Blood, Fire & Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I & Catherine de Medici

by Estelle Paranque

Overview

**SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, "10 BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2022"**

**HISTORY TODAY, "BOOKS OF THE YEAR (2022)"**


A brilliant and beautifully written deep dive into the complicated relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, two of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe who shaped each other as profoundly as they shaped the course of history.

Sixteenth-century Europe was a hostile world dominated by court politics and patriarchal structures, and yet against all odds, two women rose to power: Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici. One a young Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a more experienced and clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these shrewd and strategic sovereigns. But though their individual legacies have been heavily scrutinized, nothing has been said of their complicated relationship—thirty years of camaraderie, competition, and conflict that forever changed the face of Europe.

In Blood, Fire, and Gold, historian Estelle Paranque offers a new way of looking at two of history's most powerful women: through the eyes of the other. Drawing on their private correspondence and brand-new research, Paranque shows how Elizabeth and Catherine navigated through uncharted waters that both united and divided their kingdoms, maneuvering between opposing political, religious, and social objectives—all while maintaining unprecedented power over their respective domains. Though different in myriad ways, their fates and lives remained intertwined of the course of three decades, even as the European geo-politics repeatedly set them against one another. Whether engaged in bloody battles or peaceful accords, Elizabeth and Catherine admired the force and resilience of the other, while never forgetting that they were, first and foremost, each other's true rival.

This is a story of two remarkable visionaries: a story of blood, fire, and gold. It is also a tale of ceaseless calculation, of love and rivalry, of war and wisdom, and—above all else—of the courage and sacrifice it takes to secure and sustain power as a woman in a male-dominated world.

A Times' "Book of the Week"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306830518
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	341,522
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

DR. ESTELLE PARANQUE is an Assistant Professor in History at NCH at Northeastern (London campus). She has been featured in several international historical television documentaries, including The Boleyns: A ScandalousFamily and Secrets d’Histoire, as well as the history podcasts like HistoryHit, Not Just the Tudors, and Talking Tudors. She is also the author of Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes.

 

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Art of Making Peace ix

Part I The Making of Queens, 1533-1558

Chapter 1 Love and Scandals, 1533-1536 3

Chapter 2 In the Shadows of the Royal Courts, 1537-1546 19

Chapter 3 Courts of Wolves and She-Wolves, 1547-1553 31

Chapter 4 Struggle to Power, 1553-1558 43

Part 2 Crowns of Thorns and Fire, 1558-1564

Chapter 5 When Death Brings Glory, 1558-1559 57

Chapter 6 Fight for Peace, 1559-1560 77

Chapter 7 The King in All But Name, the Virgin, the "Gouvernante," and the Widow, 1561 89

Chapter 8 The Lying Game, 1562-1564 107

Part 3 Mothers Know Best, 1564-1584

Chapter 9 Charles, the Boy King, 1564-1569 129

Chapter 10 Henry: Overshadowed, 1570-1571 147

Chapter 11 Tears and Fury: Francis, Elizabeth's "Frog," 1572-1578 159

Chapter 12 Last Chance at Marriage and a Lost Mother, 1579-1584 183

Part 4 Warrior Queens, 1585-1589

Chapter 13 A Protestant Champion and a Catholic Hammer, 1585 203

Chapter 14 The Rose and the Thistle, 1586 217

Chapter 15 A Queen Must Die, November 1586-March 1587 237

Chapter 16 Endgame, April 1587-August 1589 259

Epilogue: Queen of Hearts & Queen of Spades: The Women Behind the Legends 279

Author's Note 285

Endnotes 287

Bibliography 299

Acknowledgments 305

Index 307

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

Political power and intrigue permeate this immersive dual biography of 16th-century queens by historian Paranque (Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes). Elizabeth I, the only daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, ascended to the English throne in 1558, while Catherine de Medici became “Gouvernante de France” two years later, exercising royal power on behalf of her nine-year-old son, King Charles IX. The book’s most fascinating sections reveal how the two queens’ efforts toto forge a strong French-English alliance and calm religious conflict through dynastic marriage, trade agreements, and peace treaties were complicated by their constant need to prove “their legitimacy and ability to rule in a male-dominated world.” After proposed marriages to King Charles IX and his brother Henry fell apart, Elizabeth was drawn to Catherine’s youngest son, Francis, Duke of Anjou, a supporter of French Protestants. Many of her ministers opposed the match, however, and Elizabeth eventually reneged on their engagement. Catherine’s power in France declined, and a few months after her death in 1589, her son King Henry III was murdered and Henry III of Navarre, a Protestant, became king, a succession backed by Elizabeth, who by then had become the most feared protector of her faith in Europe and one of the world’s most powerful monarchs. Paranque’s vivid character sketches and lucid explanations of the political and religious stakes involved result in a certifiable historical page-turner. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

2022-09-21
A dual biography of two legendary women of the 16th century.

That Elizabeth ruled England from 1558 to 1603 is well known, but readers may need reminding that Catherine de Medici, the Italian-born wife of one French king and mother of three others, was a dominant figure during the reigns of her children from 1559 until her death in 1589. History professor Paranque emphasizes that the two had much in common, including their endurance of oppressive early years. Marginalized by her father, Henry VIII, due to his obsession with obtaining a male heir, Elizabeth feared for her life during the reign of her predecessor, Mary, who did not hesitate to execute those she believed threatened her throne. Though a common stratagem in Italy’s tortured politics, Catherine’s marriage into France’s royal family seemed a dead end, as her husband, Henry II, ignored her in favor of his mistress. Matters improved when both Mary and Henry II died within months of each other. Elizabeth became queen of England. Although Salic law forbade women rulers in France, Catherine’s male children required a regent when young and became accustomed to her authority as years passed. The women never met, but they argued, cooperated, negotiated, and made war, usually as enemies but occasionally together, for 30 years, during a time awash in violent religious disputes. These battles tore France apart, and the nation was overshadowed by Europe’s superpower, Spain, which, despite being firmly Catholic, gave priority to its national interests and so sometimes allied with Protestant England, sometimes with France. Inevitably, the text is mostly a record of quarrels and negotiations as revealed in the two women’s massive private correspondence and diplomatic reports. To enliven matters, Paranque often converts the material into fictionalized scenes with invented dialogue and insight into the characters’ thoughts. Although not always successfully, the tactic seems to preserve the spirit of the interactions.

Solid diplomatic history and account of the lives of two female rulers who held their own in Renaissance Europe.

Kirkus Reviews

**SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, "10 BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2022"**

**HISTORY TODAY, "BOOKS OF THE YEAR (2022)"**

**AMAZON, EDITORS' PICK FOR "BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF THE MONTH" (December 2022)**

**NEW YORK POST, "BEST NEW BOOKS TO READ" (December 2022)**

**TOWN AND COUNTRY MAGAZINE, "THE 30 MUST-READ BOOKS OF WINTER 2023"**

**BOOKSCROLLING, "THE BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2022"**

**TIMES, "BOOK OF THE WEEK"**

"Ms. Paranque... conveys the relationship between these two remarkable women with zest and insight and with sympathy... Just as historical novelists now engage in serious academic research, so some historians, Ms. Paranque among them, are ready to grant themselves the novelist's freedom—though not with facts, thank goodness. After all, outside universities, people read even carefully researched history for enjoyment. There is a lot to enjoy here."—Wall Street Journal

"Historian Estelle Paranque looks at the relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, two of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe. She draws on their private letters to craft portraits of these famous women... A must-read for history lovers."—Town and Country Magazine

“Paranque deftly shows how their experiences shaped the women rulers’ relationships with their subjects, advisers and each other.”—Smithsonian Magazine

"A fascinating, detailed look at the personal and political relations between Elizabeth and Catherine as they sought to promote the interests of their respective countries and religions."—New York Journal of Books

"Paranque’s vivid character sketches and lucid explanations of the political and religious stakes involved result in a certifiable historical page-turner."—Publishers Weekly

“Drawing on new research and private correspondence, Paranque paints a vivid picture of two formidable women whose rivalry motivated their respective choices and accomplishments.”—Booklist

"[A] solid diplomatic history.”—Kirkus

"An excellent choice for both history buffs and listeners who are interested in feminist history and the lives of women rulers."—Library Journal

"A story told with verve and passion... a marvelous story of a relationship between two powerful women in an age when females were believed to be unsuited to the exercise of government."
 —The Times (UK)

"An alternative and engaging biography of the great Tudor Queen"
 —The Telegraph (UK)

"[This book] deliver[s] fascinating insights... a pacy narrative of two stormy lives."—History Today (UK)

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