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.
