. That said, the part where Catherine murders a stableboy to help her and her aunt escape is pure fiction. I like some plausibility in my historical fiction.

Catherine is imprisoned in a number of convents and is finally freed to go live with the Pope, himself a Medici. Catherine is supposed to marry her cousin Ippolito and rule Florence with him and Catherine finds herself in many compromising situations with her cousin. Again, that is another aspect that is problematic - I don't think that the opportunities the author describes would be there.

However, Catherine is married to Henri and moves to France. I enjoyed this part of the book - I liked the author's twist in that Diane was an early passing fancy of Henri's, but he had to keep pretending that she was his chief mistress to appease the factions at court when he really was in love with Catherine. While that may not be historically valid, I thought it was an interesting interpretation of the historical record. Catherine survives the early death of her husband and is the power behind the throne for her sons who succeed as king.

Overall, this book was okay, but didn't really live up to my expectations. A book called The Devil's Queen about Catherine de Medici - I want more. I would have liked a more in-depth look at Catherine's life; the pacing of the book was off. We skipped entire years early on so we could slow down right at the end before the St. Bartholomew's day massacre - which ends the book. I found the pacing slow at the end and may not have minded if we'd gone into all these little historical details before. More historical details altogether would have been nice. I wasn't really pulled into this book like I am with other historical novels. When reading a good historical novel, the reader should have difficulty recalling current time and place when putting the book down. That did not happen here.

I also wanted more showing, less telling. Sure, the author told me that Catherine was intelligent, smart, and ruled well, but I wanted to see that. More of Catherine ruling instead of just sort of hearing about it. I also thought there wasn't enough astrology/mysticism in the book. For someone who was purportedly so interested in astrology, Catherine really only went through a few mysterious ceremonies. Yes, both horrific, but then she'd abstain from anything remotely mystic for long periods of time. I didn't get the sense that astrology was really a passion in her life. I suppose the author was trying to show a different side of Catherine - instead of the ruthless harpy everyone knows, this Catherine had the love of her husband and was at heart a good person, who only turned to the "dark side" of astrology when things were truly desperate. For a "devil's queen" she was not really very bad at all!

This book was an okay read, but not a great one. For a version of Catherine de Medici which mixes in more of the demonic and mystical, try The Master of All Desires by Judith Merkle Riley. Catherine de Medici is one of the supporting players in that book and I think her personality and interest in the supernatural really comes across well in that book. But, if you just want a primer on Catherine de Medici, this book would probably be alright. Hopefully with the interest in this time period in English history, maybe some really excellent writers will adopt this period in French history and give us a true "Devil's Queen".

Ancient Egypt

So, where has my summer gone! Apparently I've been too busy to read. That's not entirely true - I've been busy reading Agatha Christies. I know those aren't everyone's cup of tea, so I've been trying to sneak something else in there on the side.

That something else is Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge. As you may recall, Ms. Gedge (from Alberta!) is one of my favourite authors. She specializes in novels about Ancient Egypt. I haven't read them all, but I think her earlier works are more my favourite than her later ones. She's also dabbled in a few other genres with a Celtic novel The Eagle and the Raven and a fantasy novel Stargate. Both of them are pretty good - I like Stargate as it has a strong sense of fatalism mixed in with the fantasy elements. (Note - has nothing to do with the movie/TV show Stargate.)

Child of the Morning is the first novel Gedge wrote. But it's good - really good! One reads it and can only marvel that this is a first novel. From the beginning her characterization and scene-setting abilities are spot on. The reader is pulled into Ancient Egypt; a world so far away from ours that it might as well be fantasy. Yet in reading Gedge's books, she makes the characters come to life so the reader has someone to grab onto in this strange, new, exciting, world.

This book is about a female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. She is maybe not the only female Pharaoh that Ancient Egypt has, but she is certainly one of the best known (after Cleopatra, of course). She is responsible for some beautiful architecture in Egypt. She was also so hated after her death that her successor tried to obliterate her name and image and so erase her from history forever. Fortunately for us, he was unable to do so.

We begin with Hatshepsut as a child; stubborn, autocratic, willful. Spoilt, even. Already with a drive for power and independence. Women in Ancient Egypt apparently had some freedoms denied their sisters in other areas of the Ancient world, but Hatshepsut was a free spirit, even for a princess. The reader observes how Hatshepsut develops and joins her in her quest to become Pharaoh, aided and abetted by her father.

Gedge creates a complete world for Hatshepsut. We learn what the Ancient Egyptians wore (very little, apparently!), ate, drank, and did. The research must have been meticulous in order for this level of detail. But the detail doesn't obscure the story as it often can -rather, it enhances it. Of course, the book was published in 1977, so there are new details about Hapshepsut's life that Gedge could not have known, but it is a remarkable work of research nonetheless.

I also enjoyed how Gedge did not feel the need to end her book on a happy note. It is not a tragic book, but the ending is realistic. The reader is left with sense of loss, but it all makes sense. We remember the happier times documented earlier and are satisfied.

Child of the Morning is an excellent book for anyone interested in Ancient Egypt and a peek into the lives of its royalty. This is an excellent book - an amazing first effort from a very talented writer. I enjoyed Child of the Morning very much and was thoroughly swept away into Ancient Egypt. This is a good read for any time of the year. Summer is good - you can commiserate with the heat in the book. (Although not this summer!) Winter is better - you can immerse yourself into Egypt's shining sands without having to pay for the airfare. Whatever time of year you read it, this book is excellent. Enjoy!

P.S. Also, who doesn't love that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats! They knew a thing or two - I know my two rule my house and demand absolute obedience from their puny human servants.