The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom

The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom by Nancy Goldstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book is very well written, like a gripping story of betrayal, war and religious conflicts, all in one family. But it has one major flaw: its major source is a memoir of its main character. This gives it an air of bias all throughout. For everything Margot did wrong there is an excuse, while the whole world was plotting her downfall. The book might as well be called "an interpretation of queen Margot's memoirs for the general modern public".

Those were difficult times to live in, especially in France. Margot's family had a particularly rough deal, despite being placed in a position of privilege. The fact that she managed to survive long after her family went extinct is, of course, testament of her skills but it was also a bit of luck.

Just like they plotted against her, she plotted against them. The book portrays the Valois brood as devious for plotting against Margot, while Margot only plotted as a "last resort". When she succeeded, it was because she was smart. When she failed, it was because others sabotaged her - but they were devious, not smart.

It's a highly biased book. The events are well described but the interpretation lacks objectivity. Since there are not that many books on Margot, I will still recommend it. Just try to focus more on what happened when reading this, less on the endless excuses the author finds for anything Margot did wrong.

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