Catherine de' Medici (1518-89) is one of the most controversial of all historical figures. Wife of one French King and mother of three others she was a key figure Renaissance France and ineradicably associated with the St Bartholomew Massacre. Professor Knecht goes behind the familiar Black Legend to assess the real Catherine and reveals a more sympathetic figure than most of her contemporaries. This study - the first recent biography of her in English - by a leading scholar, is a major event.