Francis I: The Maker of Modern France
By (Author) Leonie Frieda
Orion Publishing Co
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
8th June 2021
4th March 2021
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Biography: royalty
944.028092
Paperback
400
Width 128mm, Height 196mm, Spine 30mm
300g
Francis I (1494-1547) was inconstant, amorous, hot-headed and flawed. Arguably he was also the most significant king that France ever had.
A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw himself as the first Renaissance king. A courageous and heroic warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be reckoned with. Bestselling historian Leonie Frieda's comprehensive and sympathetic account explores the life of the most human of all Renaissance monarchs - and the most enigmatic.A captivating biography ... [Frieda] does herself proud. Battle scenes are vividly drawn and the intricacies of statecraft reconstructed with admirable clarity. She also has a fine eye for detail - this rollicking story is packed with anecdotes - THE TIMES
A thoughtful, vivid and well-paced telling of a complex story; and it is set against an even more complex background of European power-politics, which Frieda picks apart with admirable skill - SUNDAY TELEGRAPHSwedish by birth, but educated in Britain, France and Germany, Leonie Frieda speaks five languages and is a member of the Institute of Linguists. She is the author of a bestselling biography of Catherine de Medici, and THE DEADLY SISTERHOOD: A STORY OF WOMEN, POWER AND INTRIGUE IN THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE and FRANCIS I: THE MAKER OF MODERN FRANCE. She lives in London and has two children.
http://www.leoniefrieda.com/