The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici (68 page)

“I have done my best to make amends,” I said softly. “But I cannot bring back all the innocents who have perished. And I cannot bear to watch my beloved sons—monsters though they may be—die. I have had more than enough sorrow for one life. Let me die, too, Cosimo.”

He tilted his head to regard me somberly. Such an ugly face, yet as a shaft of light from the window penetrated his black eyes, I saw how very beautiful they were.

“Your time has not come, Catherine,” he answered. “You have set things aright—and now you and I must live many more years to ensure that they remain so. Navarre still faces many obstacles.”

Sickened by the thought, I turned my face from him and closed my eyes. I soon opened them again as something soft and warm brushed against my cheek. Ruggieri had risen from his chair to kneel beside mine; his fingers hovered, tender and unsteady, in the air between us.

“Do not give up hope,” he said. “I promised you many years ago that I would see you through all challenges. I will remain always at your side.”

“But I am damned, Cosimo,” I said sadly.

“Then we are damned together, Caterina Maria Romula de’ Medici.”

I gazed at him, remembering the words he had uttered on the day the harlot died. His affection and loyalty had been deeper and more constant than those of Aunt Clarice, of my husband, of my own children. Just as I had been willing to risk everything for my Henri, so Cosimo had been willing to risk everything for me. At the thought, my dark, faltering heart opened.

“Only ever out of love,” I whispered.

“Only ever out of love,” he repeated solemnly, and his hand began again to reach for me.

I caught it in my own, drew him to me, and kissed him.

Henri of Navarre—better known to us as Henri IV, or Henri the Great to his countrymen—was the first of the Bourbon monarchs and certainly the most beloved. His marriage to Margot was eventually annulled, and he remarried Maria de’ Medici, who gave him several children.

Catherine de’ Medici lived to the venerable age of sixty-nine. She was an assiduous astrologer, a mathematical prodigy, and—according to many French historians—the most intelligent individual ever to sit on France’s throne. The details of her horoscope as presented here are, to my feeble knowledge, accurate. She met twice with Nostradamus and eventually named him Physician of the Realm, although their conversations were never recorded. Her prophetic dreams are a matter of record; her daughter Margot wrote that her mother dreamt of King Henri’s death as well as Edouard’s victory at Jarnac.

The young Dauphine Catherine was indeed in danger of repudiation, and for the first ten years of her marriage was childless—after which she gave birth to ten children in as many years. Rumors began that she had relied on the talents of her court magician, Cosimo Ruggieri, to whom she was devoted. Catherine’s collection of talismans and interest in magic were legendary; after her husband’s death, she gave Diane de Poitiers the property at
Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceaux. When Diane moved to Chaumont, she was alarmed to discover pentacles painted on the floor and abandoned magical implements, with the result that she abandoned the property.

The star Algol—also known as the Head of the Gorgon—is still considered the most evil star by astrologers. It opposed Mars on the twenty-fourth of August, 1572, at roughly 4:00 a.m.—an hour after the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre began, as Mars passed through Catherine’s ascendant, Taurus. Mars transits through an individual’s ascendant augur periods of extreme crisis, possibly resulting in death.

A Conversation with Jeanne Kalogridis

Could you tell us a little bit about your background, and when you decided that you wanted to lead a literary life?

I was a shy, scrawny, unpopular kid with frizzy hair and thick glasses; since I had no social life, I read. I adored dark fantasy and science fiction, and I was writing my own stories as soon as I could hold a pencil. My mom and sisters were always dragging me to the mall on weekends, so while they shopped, I hung in the local bookstore. I think the defining moment for me came when I picked up a copy of Ray Bradbury’s
The Illustrated Man
in a Waldenbooks. His writing was so beautiful, so lyrical…I decided then I wanted to write like that.

“I was writing my own stories as soon as I could hold a pencil.”

Is there a book that most influenced your life? Or inspired you to become a writer?

The Illustrated Man,
by Ray Bradbury. And his
Martian Chronicles.
When I worked on my first novel, I bought new copies of those two books and consciously tried to imitate his style.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, and Dan Simmons (especially
The Terror
and
Drood,
both historical novels).

Who are some of your favorite historical figures?

My namesake, Joan (in French, Jeanne) of Arc—yes, she was deluded, but she kicked butt and made a man a king. I read a lot of biographies of strong women when I was growing up; I admired Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell (first female M.D. in the United States), Elizabeth I, Boudicca (who gave the Imperial Roman army a run for its money), Jane Addams, and Susan B. Anthony.

There are, of course, fascinating men. I always adored Leonardo because he was passionately interested in
everything
and pursued knowledge without the encumbrance of a formal education. Vlad the Impaler is another favorite of mine, for much grislier reasons, as is Cesare Borgia.

You have already authored two historical novels about Renaissance Italy,
The Borgia Bride
and
I, Mona Lisa.
What was the inspiration for
The Devil’s Queen
?

While writing
I, Mona Lisa,
I learned a lot about the Medici of Florence. The more I read about Lorenzo’s great-granddaughter, the notorious French queen Catherine de’ Medici, the more she fascinated me.

Do you scrupulously adhere to historical fact in your novels, or do you take liberties if the story can benefit from the change? And to what extent did you stick to the facts in writing
The Devil’s Queen
? How did you conduct your research?

I’ll answer the last question first: I rely on documented online sources, books, and experts. (I scour the Internet, dusty used bookstores, and libraries for rare/out-of-print books.)

To answer the first and second questions: I do my utmost to adhere strictly to recorded fact, but in the case of Catherine’s long, eventful life, I realized that I would need to write four books instead of one to cover everything! Clearly, the story needed to be condensed—but I didn’t do so by changing any events. Instead, I chose to omit some facts—such as the fact that Catherine actually had ten children rather than the five who appear in the novel. I chose the children who actually had the most impact on history and their mother’s life…and thus, the story. Otherwise, the plot would have lost its pacing and dramatic focus.

What is it about Catherine that you hoped to reveal to your readers?

Historians have accused her of being one of the most malevolent monarchs to sit on a throne—which was far from true. She was, in fact, one of the most insightful and intelligent rulers in history. I wanted to show how her horrific childhood and ensuing need for security and love resulted, ultimately, in the circumstances that gave rise to the tragic St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Are you currently working on another book? And if so, what—or who—is your subject?

“[Catherine] was one of the most insightful and intelligent rulers in history.”

Always! I’m writing about another Italian Catherine. Caterina Sforza (1463–1509) was the daughter of the Duke of Milan. Although she was pampered and indulged as a child, she grew up to become one of the most famed Renaissance warriors of all time. She (almost) single-handedly managed to hold off Cesare Borgia’s massive army for months; her bravery and her refusal to behave “as a woman of her time ought” were amazing. She’s still famed in Italy for her daring exploits and lifestyle.

Much of the plot of
The Devil’s Queen
revolves around astrology and Catherine de’ Medici’s birth chart or natal horoscope, as well as those of her family members. How much of this was historically accurate? How did you do your research?

I’ve collected books about Renaissance magic for twenty-five years, so this was an area already familiar to me. But to do Catherine and the novel justice, I brushed up on Renaissance astrological magic by taking a course in the subject and reading the same authors Catherine would have studied in her day. None of the spells, astrological charts, or references to stars came from my imagination; they were the result of careful research.

I hired two different astrologers to cast the charts of Catherine and her sons, so with luck, they’re completely accurate. (I also cast them myself using my computer—I’m definitely not the math whiz Catherine was!)

It has been said that Catherine’s natal horoscope was one of the worst anyone could possibly have. Can you explain why?

When the first astrologer I visited cast Catherine’s chart, he actually gasped aloud in horror. Just for fun, I’d told him only that the subject was a long-dead queen who was the heroine of my novel. He told me she had a Grand Cross—four planets aligned at ninety degree intervals from each other, so if you connected them with a pencil line, you’d draw a square-armed cross.

Trust me, you don’t want a Grand Cross. You will be up against very, very difficult forces, and have conflict after conflict without being able to resolve it.

The astrologer explained that one planet (Jupiter) represented Catherine, and the others represented three powerful men who thwarted her at every turn. No matter what good she tried to achieve, these three forces undermined her efforts. Tragedy was the inevitable result.

Eerily enough, one of the planets happened to be her husband’s astrological “ruler”—and the two others were the rulers of her two malevolent sons, each of whom became king. Catherine was charming, diplomatic, and exceedingly intelligent—far more so than her husband or sons, whose mental and emotional deficiencies vexed her at every turn. I believe their failings, not Catherine’s, ultimately led to the massacre; Catherine struggled to right their wrongs and prevent civil war, but she was unable to control the situation.

The astrologer also said—without knowing anything else about Catherine’s background—that her chart revealed that she lost her parents in early childhood, and faced a massive catastrophe during her life, as a result of the Grand Cross.

In your research of the astrological charts of Catherine and her family and the superstitions of the time period, what was the most interesting/surprising/shocking thing you learned?