Catherine De Medici

Who was Catherine de Medici? The answer to this question depends largely on one's religion and politics. Catherine de Medici: Five Portraits examines historically this great queen from the standpoint of her contemporaries and later writers. The primary focus is Catherine as seen in five works of French literature: Madame de La Fayette's La Princesse de Cl ves, Honor de Balzac's Sur Catherine de M dicis, Alexandre Dumas p re's La Reine Margot, Henri III et sa cour, and Prosper M rim e's Chronique du r gne de Charles IX. The famous queen and queen-mother are viewed from a multiplicity of perspectives, including that of victim and victimizer.