Estelle Paranque succeeds in bringing a fresh narration to the complex and extraordinary lives of two incredibly powerful women.

At its heart are the fascinating figures of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, whose tense and fascinating relationship is expertly told. In most (maybe all) the literature I’ve read, Catherine disappears from Mary's life once Mary sets sail for Scotland… sort of a goodbye and good riddance.Paranque seems to find a calmer flow/style and leans more toward a scholarly style (although this doesn’t mean a complete absence of the previous complaints – just slightly less in number).

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings – the history of the library is rich, varied and stuffed full of incident. I’ve read extensively about Elizabeth I, and one or two books on Catherine de Medici, so the first half of this book was essentially a review. It is impossible to know what their true thoughts were on certain topics as you have to do a lot of lip service as a royal and keep real feelings hidden.For example, I didn’t realize Marie didn’t care all that much for Mary, Queen of Scots, her daughter-in-law for a short time. But omitted some relevant pieces of the story of Mary Stuart, in one part omitting information, or maybe just trying to simplify it, to such an extent as to make it incorrect - but then this is not a history of Mary Stuart, so maybe it was done deliberately. The singularly interesting and unusual correspondence in time of two domineering and intelligent women ruling some of the most powerful nations in Europe at the same time is fascinating, and it is almost criminal that a book studying their relationship has not previously been written. Upon ascending the throne, Elizabeth held a strong exchange of letters with the Queen Mother of France throughout her lifetime, revealing a complicated relationship. She approaches her subjects with empathy and while criticism can be found, she also points out that it is easier to criticise them now that we know everything about the future of their lives and of course, talking about "what if she did this" results in a lot of maybes.