Review ⟶ The Queen and the Courtesan by Freda Lightfoot

[Sparrow]

TITLE: The Queen and the Courtesan

AUTHOR: Freda Lightfoot

RELEASE DATE: January 1st, 2012 by Severn House Publishers

GENRE: Historical Fiction

TAGS: Historical Fiction, 16th century, France, Henry IV of France, Margaret of France, Marie de' Medici, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, Leonora "Galigai" Dori, Royal Mistresses, Huguenots, Wars of Religion, Navarre

RATING (1-5): ★★



This book is part of an informal trilogy, and would fit in as the third. If you plan to read it chronologically, they would go:

1. The Hostage Queen
The story of Henri IV's first wife, Margot.

2. Reluctant Queen (Marguerite de Valois)
The story of Henri IV's wife, Margot (Marguerite de Valois) and the mistress he would make queen, Gabrielle D'Estrees

3. The Queen and the Courtesan
The story of Henriette (this book)

- - -

I had high hopes for this book, having recently done a lot of reading on Catherine de Medici's reign, and by proxy, that of her sons and son-in-law, Henri of Navarre (he of the infamous "Paris is worth a Mass" statement, though whether he actually said this is up for debate).
The book does not cover any of Henri's period with Margot, beginning instead with him already seated as King of France. For anyone not familiar with the background here, a short explanation:

Catherine de Medici, an Italian, married King Henri II of France. They had a troubled marriage, due in part to her husband's infatuation with his maîtresse-en-titre, Diane de Poitiers, who wielded more power than Catherine ever did during her tenure as queen consort.
Henri II's reign was plagued by the wars of religion: an encroaching populous of Protestants, who were under constant persecution of the Catholic nobles. When Catherine's husband died, their three sons ( Francis II, Charles IX, and Henri III) each came into power at a young age; Catherine essentially ruled through them. There is much malaise said about Catherine, but how much of it is true, and how much was just bad PR against a woman trying to secure her son's dynasty is open to interpretation. Initially, she attempted to avoid war, wanting instead to reach a sort of truce between the 2 warring factions, but a series of bloody events ultimately led to her making some critical choices that earned her the reputation of a ruthless Catholic leader.

Each of her sons ruled for a fairly short period before dying- and during her second son's reign, she attempted to ally herself with the Protestant Henri of Navarre, son of staunch Protestant Jeanne d'Albret. Catherine achieved this by betrothing and eventually marrying her daughter Margaret of Valois (Margot) to him, as Salic Law prevented any of her daughters from ruling in their own right. Shortly after the marriage, while many Protestants were still present to celebrate the marriage, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre occurred; under the guise of saving her son in law, and possible heir to France, she persuaded Henri of Navarre to convert to Catholicism, though he later renounced this after returning home. This is a very compressed version of that story, for the record, and much of the machinations and motivations surrounding it play heavily into who Henri of Navarre is and becomes. I strongly urge anyone not familiar with the background to learn a little more about it before reading this book- not b/c the book is particularly political (in fact, much of the wars of religion and border skirmishes in the novel are only vaguely referred to), but b/c to know Henri- and to appreciate him- requires a bit of his background.

Henri's marriage to Margot was not a successful one, and they were estranged for several years following his imprisonment in France. It was not until Catherine's last son, Charles IX, fell ill and made clear his death was imminent, that Henri returned to France; this time as King. He converted to Catholicism again, which had been part of the agreement, but his marriage with Margot was irreparable.

It is at this juncture that the novel starts- Henri and Margot having separated, and Margot agreeing to an annulment on the grounds that she approved of her replacement.

Henri IV was a known womanizer (who purportedly smelled strongly of "feet" and garlic) but otherwise fairly likeable guy. Initially, he planned to marry his mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées, whom by all accounts he loved very much, but she died in childbirth. Henri's advisers began talks to facilitate a marriage between he and the Italian Marie de Medici (a distant relation of Catheine's). Their marriage was one of fiscal purpose- she brought with her a large dowry that was much needed in France, and the right pedigree. Unfortunately, after the death of his prior lover, Gabrielle, Henri took up with Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, whom he made Marquise de Verneuil. Henriette, as she's called in the novel, is more or less the protagonist, with Marie de Medici taking a supporting role (her maid Leonora "Galigai" Dori also having a reoccurring role). The book centers on Henri's promise to Henriette, that should she become pregnant and birth a son within 6 months, he would marry her- even going so far as to write it out as a promissory. Henriette gives birth to a stillborn male, which dissolved the contract in Henri's eyes, but was also just a serendipitous excuse for him, as he had not intended to marry her when the financially flush promise of Marie de Medici was on the table. Henri had already pulled this tactic before with a previous mistress, Diane d'Andoins ( La Belle Corisande), many years prior. This fact seems to support the theory that he did not intend to truly ever marry Henriette, combined with the knowledge that his estranged wife, Margot, was highly unlikely to consent to the annulment on the basis that Henriette was not someone she would have approved of. Lightfoot however, writes the story with Henri as a Mercurial lover that constantly flips between wanting to marry Henriette, and accepting that he cant for the sake of the realm. He allows himself to be entirely undone by Henriette's sexuality, which was just hard for me to swallow. given that her personality did not compensate for her sensuality, when there were so many other viable options at court.

The problem with the book is not the writer- it's well done, and Lightfoot is certainly a skilled story teller. The problem is, Henriette is quite possibly the most annoying harpy ever to grace historical fiction. She's impetuous, uncouth, narcissistic, and constantly seeking to gain from her relationship with the King. Think Barbara Villiers but without the wit or beauty. Henriette's mother, Marie Touchet, was mistress of Charles IX of France, and while Henriette has the good sense to ask her mother's advice on how she kept the king's attention for so long, even her own mother seems to think Henriette is daft, impatient prat with only a modicum of beauty. Henriette's father, on the other hand, is ambitious and attempts to facilitate his daughter's relationship with the King, primarily in order to gain from it himself.

Henri's eventual second wife, Marie, on the other hand, is a spitfire who is much more likeable, and I found it difficult to ever empathize with Henriette as our main character. Marie was ambitious and politically minded, but her refinement and common sense made her naivety towards her conniving maid (Leonora "Galigai" Dori) forgivable, and in turn, her mistakes sympathetic. She is, above all things, loyal to her husband (at least in this book), and her missteps generally made with good intent. It is my understanding that her later role as queen mother was rife with intrigues, but at least here, she's a likeable woman.

Lightfoot does a good job of fitting in historical events, without making them seem forced- and there are a bevy of other interesting characters, which would have been lost on me had I not just read about many of them. Likewise, had I not known Henri's background, I might have gained a different opinion of him after reading this- he's insufferably obsessed with Henriette, and I just couldn't understand why. As a King, he certainly had his pick of potential mistresses, and Henriette, at least in this novel, has nothing about her to justify his constant devotion.

This book would have won me over had Henriette not been the focus, and instead, just a player. Having not realized this was one of a trilogy, there were also times when I wished the author had chosen to expand on Henri's story- perhaps beginning earlier- instead of dragging out this rather small period of his life into a book. He has an amazing and fascinating history, as do his contemporaries, but the story dragged in parts b/c the author limited herself to an otherwise duller portion of it, and told it through the eyes of one of the most annoying people in it. Now that I have read the other books, I'm more apt to appreciate this one, though I still think the author could have found a more worthy protagonist within the same realm of time. Having Henriette as the main mode of narration brought the book perilously close to bodice ripper territory, if only because she wasn't intelligent enough to hold your attention with anything outside of her sexuality.

All that said, it's not a total loss, and I'm not sorry for having read it. I'm always drawn to novels about mistresses, and while this particular one wasn't as interesting as some others, Marie de Medici had a strong presence, and redeemed the novel. If you're a historical fiction fan then you might well enjoy this, if only to close the loop of the trilogy. If you're bored by history or just not a huge fan of the genre, you might want to pass this up. I would however, advise picking up a few other books on the period preceding it, if you're not familiar; it will make it more worthwhile if you know something about the more likable history of these people.

I do want to mention that this is again, historical fiction- some historic fact, but written in a fictitious storyline, and therefor, Henriette as the harpy may very well be just one person's take on her. I would be interested in reading more about her, from another point of view. Despite all this, I am certainly now a fan of Freda Lightfoot, and look forward to reading some of her other books.