Happily, unlike academic historians, I was not obliged to parse out Catherine’s motivations or moral culpability. My story is told from the point of view of her daughter, and even the best mother is seldom seen objectively through a daughter’s eyes. Marguerite de Valois had valid personal reasons to feel hurt and angered by Catherine. Those feelings act as a filter for how Catherine is portrayed in Médicis Daughter.
No author’s note would be complete without a disclaimer of sorts. In bringing you a Valois Court in the throes of the Wars of Religion, I strove to be true to history. But I also had another mission: to tell a compelling story. Driven by considerations of plot and theme, I occasionally engaged in the gentle tweaking of history. Sometimes this meant moving events slightly in either time or space to avoid confusion or streamline the narrative. On other occasions it involved giving Marguerite eyewitness status to events that actually took place outside her presence. Certain aspects of the book required not so much an adjustment of history as an informed decision between conflicting historical opinions. For example, one of the critical events in Marguerite’s life is her appointment by her brother Anjou as his partisan, and her corresponding promotion to a position as confidante to their mother. Historical accounts cite competing dates for the start of this new intimacy. I’ve accepted the assertion, made by Leonie Frieda among others, that Margot’s elevation in fortune dates to a Court visit paid by the Duc d’Anjou to report his victory at Jarnac.
And what about the cause of the rupture between Anjou and Margot? After years of being everything to each other, I sought a convincing reason that Anjou would turn so viciously on his sister. A dislike of the Duc de Guise driven purely by military and political rivalry did not seem sufficient. There have long been rumors about Marguerite’s alleged incestuous relationship with one or more of her brothers. While I reject the idea that she slept with any of them, I chose to accept the premise that Anjou came to feel a romantic attraction to her. After all, hell hath no fury like a man spurned, and if Anjou saw Guise as a rival for his sister’s love, his violent reaction to Marguerite’s attachment to Guise becomes understandable, as does the antagonism between brother and sister that replaced their former amitié.
Finally, there is an event in the book created out of whole cloth. On June 4, 1572, Jeanne d’Albret was seized by a fever that was to be her final illness. On her deathbed she went unvisited by any member of the royal family, though they made a great show of paying their respects when she lay in state. This behavior probably contributed to rumors that Jeanne had been poisoned, even though an autopsy by the royal physicians suggested she died of tuberculosis. I added a fictional visit to Jeanne as she lay dying because it seemed a dramatic moment for the discussion in which the Queen of Navarre asked Margot to promise to be kind to her son, a pledge that led to unexpected places.
The Valois dynasty’s last years were plagued by bloodshed, betrayal, scandal, and fanaticism, and marred most shamefully by the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. But the best of the Valois came into her own during that massacre when she saved the life of Henri of Navarre, who would become Henri IV of France. Henri le Grand granted religious toleration to the Huguenots, brought discipline and regularity to the finances of France, increased the prosperity of his subjects, and became one of the most beloved kings in French history. Marguerite de Valois may have been ill treated by her family and slandered by history, but her forgotten strength, faith, and resourcefulness paved the way for France’s salvation—a legacy worthy of any sovereign queen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
An author may put the first words of a manuscript on the page, but it takes a team to produce a novel. My faithful critique partners, Frances and Kate, see things in my manuscripts that I am often too close to recognize, and their honesty and humor in commenting on my work not only helps me to make my books better but keeps me sane. I am immensely grateful for the support, guidance, and hard work of my agent, Jacques de Spoelberch—a gentleman in an era when they are increasingly rare. I am thankful also for my editors, Toni Kirkpatrick and Jennifer Letwack, whose enthusiasm for Médicis Daughter equaled my own.
Finally, my husband, Michael, and my parents, Barbara and Henry, believe I can do anything and everything, and all have been exceedingly patient while I tried.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SOPHIE PERINOT is the author of The Sister Queens. A former attorney, Perinot is now a full-time writer. She lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with her three children, three cats, one dog, and one husband. You can sign up for email updates here.