{"product_id":"2026200012752-secondhand-the-age-of-catherine-de-medici","title":"The Age Of Catherine De Medici","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Previous owner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the volatile heart of sixteenth-century France, one woman wielded more power than any crown could confer — Catherine de Medici, the Florentine queen mother whose shadow fell across decades of religious war, court intrigue, and dynastic collapse. The Age of Catherine de Medici by J. E. Neale presents a masterful portrait of this formidable figure, charting her rise from a politically marginalised queen consort to the architect of French royal policy during the catastrophic Wars of Religion, culminating in the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572. Neale situates Catherine not merely as a scheming villain of popular legend, but as a pragmatic stateswoman navigating an empire fracturing along the fault lines of Huguenot and Catholic conflict.\n\nNeale, Astor Professor of English History at the University of London and celebrated biographer of Queen Elizabeth I, brings his characteristic narrative clarity and archival rigour to this sweeping historical study. His prose is authoritative yet accessible, grounding grand political manoeuvres in the human drama of a mother struggling to preserve her sons' thrones against impossible odds. A concise but richly argued work, it raises urgent questions about power, religion, and survival in an age when faith could determine the fate of nations — and leaves the reader wondering whether Catherine was history's most misunderstood ruler.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130985685211,"sku":"2026200012752-SECONDHAND","price":40.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/21915b72-532f-41d5-9c9a-9b5c05e05c06.png?v=1786593661","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200012752-secondhand-the-age-of-catherine-de-medici","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}