LitPick Review
Duchessina is the story of Catherine de' Medici, the heiress of the Medici family's enormous fortune. She grows up surrounded by extravagance, yet Catherine's life will always be ruled by the politics of the people around her. When she is eight years old, her safety is threatened when the king of Spain invades Italy, and Catherine must hide in a convent. Three years later, she is ordered by the pope to live in Rome. The pope, wishing to use Catherine as a tool to strengthen political ties, arranges her in marriage to Henri, the second son of the king of France. Once in France, Catherine finds herself surrounded by courtiers that despise her and an unloving husband. Yet, despite it all, Catherine is able to overcome her loneliness, and, with the death of her husband, becomes the most powerful person in France.
Opinion:
Carolyn Meyer has written many books on the early lives of European royalty. This book is similar to many of her books. She is always to careful to weave in the accurate details of history into the character's story. Duchessina was very historically accurate, but it lacked depth in the characters. Meyer does a good job making Catherine, the main character, into a sympathetic character; this was challenging, since Catherine has sometimes been characterized in history as a serpent or witch. However, the supporting characters in the story remained very flat, seeming to exist only to prop up Catherine. If you enjoy Carolyn Meyer's other books, or if you interested in the history of Catherine de' Medici, this is an excellent book to read. But, otherwise, the book is nothing special.
