Category: Medicis Daughter
A Present for Me on Marguerite’s 462nd Birthday
Yesterday was Marguerite de Valois’ birthday.
Born in 1553 the protagonist of Médicis Daughter, as you will discover in my novel, was much more than history gives her credit for. I always think of her on her birthday and wonder “what if” (what if Salic law hadn’t prevented her from ruling in France when her last brother–Henri III–died? What if she’d be able to give her husband Henri IV a son?). I hope that in my novel I have given her a gift: a story that is worthy of her and undermines the pernicious rumors—started by political pamphleteers in her own time—that she was a wanton, a hedonist and not much more. So maybe my book is a birthday gift, belated but nonetheless . . .
Well yesterday I got a present: A box, perched atop my mailbox, containing the bound galleys of Médicis Daughter. They weren’t expected. They could have come any day. But they arrived on Marguerite’s birthday. A sign? I sure hope so!
Médicis Daughter Cover Reveal
Voila mes amis! I am very pleased and proud to introduce you to the visually stunning cover for my next novel, Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois. Yes, that is Marguerite in the forground and the goreous, iconic Chateau de Chenonceau in the background (a palace that is one of the settings from the book). What’s my favorite thing about it if I can’t say everything? The small, sinister, dark bird Margot is looking at in the sky. Psst, readers, keep an eye out for black birds as a recurring theme in the novel.
For those of you who are super eager, as of today you can pre-order Médicis Daughter on Amazon.
Médicis Daughter: an official announcement and an illustrated sneak-peek
It suddenly dawned on me, dear followers, that I have been negligent–I never announced the release date of my next novel here at the blog.
Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois will release on December 1, 2015 in hardcover. I have a fabulous new publisher (Thomas Dunne) and editor. What is the book about? So glad you asked! Here is a teaser:
Mother’s black eyes sparkle. “So, Margot, it seems you are a daughter of the Médicis as well the Valois.
16th Century France twists under the serpentine rule of Catherine de Médicis. At a court seething with intrigue and riven by religious war, beautiful Princess Margot walks the knife edge between the demands of her dangerous family, and the demands of her own conscience. Her chief value to the crown is as a pawn in the marriage game, to bring France a valuable ally or seal a tenuous peace. Even though her heart belongs to the powerful, charismatic Duc de Guise, her hand will be offered to the King of Navarre, heretic and rebel to the crown.
Margot does her duty, heart breaking, but the promised peace is a mirage: her mother’s schemes are endless, and her brothers plot vengeance in the streets of Paris. When Margot’s wedding devolves into the bloodshed of the St. Bartholmew’s Day massacre, she will be forced to choose: her family, or her soul?
The book is not yet available for pre-order, but you can add it to your “Want to Read” shelf at goodreads, and follow latest developments at the Médicis Daughter official facebook page. One of the things you will see a lot of there are illustrated quotes from the novel to whet your appetite. I’ve put three below just to tempt you over to facebook.
xo Sophie
