You may be familiar with the story of Gabrielle d’Estrees, the woman who Henry IV loved so much that he eventually agreed to her despite the fact that she had little political clout outside of France and she was already his Baby Mama thrice over. If Gabrielle is an unknown figure to you, there’s quite
Category Mistress
One of the many downsides of having over fifty-four mistresses in one’s lifetime is the fact that sooner or later, one mistress will begin behaving badly. Henry IV of France experienced this a couple of times in his life, but he never really learned from his mistake. An early example of a mistress gone spurned
Today might be my birthday but I’m feeling generous. I have a present for you: an excerpt from The Valois Mistress, coming in 2018 As I walked across the courtyard, I barely caught myself before I tripped over a pair of muddy boots. “Going somewhere, Mademoiselle?” a jaunty voice called out at my
Making a final decision on the cover design for The Valois Mistress is driving me around the bend these days. I think that I’m just too attached to Charlotte de Sauve to be partial. The finalists: These are the ones that made the final cut. Why not use her actual portrait? I really wish that
A while back, I saved an image with Charlotte de Sauve’s signature to my Pinterest board about her. It’s been so long since I did it that I forgot how I came across it. It was sold at auction, and the description lists it as a letter. Since it’s in Old French, few people outside
In the heyday of the Flying Squadron, Catherine de Medici dispatched two beguiling young women to spy on tow Bourbon brothers, the Prince de Conde and the King of Navarre. Any time a royal asks a favor there is a danger of disaster, whether the person being asked agrees or refuses the request. In the