The sixteenth century is a bit of a quandary for me. While I remain eternally fascinated by Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I holds little interest for me, nor do the other Tudors (aside from Mary I). Much of the books published on this period still focus on Elizabeth or one of her English relatives. When I saw that a book on three European queens was going to be published this year, I was fairly excited. And this book did not disappoint me in any way. Let’s get into Leah Redmond Chang’s Young Queens and why you need to read it.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC and an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power, Lead Redmond Chang
Orphaned from infancy, Catherine de’ Medici endured a tumultuous childhood. Married to the French king, she was widowed by forty, only to become the power behind the French throne during a period of intense civil strife. In 1546, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth de Valois, who would become Queen of Spain. Two years later, Catherine welcomed to her nursery the beguiling young Mary Queen of Scots, who would later become her daughter-in-law.
Together, Catherine, Elisabeth, and Mary lived through the sea changes that transformed sixteenth-century Europe, a time of expanding empires, religious discord, and populist revolt, as concepts of nationhood began to emerge and ideas of sovereignty inched closer to absolutism. They would learn that to rule as a queen was to wage a constant war against the deeply entrenched misogyny of their time.
Following the intertwined stories of the three women from girlhood through young adulthood, Leah Redmond Chang’s Young Queens paints a picture of a world in which a woman could wield power at the highest level yet remain at the mercy of the state, her body serving as the currency of empire and dynasty, sacrificed to the will of husband, family, kingdom.
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Why You Should Read This…
I read this about half and half between ebook and audiobook, and both were fantastic. Olivia Dowd’s narration brought a lot of warmth and emotion to the book without being over the top (something I find especially important in non-fiction).
Mary Stuart has long held the public’s attention and Catherine de Medici is rising in popularity as Reign and The Serpent Queen have put her in the spotlight again. However, Elisabeth de Valois is not as well known as her mother and sister-in-law, and I am very happy to see her brought to the forefront in this joint biography. Redmond Chang highlights the similarities and differences between these three women and although all three occupied very different positions as queen, they had far more in common than it might seem
I will admit, I am one of those people that cannot stop reading about Mary, Queen of Scots. However, I learned quite a bit about her in this book, and much more about Catherine and Elisabeth. (I am always a fan of taking a new lens to a familiar subject, like a joint biography, because something new will always rise to the surface.)
I have to say, I’m particularly impressed with Redmond Chang’s pacing; she covers several decades across many countries and it does not feel rushed or slow anywhere. Although I love academic biographies, I find that they can often get lost in the weeds, but Redmond Chang completely avoids this.
Is Leah Redmond Chang’s Young Queens on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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