I dreamt of Henri, King of France and Navarre, who-for the sake of peace-became a Catholic so that he could be crowned properly in a cathedral, saying, Paris is well worth a Mass. I saw Huguenots and Catholics reconciled and a country united, ruled at last by a canny monarch who put the welfare of its citizens before his own, a ruler so beloved by his subjects that they dubbed him Henri the Great. I saw a France at peace and prosperous.
I did not dream of blood. I woke grief-stricken yet relieved, with prayers of contrition on my lips.
I reported this all to Ruggieri the next afternoon, after he had arrived with his paltry belongings to settle into his new apartments at the Louvre. Clad in a plain black doublet and matching ruff, he seemed incongruous with the gilded walls, the delicate, feminine furniture, and the pale blue brocade curtains, pulled back to admit the waning light. Like me, he had slept little since the massacre on Saint Bartholomew’s Day; at the sight of his exhaustion, I insisted he sit beside me in the antechamber while his valets thumped about in the bedroom, unpacking his things.
“I have done my best to make amends,” I said softly. “But I cannot bring back all the innocents who have perished. And I cannot bear to watch my beloved sons-monsters though they may be-die. I have had more than enough sorrow for one life. Let me die, too, Cosimo.”
He tilted his head to regard me somberly. Such an ugly face, yet as a shaft of light from the window penetrated his black eyes, I saw how very beautiful they were.
“Your time has not come, Catherine,” he answered. “You have set things aright-and now you and I must live many more years to ensure that they remain so. Navarre still faces many obstacles.”
Sickened by the thought, I turned my face from him and closed my eyes. I soon opened them again as something soft and warm brushed against my cheek. Ruggieri had risen from his chair to kneel beside mine; his fingers hovered, tender and unsteady, in the air between us.
“Do not give up hope,” he said. “I promised you many years ago that I would see you through all challenges. I will remain always at your side.”
“But I am damned, Cosimo,” I said sadly.
“Then we are damned together, Caterina Maria Romula de’ Medici.”
I gazed at him, remembering the words he had uttered on the day the harlot died. His affection and loyalty had been deeper and more constant than those of Aunt Clarice, of my husband, of my own children. Just as I had been willing to risk everything for my Henri, so Cosimo had been willing to risk everything for me. At the thought, my dark, faltering heart opened.
“Only ever out of love,” I whispered.
“Only ever out of love,” he repeated solemnly, and his hand began again to reach for me.
I caught it in my own, drew him to me, and kissed him.
AFTERWORD
Henri of Navarre-better known to us as Henri IV, or Henri the Great to his countrymen-was the first of the Bourbon monarchs and certainly the most beloved. His marriage to Margot was eventually annulled, and he remarried Maria de’ Medici, who gave him several children.
Catherine de’ Medici lived to the venerable age of sixty-nine. She was an assiduous astrologer, a mathematical prodigy, and-according to many French historians-the most intelligent individual ever to sit on France’s throne. The details of her horoscope as presented here are, to my feeble knowledge, accurate. She met twice with Nostradamus and eventually named him Physician of the Realm, although their conversations were never recorded. Her prophetic dreams are a matter of record; her daughter Margot wrote that her mother dreamt of King Henri’s death as well as Edouard’s victory at Jarnac.
The young Dauphine Catherine was indeed in danger of repudiation, and for the first ten years of her marriage was childless-after which she gave birth to ten children in as many years. Rumors began that she had relied on the talents of her court magician, Cosimo Ruggieri, to whom she was devoted. Catherine’s collection of talismans and interest in magic were legendary; after her husband’s death, she gave Diane de Poitiers the property at Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceaux. When Diane moved to Chaumont, she was alarmed to discover pentacles painted on the floor and abandoned magical implements, with the result that she abandoned the property.
The star Algol-also known as the Head of the Gorgon-is still considered the most evil star by astrologers. It opposed Mars on the twenty-fourth of August, 1572, at roughly 4:00 a.m.-an hour after the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre began, as Mars passed through Catherine’s ascendant, Taurus. Mars transits through an individual’s ascendant augur periods of extreme crisis, possibly resulting in death.
A Conversation with Jeanne Kalogridis
Could you tell us a little bit about your background, and when you decided that you wanted to lead a literary life?
I was a shy, scrawny, unpopular kid with frizzy hair and thick glasses; since I had no social life, I read. I adored dark fantasy and science fiction, and I was writing my own stories as soon as I could hold a pencil. My mom and sisters were always dragging me to the mall on weekends, so while they shopped, I hung in the local bookstore. I think the defining moment for me came when I picked up a copy of Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man in a Waldenbooks. His writing was so beautiful, so lyrical…I decided then I wanted to write like that.
“I was writing my own stories as soon as I could hold a pencil.”
Is there a book that most influenced your life? Or inspired you to become a writer?
The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury. And his Martian Chronicles. When I worked on my first novel, I bought new copies of those two books and consciously tried to imitate his style.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, and Dan Simmons (especially The Terror and Drood, both historical novels).
Who are some of your favorite historical figures?
My namesake, Joan (in French, Jeanne) of Arc-yes, she was deluded, but she kicked butt and made a man a king. I read a lot of biographies of strong women when I was growing up; I admired Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell (first female M.D. in the United States), Elizabeth I, Boudicca (who gave the Imperial Roman army a run for its money), Jane Addams, and Susan B. Anthony.
About the Author
There are, of course, fascinating men. I always adored Leonardo because he was passionately interested in everything and pursued knowledge without the encumbrance of a formal education. Vlad the Impaler is another favorite of mine, for much grislier reasons, as is Cesare Borgia.
You have already authored two historical novels about Renaissance Italy, The Borgia Bride and I, Mona Lisa. What was the inspiration for The Devil’s Queen?
While writing I, Mona Lisa, I learned a lot about the Medici of Florence. The more I read about Lorenzo’s great-granddaughter, the notorious French queen Catherine de’ Medici, the more she fascinated me.
Do you scrupulously adhere to historical fact in your novels, or do you take liberties if the story can benefit from the change? And to what extent did you stick to the facts in writing The Devil’s Queen? How did you conduct your research?
I’ll answer the last question first: I rely on documented online sources, books, and experts. (I scour the Internet, dusty used bookstores, and libraries for rare/out-of-print books.)
To answer the first and second questions: I do my utmost to adhere strictly to recorded fact, but in the case of Catherine’s long, eventful life, I realized that I would need to write four books instead of one to cover everything! Clearly, the story needed to be condensed-but I didn’t do so by changing any events. Instead, I chose to omit some facts-such as the fact that Catherine actually had ten children rather than the five who appear in the novel. I chose the children who actually had the most impact on history and their mother’s life…and thus, the story. Otherwise, the plot would have lost its pacing and dramatic focus.
What is it about Catherine that you hoped to reveal to your readers?
Historians have accused her of being one of the most malevolent
monarchs to sit on a throne-which was far from true. She was, in fact, one of the most insightful and intelligent rulers in history. I wanted to show how her horrific childhood and ensuing need for security and love resulted, ultimately, in the circumstances that gave rise to the tragic St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
Are you currently working on another book? And if so, what-or who-is your subject?
“[Catherine] was one of the most insightful and intelligent rulers in history.”
Always! I’m writing about another Italian Catherine. Caterina Sforza (1463-1509) was the daughter of the Duke of Milan. Although she was pampered and indulged as a child, she grew up to become one of the most famed Renaissance warriors of all time. She (almost) single-handedly managed to hold off Cesare Borgia’s massive army for months; her bravery and her refusal to behave “as a woman of her time ought” were amazing. She’s still famed in Italy for her daring exploits and lifestyle.
Much of the plot of The Devil’s Queen revolves around astrology and Catherine de’ Medici’s birth chart or natal horoscope, as well as those of her family members. How much of this was historically accurate? How did you do your research?
I’ve collected books about Renaissance magic for twenty-five years, so this was an area already familiar to me. But to do Catherine and the novel justice, I brushed up on Renaissance astrological magic by taking a course in the subject and reading the same authors Catherine would have studied in her day. None of the spells, astrological charts, or references to stars came from my imagination; they were the result of careful research.
I hired two different astrologers to cast the charts of Catherine and her sons, so with luck, they’re completely accurate. (I also cast them myself using my computer-I’m definitely not the math whiz Catherine was!)
It has been said that Catherine’s natal horoscope was one of the worst anyone could possibly have. Can you explain why?
When the first astrologer I visited cast Catherine’s chart, he actually gasped aloud in horror. Just for fun, I’d told him only that the subject was a long-dead queen who was the heroine of my novel. He told me she had a Grand Cross-four planets aligned at ninety degree intervals from each other, so if you connected them with a pencil line, you’d draw a square-armed cross.
Trust me, you don’t want a Grand Cross. You will be up against very, very difficult forces, and have conflict after conflict without being able to resolve it.
The astrologer explained that one planet (Jupiter) represented Catherine, and the others represented three powerful men who thwarted her at every turn. No matter what good she tried to achieve, these three forces undermined her efforts. Tragedy was the inevitable result.
Eerily enough, one of the planets happened to be her husband’s astrological “ruler”-and the two others were the rulers of her two malevolent sons, each of whom became king. Catherine was charming, diplomatic, and exceedingly intelligent-far more so than her husband or sons, whose mental and emotional deficiencies vexed her at every turn. I believe their failings, not Catherine’s, ultimately led to the massacre; Catherine struggled to right their wrongs and prevent civil war, but she was unable to control the situation.
The astrologer also said-without knowing anything else about Catherine’s background-that her chart revealed that she lost her parents in early childhood, and faced a massive catastrophe during her life, as a result of the Grand Cross.
In your research of the astrological charts of Catherine and her family and the superstitions of the time period, what was the most interesting/surprising/shocking thing you learned?
Even though I enjoy reading about Renaissance magic and related matters, I’m a skeptic; I approach it the way an anthropologist would approach learning about the magical beliefs of an ancient culture. But I admit, I was shocked when I came across the link between the star Algol and the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
“Even though I enjoy…Renaissance magic and related matters, I’m a skeptic.”
Since ancient times, Algol has been associated with the violent shedding of blood on a mass scale; the Chinese called the star “the Heaped-Up Corpses,” and the Arabs called it al-ghul, “the demon” star. Renaissance magicians and modern-day astrologers believed it to be the most evil star in the heavens, predicting great catastrophe.
Algol rose and made an extremely bad aspect with the planet Mars (associated with war and bloodshed) less than an hour before the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre began. Catherine surely knew this-she made use of several astrologers, including her favorite, Ruggieri, and always checked their mathematical calculations against hers (which were always right).
Historical Perspective
Catherine de’ Medici: A Timeline
April 13, 1519 Caterina de’ Medici is born
October 28, 1533 Caterina marries Henri
January 19, 1544 Catherine’s first son, François, is born
March 31, 1547 King François I dies; his son, Henri, becomes Henri II of France
June 27, 1550 Charles-Maximilien is born
September 19, 1551 Edouard-Alexandre is born
May 14, 1553 Marguerite (Margot) is born
July 10, 1559 Henri dies; his fifteen year-old son, François, becomes François II of France
December 5, 1560 François II dies; his brother, Charles, becomes Charles IX of France
August 18, 1572 Catherine’s daughter, Margot, marries the Huguenot king, Henri of Navarre
August 23, 1572 The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre begins
May 30, 1574 Charles dies; his brother, Edouard, becomes Henri III of France
January 5, 1589 Catherine dies
Recommended Reading
Catherine de’ Medici:
Renaissance Queen of France
Leonie Frieda
Renaissance Warrior and Patron:
The Reign of Francis I
R. J. Knecht
Keep on Reading
Beneath the Cross:
Catholics and Huguenots in
Sixteenth-Century Paris
Barbara B. Diefendorf
Memoirs of Marguerite,
Queen of Navarre
Reading Group Questions
1. What did you know about Catherine de’ Medici-either from your own studies, or as portrayed in popular film/television adaptations-before reading The Devil’s Queen? How, if at all, did this book teach you about, or change your impression of, this important chapter in French history?
2. What do you see as Catherine’s most and least admirable qualities?
3. To what extent do you think Jeanne Kalogridis took artistic liberties with this work? What does it take for a novelist to bring a “real” period to life?
4. Discuss the nature of fact versus fiction in The Devil’s Queen. You may wish to take this opportunity to compare it with other historical novels you’ve read (as a group or on your own).
5. Catherine was orphaned at an early age, raised by an unaffectionate aunt, imprisoned for years, and misused by her cousin, Ippolito. What possible impact could such traumatic events have had on a child’s character? How do you think they affected Catherine?
6. What made Catherine capable of the ritual murder of an innocent? Was she evil at heart, or was her act understandable, if not justifiable?
7. Wicked, bloodthirsty, scheming…many adjectives have been used by historians to describe Catherine de’ Medici’s character. What words would you use to describe her?
8. Take a moment to talk about Catherine’s roles-as a prisoner, a marriage pawn, a princess, a queen, and later a regent-in Renaissance society. How was Catherine different from other women of her era? Do you think she was a “woman ahead of her time”?
9. As an astrologer and practitioner of magic, Catherine believed in fate. Do you believe that she could have taken a different course of action to avoid the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, or was it inevitable? If not, what steps could she have taken to stop it?
10. Why do modern readers enjoy no
vels about the past? How and when can a powerful piece of fiction be a history lesson in itself?
11. We are taught, as young readers, that every story has a moral. Is there a moral to The Devil’s Queen? What can we learn about our world-and ourselves-from Catherine’s story?
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The Medici Queen aka The Devil’s Queen Page 49