-
Catherine de' Medici
- The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen
- Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Catherine de' Medici
Pre-order for $20.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Great first listens
![A Court of Wings and Ruin (1 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] Audiobook By Sarah J. Maas cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/519MZ9iKDyL._SL240_.jpg)
Publisher's summary
During an age of heightened religious conflict, Catherine de' Medici lived her life at the center of sixteenth-century European and French politics. Daughter of Lorenzo II, the Medici ruler of Florence-and then wedded to a French prince by papal decree at the age of fourteen-Catherine first became queen consort of France and then mother to three French kings (Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III) who reigned in an era of almost continuous civil and religious strife.
A lavish promoter of the arts, Catherine patronized poets, painters, and sculptors; lavished ruinous sums on the building and embellishment of monuments and palaces; and masterminded spectacular entertainments and tournaments that prefigure the splendor and ritual of the court of Versailles. Catherine maintained eighty ladies-in-waiting at court; it was rumored she used these women as bait to seduce courtiers for her political ends. Her admiration for the seer Nostradamus fueled claims of her love for the occult and the dark arts. Posterity has condemned her as the epitome of the scheming royal matriarch, her reputation tainted forever by her role in instigating the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Protestants in 1572. Catherine de' Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen is Mary Hollingsworth's evocative, authoritative biography of the most extraordinary woman of the sixteenth-century.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
Drop Dead
- By: Lily Chu
- Narrated by: Phillipa Soo, John Cho
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 721
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 710
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 710
Obituary writer Nadine Barbault doesn’t mind being called “Lady Death”. It suits the ice queen persona she’s cultivated to survive the fast-paced Toronto Herald. So when Nadine learns that famous (and reclusive) author Dot Voline has died, she doesn’t hesitate to run the obituary…only to discover that Dot is very much alive. Nadine’s screw-up has brought Wesley Chen of the rival Spear no end of joy—she’s been a thorn in his extremely ambitious side for years. But the renewed interest in Dot also surfaced chatter about a mysterious past scandal.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Clean and sweet
- By Momma Nae on 08-02-24
By: Lily Chu
-
The Women
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kristin Hannah
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 30,954
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29,774
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29,775
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
WOW. Just Wow
- By Joanne DeVuono on 02-08-24
By: Kristin Hannah
-
Atomic Habits
- An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- By: James Clear
- Narrated by: James Clear
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 136,616
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 111,718
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 110,664
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving - every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Author went overboard hawking his site
- By CHughes on 06-25-19
By: James Clear
-
Hillbilly Elegy
- A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
- By: J. D. Vance
- Narrated by: J. D. Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,400
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51,171
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51,073
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over 40 years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Enlightening!
- By Gotta Tellya on 09-11-16
By: J. D. Vance
-
He Who Fights with Monsters 2
- A LitRPG Adventure (He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 2)
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27,306
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23,967
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23,912
But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Contrary to common reviews
- By Karen on 05-21-21
By: Shirtaloon, and others
-
All the Colors of the Dark
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,953
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,906
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,906
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book of 2024
- By Jmo930 on 07-04-24
By: Chris Whitaker
-
Drop Dead
- By: Lily Chu
- Narrated by: Phillipa Soo, John Cho
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 721
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 710
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 710
Obituary writer Nadine Barbault doesn’t mind being called “Lady Death”. It suits the ice queen persona she’s cultivated to survive the fast-paced Toronto Herald. So when Nadine learns that famous (and reclusive) author Dot Voline has died, she doesn’t hesitate to run the obituary…only to discover that Dot is very much alive. Nadine’s screw-up has brought Wesley Chen of the rival Spear no end of joy—she’s been a thorn in his extremely ambitious side for years. But the renewed interest in Dot also surfaced chatter about a mysterious past scandal.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Clean and sweet
- By Momma Nae on 08-02-24
By: Lily Chu
-
The Women
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kristin Hannah
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 30,954
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29,774
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29,775
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
WOW. Just Wow
- By Joanne DeVuono on 02-08-24
By: Kristin Hannah
-
Atomic Habits
- An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- By: James Clear
- Narrated by: James Clear
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 136,616
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 111,718
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 110,664
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving - every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Author went overboard hawking his site
- By CHughes on 06-25-19
By: James Clear
-
Hillbilly Elegy
- A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
- By: J. D. Vance
- Narrated by: J. D. Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,400
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51,171
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51,073
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over 40 years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Enlightening!
- By Gotta Tellya on 09-11-16
By: J. D. Vance
-
He Who Fights with Monsters 2
- A LitRPG Adventure (He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 2)
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27,306
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23,967
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23,912
But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Contrary to common reviews
- By Karen on 05-21-21
By: Shirtaloon, and others
-
All the Colors of the Dark
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,953
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,906
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,906
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book of 2024
- By Jmo930 on 07-04-24
By: Chris Whitaker
-
The God of the Woods
- A Novel
- By: Liz Moore
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 931
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 893
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 893
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good story telling
- By Ri on 07-12-24
By: Liz Moore
-
48 Laws of Power
- By: Robert Greene
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 23 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24,450
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20,319
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20,197
Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. This bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other infamous strategists. The 48 Laws of Power will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You don't have to be a psychopath to like this.
- By Gaggleframpf on 02-25-16
By: Robert Greene
-
Temporal
- By: Julian Simpson, Richard MacLean Smith, Bec Boey, and others
- Narrated by: Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jessie Mei Li, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 308
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 301
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 301
In the not-too-distant future, a 21-member crew launches from Earth. Their mission: to establish a temporary colony on Mars. Little do they know that colony will become permanent–and the last stand of the human race. Because, without warning, every single person left on Earth simply...vanishes. Now, a thousand years later, the resources needed to sustain life are running out, and the very existence of the Mars colony is threatened. Humankind has only one option–to return to its home planet.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was ok.
- By Cregg Terasa on 08-06-24
By: Julian Simpson, and others
-
The Anxious Generation
- How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
- By: Jonathan Haidt
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt, Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,997
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,915
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,915
There is no bigger public health story now than the collapse in youth mental health. The numbers are terrifying and dominate our headlines. There has been much debate over how we got here, and what to do next, and bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt is at the white-hot center of that discourse. Haidt has spent his career speaking wisdom and truth into the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the perfect storm contributing to a public health emergency for Gen Z.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Parenting Book for the 2020's
- By Anonymous User on 03-29-24
By: Jonathan Haidt
-
First Lie Wins
- A Novel
- By: Ashley Elston
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17,659
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,939
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,938
The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job isn't like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes—especially after what happened last time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What’s The lie?
- By Luke Schafer on 01-13-24
By: Ashley Elston
-
The Briar Club
- A Novel
- By: Kate Quinn
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 807
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 775
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 775
Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship. Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It draws you in!!!
- By Sassenach1970 on 07-21-24
By: Kate Quinn