MADAME SERPENT

Another reprint from the '50's in which this accomplished dealer in queens spells out just why it was that Catherine de Medici -- wife of Henri II and mother of two kings -- metamorphosed from a dumpy, tender-hearted youngster who left Italy to wed at fourteen into a terror. Unrequited love for her husband who begat dutifully, but never loved her and who adored his mistress Diane de Poitiers, was the reason for increasingly thoughtful meditations before the poison cabinet -- although she never did actually spike a goblet. After Henri's death Madame Serpent, all unwise passion spent, rallies to rule. 99 and 44/100ths percent readable.