Jun 11

1

Giveaway and Catherine de Medici and Her Father-in-Law Francois I By C.W. Gortner

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on June 1, 2011
Posted in Guest Author • My Past Giveaways | 114 Comments

I would like to welcome C.W. Gortner to So Many Precious Books, So Little Time. His book, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is a precious book to me. See my review here.

Without further ado, please welcome C.W. Gortner.

A Father’s Love: Catherine de Medici and Francois I

“I had loved François as I had loved no other man; loved him for his excesses and his foibles, for his grandeur and his weakness; but most of all, I had loved him because he had loved me. But I did not cry, not a single tear. I now had a purpose, nebulous as it might be: I would be queen. I could almost hear François laughing, his spirit alive, full of mirth at what we’d contrived to achieve. I knew then that he would never truly die; it was his final gift, one that he had ensured I would carry for the rest of my days.

In me, he had bequeathed his immortal love of France.”

— Excerpt from The Confessions of Catherine de Medici © C.W. Gortner 2010.

Among the many misconceptions about Catherine de Medici, surely one of the saddest is that she was an amoral woman without a heart, who ruthlessly eliminated anyone who stood in her way. Some even went so far as to say, she did not know how to love.

However, it is not too surprising, given her background and the unfortunate circumstances in which she rose to power. In truth, Catherine has been the target of a smear campaign that began in her lifetime; of Italian birth, she came to France while a teenager to wed King Francois I’s second son, who later became Henri II. She was used as a pawn in an elaborate stratagem between Francois and Catherine’s uncle, Pope Clement VII, each of whom sought revenge against the Hapsburg emperor, Charles V. Catherine claimed noble French blood through her mother but this was secondary to the overriding xenophobia that many Frenchmen held toward Italians. The venal corruption of Rome, coupled with France’s incessant incursions to claim Milan—a chimerical obsession that wreaked havoc on both lands—had conspired to create a court that paid outward homage to the art of Italy while privately disregarding the country as anything other than a lost possession. François himself yearned to own Italy to such an extent that most of his artistic pursuits were centered on recreating the brilliance of that country’s Renaissance in his immediate environment. He imported Italian artists, including Leonardo da Vinci; what he could not import, he bartered for, stole, or paid outrageous sums to own.

Catherine was one of his finest acquisitions. Bought along with the promise of several Italian duchies, she was never considered French; her paternal ancestry as a Medici, a banking family that had made its fortune in commerce and the papacy, branded her a parvenu. Prejudice against her because of her nationality haunted her throughout her life. Italians were despised as Machiavellian experts in intrigue and the black arts; Catherine’s natural inclination toward her fellow countrymen was thus often used against her and helped seed her black legend. And when her uncle Clement VII died without releasing the duchies promised to François in her dowry, the king was said to mutter about his then-barren daughter-in-law: “I took her naked as a babe.”

Rumor ran like wildfire that François would annul his son’s marriage to Catherine and banish her. History tells us, she herself fell to her knees before the king to implore mercy, even as she acknowledged her unworthiness. Whether or not he ever intended to rid himself of her cannot be known; what is certain is that François protected Catherine for years afterwards, until she managed to bear Henri the all-important son required of her. And in those years, she and François developed a love that mirrored that of a beloved father and his daughter, a relationship that dominated Catherine’s youth, seeing as she’d never known parental love, having lost both her parents while still a babe.

Francois and Catherine shared more than a mutual adoration for Italy; in Catherine, Francois found the personification of everything he most admired about that patchwork nation of city states which had eluded his capture. She had spirit and grace; and, if not a beauty in the traditional sense, she had more important qualities for her king: she was superbly well educated in the Italian Renaissance style, literate in several languages, with an innate passion for art. Whether it was painting, architecture, sculpture, or writing, Catherine’s fine-tuned sensibilities proved perfect fodder for François’s extravagances. He often consulted her on his plans for refurbishment of his many chateaux – he was forever remodeling—and whenever a new artist from Italy made it to his court—and they came by the hundreds, lured by his generosity and addiction to novelty— he had Catherine greet them first. Official court documents of the time are peppered with references to an aspiring artist making his way into the king’s pocket through the ‘good graces of Madame la Dauphine.’ Indeed, with her keen appreciation for the arts and keener sense of patronage, Catherine was an ideal mechanism for obtaining royal approval to set up shop. And besides childbearing, here was one area where she could excel – even as she battled the private specter of Diane de Poitiers, her husband’s lifelong mistress who would soon overshadow her years as queen.

François’s death in 1547 devastated Catherine. She was twenty-eight; the king only fifty-two. He’d battled illness for years, the result of a lifetime of profligate indiscretion, so his death did not come as a surprise. But he had been her champion, her guardian and mentor for sixteen years. She had worked hard to win his favor and in return he rewarded her with that singular affection and loyalty for which he is famous. While Henry VIII comes down to us as a tyrant in a perpetual bad humor, François has been enshrined as the personification of bonhomie, always with an eye for a pretty blueprint, a pretty painting, and a pretty smile.

And through him, Catherine learned an invaluable lesson that she plied, often relentlessly, throughout her life: When in doubt, throw a party. For those who eat well at your table are less likely to stab you in the back.

Thank you so much for spending this time with me. To find out more about The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, as well as special features about me and my work, please visit: www.cwgortner.com

Thanks you so much for joining us today, C.W and shedding some light on the relationship between Catherine de Medici and Francois I.

Thanks to Amy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and C.W. Gortner, I am giving away a copy of Catherine de Medici to one of my lucky U.S. readers.

To Enter:

Leave a comment about this guest post, with your email address, so I can contact you if you win.

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That’s 35 or more possible entries!

Sorry, this giveaway is only open to the U.S.A.

The winner’s mailing address: No P.O. Boxes

Only one entry per household/IP address

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, you will receive only one copy of the book.

This giveaway will end on Wednesday June 15th, 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email. Winners must respond within TWO days or will be disqualified.

May 11

31

Different Lives by Kate Lord Brown, author of The Beauty Chorus

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 31, 2011
Posted in Guest Author • Guest Authors/ Interviews | 10 Comments

When I was asked to be a tour host for Kate Lord Brown and her book, The Beauty Chorus, I jumped at the chance. I wondered how the woman of the ATA decided to go from their sheltered lives to the ATA. Today, Kate is here to give me her answer. Please welcome Kate Lord Brown to So Many Precious Books, So Little time.

I asked myself exactly that question – how did these women go from their somewhat sheltered lives and join the Air Transport Auxiliary? They did an incredibly dangerous job, flying anything anywhere across war-torn Britain, ferrying everything from Spitfires to huge bombers to the fighter squadrons. They flew without radios, without arms. The bravery and modesty of these women just blew me away – when you speak to surviving veterans, they say they were just ‘doing their job’. These were the women that inspired ‘The Beauty Chorus’.

I think crucially, they also say that it was the most extraordinary time of their lives. If you think back to wartime, it was a unique opportunity for women to fly – and after the war many of them had to go back to ‘real’ life – there just wasn’t much chance for women to fly commercially. So, you had women joining from all over the world. In all 166 women joined the ATA, and they had pilots from 28 countries. Women came from Canada, the US, from as far away as Asia (like the character Stella). You had debutante party girls who had been part of the privileged pre-war flying scene like Evie, and you had young inexperienced girls like Megan who could fly a plane but not drive a car.

Can you imagine how thrilling and terrifying it must have been to join a boat bound for England, having to avoid the Nazi attacks on boat convoys on the way over, and then finding yourself flying these incredibly powerful planes? The women came from all walks of life, and the only thing they had in common was wanting to ‘do their bit’ for the Allied war effort, and their love of flying. The true story of their skill and bravery blew me away, and The Beauty Chorus I hope pays testament to this. They were amazing women, and it was a privilege uncovering their story. It was a remarkable time when women worked alongside men on equal terms and for equal pay – and I hope Evie, Stella and Megan reflect the strength and bravery of the real Spitfire girls.

KLB

Kate studied Philosophy at Durham University, and Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She is currently taking a Masters degree. She worked as an art consultant, curating collections for palaces and embassies in Europe and the Middle East, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was a finalist in UK ITV’s the People’s Author competition in 2009. Her debut novel ‘The Beauty Chorus’ is published by Atlantic in 2011.

Mar 11

24

Elizabeth Chadwick and the Magna Carta

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on March 24, 2011
Posted in Guest Author | 2 Comments

I recently read Elizabeth Chadwick’s To Defy a King and absolutely adored it. See my review here. Of course, when I was offered the chance to have Ms. Chadwick as a guest at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time, I jumped!

Without further ado, please welcome Elizabeth Chadwick!

Thank you so much for inviting me as a guest on your blog. I’m delighted to be here.

To Defy A King is in part a novel about what happens when royal tyranny goes too far. Mahelt Marshal, a young heiress is caught up in an escalating dispute between the English barons and King John. Her father has been specifically singled out by him, and her brothers are taken hostage. Mahelt’s marriage family is seriously affected too, not least because they become her protectors.

One of the major, history changing documents to come out of the wider scope of this dispute between King John and his senior lords was the Magna Carta.

King John and the Magna Carta.

‘John by the grace of God, King of England, lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjou, to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects, greetings.’

This is the opening salutation of the Magna Carta, signed by King John at Runnymede (a meadow between Windsor and Staines) on the 15^th of June 1215, and known in its day as ‘The Great Charter of English Liberties.’

After several days of negotiation between the King and his rebellious barons, John acceded to their demands and agreed to remedy 49 specific grievances set before him. This particular document was known as the Articles of the Barons. From this was drafted the Magna Carta and copies were sent far and wide across the country.

Magna Carta is one of the most important documents in English history and its clauses have had their part to play in constitutions around the world, notably the American one. It underlines the Declaration of Human Rights.

Four copies still survive today, but at the outset, when it was sent around England, it has been estimated that there were as many as forty.

Originally, Magna Carta was a list of grievances made by a group of barons in revolt against King John. Many of these claims were driven by purely aristocratic concerns. For example, one clause says ‘Heirs shall be married without disparagement with due notice given to the next of kin.’ This clause came about because of King John’s habit of rewarding his mercenaries, often men of lowly birth, with wealthy heiresses or widows. The families of the women involved greatly resented this and viewed it as an insult to their family bloodline. Another clause was that John’s demands for military service abroad should not exceed the legal requirement. Several times John had tried to make his barons perform military service beyond that which they legally owed, and had turned on them when they declined.

Despite the grievances being aristocratic concerns, the Magna Carta nevertheless brought ordinary men within its enclosure, specifically with clauses 39 and 40, which are still enshrined in constitutions today. ‘No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor seize upon him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and by the law of the land. And:‘To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay justice.’

That these clauses were felt to be necessary, and that the barons felt the King needed to be brought to sign a charter encapsulating them, says a great deal about King John’s personality and manner of government.

The Magna Carta was not actually the first charter of its kind to be issued. Kings as far back as Anglo Saxon times had issued voluntary charters as diplomatic exercises, swearing to govern wisely and well and see justice done to all. When the barons came to work on something to bind John, they looked back to these charters, but specifically to ones issued by Norman kings following in the Anglo Saxon tradition. They took the one issued by John’s great grandfather Henry I, who had based his own on the charter of his brother William Rufus. So for example, this clause is part of Henry’s charter.

3. And if any of my barons or other men should wish to give his daughter, sister, niece, or kinswoman in marriage, let him speak with me about it; but I will neither take anything from him for this permission nor prevent his giving her unless he should be minded to join her to my enemy. And if, upon the death of a baron or other of my men, a daughter is left as heir, I will give her with her land by the advice of my barons. And if, on the death of her husband, the wife is left and without children, she shall have her dowry and right of marriage, and I will not give her to a husband unless according to her will. The full text can be read here. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/hcoronation.html

The fundamental difference between the older charters and the Magna Carta of John’s reign is that the earlier ones were issued voluntarily, and Magna Carta was not. It also goes so much further. It’s a document by the will of the barons, not by the will of the King. Hugh Bigod, the hero of To Defy A King was one of the lords involved (along with his father) in drafting the terms of Magna Carta. They were both highly accomplished lawyers. William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and father of my heroine Mahelt Marshal, was also part of the committee, although acting as a spokesman for John. Together with the members of the baronial representatives, he stands today in the UK’s House of Lords and is commemorated by a Pugin statue.

Immediately John had signed the Magna Carta, he reneged on the deal, declaring that it was invalid because he had been made to put his seal to it under duress, and he appealed to the pope to absolve him of the promises he had made. As far as he was concerned, he was being put in a cage and denied the will to govern as a king properly should.

Following his denial, the country was engulfed in civil war. John died in October of the following year and William Marshal was appointed regent. One of the first things he did was to reissue Magna Carta in an attempt to rally everyone behind him. Initially the results were modest, but gradually the country came round. The charter was reissued with revisions in 1216/17, 1225 and 1297. Clauses were still in use in England until 1969 – that’s well within living memory!

The Magna Carta was born out of baronial feelings of alienation and a need to bring a tyrant king to order. They did not succeed at the outset, but in creating the document, their efforts left a legacy that still resonates around the world today in ways that its founders probably never envisaged. It truly was and is the Great Charter.

The full set of clauses can be read here:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html

About Elizabeth Chadwick:

Best selling historical novelist Elizabeth Chadwick won a Betty Trask Award for her first novel The Wild Hunt. She has been shortlisted for the UK’s mainstream Best Romantic Novel of the Year Award 4 times and longlisted twice. Her novel The Scarlet Lion about the great William Marshal and his wife Isabelle de Clare, has been selected by Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Society as one of the landmark historical novels of the last ten years.

When not at her desk, she can be found taking long walks with the dog, baking cakes, reading books (of course!) exploring ruins, listening to various brands of rock and metal music, and occasionally slaving over a steaming cauldron with re-enactment society Regia Anglorum.

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