The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King

An intriguing study of a royal love triangle captures the complex relationships that existed between King Henri II of France, his wife Catherine de Medici, and his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, examining the impact of the love story on the history of Renaissance France. 75,000 first printing.

One scene sums up a major shortcoming of this otherwise impressive account of the life and times of King Henri II of France: Henri's queen, Catherine de' Medici is peering through a hole in the floor of her palace bedroom to watch her husband make love to his mistress, and Princess Michael writes, "A knife must have pierced fat little Catherine's heart." This is one of dozens of often cruel references to the physical attributes of Catherine and others at court. Fortunately, the author devotes more energy to creating a compelling image of Henri's mistress, Diane de Poitiers, 18 years his senior, who emerges as a fascinating character. Princess Michael is descended from both Diane and Catherine, but her sympathies appear to lie with Diane. Catherine is generally described as jealous, scheming and vindictive, while Diane is beautiful and well bred. Yet, as Princess Michael shows, Catherine was a quiet, dutiful wife who endured the indignity of his infidelity. Still, the author's comprehensive research ensures that readers will get a solid picture of the three main players and the complex negotiations required by life at court. 70 b&w and 16 pages color illus.
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