Whether tainted by censorship and suppression or hailed as a liberator of truth, the news is integral to our daily life. What follows is a fascinating study of the diplomatic struggles and religious tensions of sixteenth-century Europe with two of the most influential figures at its helm.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The problems lay therein the execution which is inconsistent, speculative, blurred between history and fiction and with the absence of new information as so adamantly claimed. Elizabeth never met her cousin, and Catherine’s daughter in law, Mary, Queen of Scots, but tons have been written about their relationship. It also recounts Elizabeth's and Catherine's letters to each other, addressing topics such as Catherine's efforts to marry Elizabeth off to one of her sons as well as Catherine's efforts to get Elizabeth to spare the life of Mary Queen of Scots (Catherine's former daughter-in-law). Elizabeth, determined not to marry, would turn them all down, all the while protesting her friendship with Catherine.

Hachette Book Group is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. For instance, while fervently Catholic, Catherine offered her daughter to the Protestant King of Navarre. Mary’s mother, Marie de Guise, was her regent in Scotland, and was much hated by the protestant lords there whom Elizabeth supported and with whom she signed the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 which Mary Stuart refused to ratify.

Even Mary Queen of Scots, who Paranque asserts wasn't actually Elizabeth's ultimate rival, is treated with understanding and sympathy but also never sanctified. But she supported the Huguenots in the eight religious civil wars in France between 1562 and 1593, which of course put a strain on the relationship between the two women.Although it is understandable that Paranque desired to weave an illustrative tapestry and make the history come alive; this literary device discredits the text for staunch history lovers and confuses novice readers to assume these are factual. Paranque among them, are ready to grant themselves the novelist's freedom--though not with facts, thank goodness. I didn't know anything about Catherine de' Medici or the various religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in France during this time period. accessible and unpretentious' The Telegraph' A stunning portrayal of two of the most powerful women in European history' Tracy Borman'Exciting and compelling, packed full of tantalising details of diplomacy and court life, Paranque succeeds both in bringing history to life, but also in putting flesh on the bones of these two extraordinary women and rival queens' Kate Mosse'A smart and stylish portrait of two of Europe's most remarkable rulers, a compelling profile of female power and - that rarest of things - a truly original book about the Tudor period' Jessie ChildsIn sixteenth-century Europe, two women came to hold all the power, against all the odds.