Queen of Navarre: Jeanne d'Albret 1528-1572

About this book

This is the first biography in a hundred years of Jeanne dAlbret a femme politique worthy of comparison with Elizabeth of England (her ally) and Catherine de Medici (her opponent) in a period when all the political and ideological currents of Reformation Europe converged in France. Her career as a feudal ruler in southwest France illustrates the changing relations between the high nobility and the crown while her role as co-leader with Coligny of the Calvinist party at its height contributes to an understanding of the failure of the French Reformation. As the mother of Henry IV she was responsible for the political education of Frances most popular king some of whose problems were inherited from her along with the models for some solutions. The daughter of Marguerite de Navarre Jeanne dAlbret experienced a dramatic series of crises which her uncompromising Calvinism and iron will enabled her to survive. In addition to the many unpublished letters included here the authors insights into the character and motives of this unusual woman constitute one of the most enlightening aspects of her biography. Nancy Lyman Roelkers vivid style breathes life into a host of fascinating figures in an era in France richly colored by intrigue war and turbulent religious conflict.