The Best Books If You Love The Serpent Queen

I do not know if you can find a more controversial network for period dramas than Starz. They are not particularly accurate and they will always take the more dramatic option. However, I am all for it as it gets people interested in history! (If you are curious about my full thoughts on inaccurate period dramas, you can visit this post here.) If you are one of the many people who have enjoyed one of the newest Starz offering, The Serpent Queen, look no further. Today I’ve gathered the best books if you love The Serpent Queen on Starz!

The Best Books If You Love The Serpent Queen

This book list largely focuses on non-fiction books about Catherine de Medici, the queen at the heart of the show. (You can also find my Consort of the Month post on Catherine here!) While I have included a piece of historical fiction, the other picks are non-fiction! (I find that a lot of people- myself included- who love period dramas are interested in the history behind them.)

***The Rival Queens: Catherine de’ Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom*, Nancy Goldstone**

Set in magnificent Renaissance France, this is the story of two remarkable women, a mother and daughter driven into opposition by a terrible betrayal that threatened to destroy the realm.

Catherine de’ Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for thirty years. Her youngest daughter Marguerite, the glamorous “Queen Margot,” was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.

When Catherine forces the Catholic Marguerite to marry her Protestant cousin Henry of Navarre against her will, and then uses her opulent Parisian wedding as a means of luring his followers to their deaths, she creates not only savage conflict within France but also a potent rival within her own family.

Rich in detail and vivid prose, Goldstone’s narrative unfolds as a thrilling historical epic. Treacherous court politics, poisonings, inter-national espionage, and adultery form the background to a story that includes such celebrated figures as Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Nostradamus. The Rival Queens is a dangerous tale of love, betrayal, ambition, and the true nature of courage, the echoes of which still resonate.

Why You Should Read This…

Nancy Goldstone is one of my favourite non-fiction authors. She does not limit herself to one particular period or region but typically focuses on different notable royal women from history. And this joint biography of Catherine and her daughter Marguerite is a must-read in my opinion.

None of us live in a vacuum- we interact with other people in countless situations, and there are a million different elements that come into play. That is also true for historical figures, and I find that joint biographies (when the subjects are chosen well, like here) are all the more useful and impactful when we have this wider context. Catherine’s children were very important in her life, though her sons tend to get more attention- this is a needed biography.

***Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France*, Leonie Frieda**

Poisoner, despot, necromancer — the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds — from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons’ birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown.

Why You Should Read This…

This is considered the Catherine de Medici biography! This is a thorough book- it is not a “read in an afternoon” book. However, if you want an incredibly thorough look into Catherine’s life, this is the book for you.

***Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power*, Leah 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.

Why You Should Read This…

This was one of my favourite books of 2023 and I think may be one of the most compelling group biographies I’ve ever read. Although Catherine was a different generation than Elisabeth and Mary, it is a contemporary grouping that were very much intertwined personally and “professionally” and you learn much more about all three when considered together. I will say, go in with the knowledge that it jumps back and forth chronologically, but it was very clear. It is important that we continue to consider these women as important to their monarchies and bloodlines, and that they have very important roles in history- Chang makes it clear that they were not simply “there”!

***Blood, Fire and Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici*, Estelle Paranque**

One a Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these iconic women. But nothing has been said of their complicated relationship: thirty years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe.

This is a story of two remarkable visionaries: a story of blood, fire and gold. It is also a tale of ceaseless calculation, of love and rivalry, of war and wisdom – and of female power in a male world. Shining new light on their legendary kingdoms Blood, Fire and Gold provides a new way of looking at two of history’s most powerful women, and how they shaped each other as profoundly as they shaped the course of history. Drawing on their letters and brand new research, Estelle Paranque writes an entirely new chapter in the well-worn story of the sixteenth century.

Why You Should Read This…

I love Paranque’s work as an historian, and Blood, Fire, and Gold is no exception! I will say, I’m not particularly interested in Elizabeth I but this book still kept me reading from start to finish. As I mentioned above, I think that it is particularly important to consider historical figures within a wider context and you cannot ignore Elizabeth in this period. One aspect that particularly stands out as a strength for me is Paranque’s fluency in multiple languages, as this can make a major impact on how one reads and interrupts sources.

***The Confessions of Catherine de Medici*, C.W. Gortner**

To some, she was the ruthless queen who led France into an era of savage violence. To others, she was the passionate Psavior of the French monarchy. In this brilliantly imagined novel, acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power.

From the fairy-tale chateaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.

Why You Should Read This…

I’ve included a fictional telling of Catherine’s life here, as I know that many of us do enjoy a good piece of historical fiction. CW Gortner is another one of my favourite authors; I know I will enjoy one of his books. This is a fast-paced story and largely focuses on the religious conflicts in France during Catherine’s adulthood. I think that that was a good choice, as those conflicts dominated the period (though few people now seem to know about them).