More than any ship, it was she, body and crown, who served as the vessel of empire. Catherine de Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary Queen of Scots lived at the French court together for many years before scattering to different kingdoms. These three women embodied every type of Renaissance queen: queen consort, queen mother, sovereign queen. Their lives were intertwined politically and emotionally; as queens, they faced similar challenges and tragedies. And together they witnessed and endured the sea-changes that rocked sixteenth-century Europe. To rule as a queen, they would learn, was to wage a constant war against the deeply entrenched misogyny of their time. Despite their royal crowns - or indeed because of them - their bodies remained subject to the ambition of powerful men. A crown could exalt a young woman. Equally, it could destroy her. For women, power always came with a price. Following Catherine, Elisabeth and Mary from their earliest girlhoods through to their final days, Young Queens draws on new archival evidence to reveal the friendships, rivalries and fierce family bonds among them. Through their overlapping stories, Young Queens brings to vivid life a world in which a woman could wield power at the highest level yet remain at the mercy of the state, her body destined to serve as the currency of empire and dynasty.>

[Young Queens] vividly illuminates their ambitions, motivations and fears, as well as the overwhelming odds and difficult choices faced by female rulers in an era of male power and shifting allegiances

Vorwort
A major, richly told narrative history of the intertwined lives of three sixteenth-century queens: Catherine de Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary Queen of Scots ****

Autorentext

Leah Redmond Chang is a former Associate Professor of French and Director of the French Literature Programme at George Washington University, and was most recently a Senior Research Associate at University College London. She is the author of two previous books: Into Print: The Production of Female Authorship in Early Modern France and Portraits of the Queen Mother: Polemics, Panegyrics, Letters, winner of the Josephine Roberts Award from the International Society for the Study of Early Modern Women. She lives with her husband and three children, and spends her time between Washington, DC and London.

Klappentext

The boldly original, dramatic intertwined story of Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots - three queens exercising power in a world dominated by men. 'Alluring, gripping, real: an astonishing insight into the lives of three queens' ALICE ROBERTS 'Takes us into the hearts and minds of three extraordinary women' AMANDA FOREMAN 'Conveys the vitality of the past as few books do. An enviable tour de force' SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB Sixteenth-century Europe: Renaissance masters paint the ceilings of Florentine churches, kings battle for control of the Continent, and the Reformation forever changes the religious organisation of society. Amidst it all, three young women come of age and into power in an era of empires and revolutions. Catherine de' Medici's story begins in a convent stormed by soldiers intent on seizing the key to power in Florence - Catherine herself, a girl barely 11 years old. It ends with her as the controversial queen mother of France, a woman both revered and reviled. Mary, Queen of Scots' story begins in Scotland and ends in England. A queen turned traitor, from the confines of her English prison she longs for the idyll of her childhood in France. Elisabeth de Valois' story begins in France, where she is born the beloved daughter of a king. It ends tragically in Spain as a cherished queen consort and mother - one who must make the ultimate sacrifice for her kingdom. Catherine, Mary and Elisabeth lived at the French court together for many years before scattering to different kingdoms. These years bound them to one another through blood and marriage, alliance and friendship, love and filial piety; bonds that were tested when the women were forced to part and take on new roles. To rule, they would learn, was to wage a constant war against the deeply entrenched misogyny of their time. A crown could exalt a young woman. Equally, it could destroy her. Drawing on new archival research, Young Queens masterfully weaves the personal stories of these three queens into one, revealing their hopes, dreams, desires and regrets in a time when even the most powerful women lived at the mercy of the state.

Zusammenfassung
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION WATERSTONES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: HISTORY The boldly original, dramatic intertwined story of Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots - three queens exercising power in a world dominated by men. 'Alluring, gripping, real: an astonishing insight into the lives of three queens' ALICE ROBERTS 'Takes us into the hearts and minds of three extraordinary women' AMANDA FOREMAN 'Conveys the vitality of the past as few books do. An enviable tour de force' SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots lived together at the French court for many years - years that bound them to one another through blood and marriage, alliance and friendship, love and filial piety. When they scattered to different kingdoms, they would learn that to rule was to wage a constant war against the deeply entrenched misogyny of the sixteenth century. A crown could exalt a young woman. Equally, it could destroy her. Young Queens masterfully weaves the personal stories of these three queens into one, revealing their hopes, dreams, desires and regrets at a time when even the most powerful women lived at the mercy of the state.