A little multiple-choice test for you about Catherine de' Medici, the protagonist of THE BLOODIEST QUEEN (aka THE MEDICI QUEEN), the novel I'm currently writing:
Question: Which innovation did Italian-born Catherine de' Medici bring to the sixteenth-century French court?
Answer:
a) High-heeled shoes. In fact, she invented them for her wedding ceremony because she was very short and her groom very tall.
b) Tobacco. She experimented with it medicinally, to cure her migraines, but the French loved the snuff for its own sake, and soon began smoking the weed.
c) Pantaloons, or "panties." Up to that time, French women wore no underwear. (Let us all begin to hum "There's a place in France...")
d) The side-saddle. French women were confined to a throne-like contraption which did not allow them to ride alongside the men. Catherine liked to hunt at full canter and jump hedges and had no patience for such silliness.
e) Handkerchiefs, the lacier the better. Before Catherine, folks used their fingers or their sleeves.
f) The Borgias' infamous poison, known as the cantarella.
And the answer is....
Well, all of them, of course. Except maybe for (f), although many French courtiers and numerous foreign politicians accused Catherine of being a consummate poisoner -- some simply because she was Italian. But chances were she had some second-hand knowledge of the chemical arts; she employed a parfumier who, it was rumored, used to create poisoned gloves as "gifts" for her enemies.
More on this amazing woman to follow. Stay tuned to this channel...
Comments (10)
I was so hoping this was a real contest - I was going for d) but all of them, except maybe the lovely cantarella? What an innovator.
Posted by Helen Knight | July 5, 2007 6:05 PM
Posted on July 5, 2007 18:05
I am really looking forward to reading this book when it comes out. The only books I have read on this queen, so far, is the Cheney Sisters Trilogy by Susan Carroll. (Well, I call it that.. I think it might now have a name and it is the Faire Isle Series, but I can't remember)
Posted by Kailana | July 5, 2007 6:10 PM
Posted on July 5, 2007 18:10
OK, Jeanne, here's one for you:
I was just watching a 1996 PBS documentary called ICE CREAM SHOW and this gentleman states that one of the notable people who enjoyed ice cream was Catherine de'Medici.
Ever run across this tidbit in your research?
Posted by John Allen | July 5, 2007 6:51 PM
Posted on July 5, 2007 18:51
Helen: Y'know, a real contest would be fun. But what would be the prize?
Kailana: Love your title "The Cheney sisters" -- now I have to look up Susan Carroll! (Ooh... a historical about the Cheneys...now wouldn't *that* be gruesome...)
John, baby: Ice cream? *Ice cream?* Dang! Nobody told me about the *ice cream*. Now I've got to look that up!
Posted by Jeanne Kalogridis | July 6, 2007 7:06 AM
Posted on July 6, 2007 07:06
Susan Carroll's trilogy is awesome and I guess there is another trilogy related to it because she has a new book coming out the end of July about a child that was born in the previous trilogy. I am very excited to see what happens next! I have never read any of her other books.
Posted by Kailana | July 6, 2007 10:28 AM
Posted on July 6, 2007 10:28
Fun post. As for a contest prize, I dunno - maybe a BOOK?
Re the link between Catherine de'Medici and ice cream, see this 1946 National Dairy ice cream ad featuring Catherine de'Medici - it's an e-bay auction, you could buy it!
BTW, just finished The Burning Bride - a great read! Now on to The Borgia Bride.
Posted by madamjujujive | July 9, 2007 9:05 AM
Posted on July 9, 2007 09:05
madamjujujive,
Awesome ice cream link, thanks! Knew I could count on you.
Posted by Jeanne Kalogridis | July 9, 2007 12:59 PM
Posted on July 9, 2007 12:59
Now if I could only get my book titles right. With my memory, I am lucky I got one word right ;-)
Posted by madamjujujive | July 9, 2007 10:52 PM
Posted on July 9, 2007 22:52
But I kinda liked THE BURNING BRIDE. Sounds like something I would have written during my horror days... Might just inspire me.;)
Posted by Jeanne Kalogridis | July 10, 2007 6:08 AM
Posted on July 10, 2007 06:08
AHA! I got one on Jeanne finally! That's one great advertisement for ice cream from the E-bay site. I wondered if she said "Mmmmm!" while she was brewing up her poisons?
Posted by John Allen | July 14, 2007 7:47 AM
Posted on July 14, 2007 07:47