Francis I
The Maker of Modern France
Leonie Frieda
- Leonie
- Frieda,
- the
- bestselling
- author
- of
- Catherine
- de
- Medici,
- returns
- to
- sixteenth-century
- Europe
- in
- the
- evocative
- and
- entertaining
- biography,
- Francis
- I.Catherine
- de
- Medici’s
- father-in-law,
- King
- Francis
- of
- France,
- was
- the
- perfect
- Renaissance
- knight,
- the
- movement’s
- exemplar
- and
- its
- Gallic
- interpreter.
- An
- aesthete,
- diplomat
- par
- excellence,
- and
- contemporary
- of
- Machiavelli,
- Francis
- was
- the
- founder
- of
- modern
- France,
- whose
- sheer
- force
- of
- will
- and
- personality
- molded
- his
- kingdom
- into
- the
- first
- European
- superpower.
- Arguably
- the
- man
- who
- introduced
- the
- Renaissance
- to
- France,
- Francis
- was
- also
- the
- prototype
- Frenchman—a
- national
- identity
- was
- modeled
- on
- his
- character.
- So
- great
- was
- his
- stamp,
- that
- few
- countries
- even
- now
- are
- quite
- so
- robustly
- patriotic
- as
- is
- France.
- Yet
- as
- Leonie
- Frieda
- reveals,
- Francis
- did
- not
- always
- live
- up
- to
- his
- ideal;
- a
- man
- of
- grand
- passions
- and
- vision,
- he
- was
- also
- a
- flawed
- husband,
- father,
- lover,
- and
- king.With
- access
- to
- private
- archives
- previously
- unused
- in
- a
- study
- of
- Francis
- I,
- Frieda
- recreates
- a
- remarkable
- era
- of
- French
- history
- to
- explore
- the
- life
- of
- a
- man
- who
- was
- the
- most
- human
- of
- the
- monarchs
- of
- the
- period—and
- yet,
- remains
- the
- most
- elusive.“Superb
- and
- vivid
- .
- .
- .
- brings
- the
- world
- of
- Francis
- I
- to
- life,
- skillfully
- delineating
- the
- moves
- and
- major
- players
- in
- both
- European
- and
- domestic
- politics
- .
- .
- .
- and
- also
- gives
- the
- reader
- wonderful
- glimpses
- of
- the
- often
- licentious
- court
- life
- of
- that
- time
- .
- .
- .
- Frieda
- suggests
- that,
- under
- Francis
- I,
- France
- preserved
- its
- political
- power,
- greatly
- increased
- its
- cultural
- influence,
- and
- positioned
- itself
- for
- the
- Grand
- Siecle
- that
- his
- Bourbon
- successors
- would
- soon
- preside
- over.”
- —Wall
- Street Journal
pro-mbooks3 : libris
