Before I even graduated from college, I knew that the Loire Valley chateaux were my “dream vacation.” Any time someone asked me where I most wanted to go in world, I’d say “French ‘Chateaux country.’” Keep in mind, this was years before I started writing about the people who lived, worked, and viciously stabbed one
<em>Tag</em> renaissance
I linked news of this controversy in my newsletter, but as I dug further, I knew I had to write a blog post about it. I’m still working on my blogging about my own trip to Close Lucé, but I’d like to think that this counts as “unusual circumstances.” Full disclosure: during my graduate school
My biggest beef with the way most of us are taught history is that we just hit what I call the “highlight people:” the few who made a lasting impression and just skip over whomever Professor So and So thinks is just not that important to bring up in today’s lecture. The Simpsons lampooned this
Heads up for you newsletter subscribers- I’ve got a new novella in the works, and it’s a subscriber exclusive. If you’ve finished the Three Graces Trilogy, you’ve no doubt met Louise of Lorraine, who became Queen of France as the wife of Henry III. If you’re still working through the trilogy, you can pick up
I’ve written four books at this point about the French Renaissance, and Catherine de Medici is a major supporting character in all of them. You cannot get away from studying 16th Century France without a thorough understanding of Catherine’s life as Duchess, Dauphine, Queen Consort, and finally, Queen Mother of France. Free sources about Catherine
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
The Valois Mistress is my first full length novel, and I’m very excited to share it with you. The book’s still in the editing stage, but I’m hoping to get it out this December. If you want to get an advanced copy, click here. While you’re waiting, get to know the people of the French
I’ve gushed in the past about the prayers books that were created during Renaissance France. Before, they were books that belonged to royal and noblewomen. Color me shocked when I learned that Henry of Navarre, who became Henry IV of France, carried a prayer book of his own. I have the folks at Medievalists to
Meet the Cleves sisters and the people who made their lives. If you’ve read the Three Graces Trilogy, you’ll find several familiar names Youngest sister, Marie, is the Princess de Conde. While the title may sound impressive, the marriage (and the husband who came with it) was not. Marie tries valiantly to keep her arraigned
Where would a good Renaissance era Catholic be without a good prayer book, also known as a Book of Hours? I’ve looked at Henry IV of France’s prayer book earlier, but let’s not forget his illustrious predecessor, Francis I. The British and French began fighting over it (of course they did) as soon as it