What do Countess Louise, Astrology, and January 1 have in common? Readers of the Journal de Louise de Savoye, duchesse d’Angoulesme, d’Anjou et de Valois will know the answer. For the rest of you, let me explain. Three crucial events In the 20 years between 1496 to 1515, three crucial events in Countess Louise’s life …
Marguerite de Rohan, Countess d’Angoulême was the grandmother of King François I of France on his father’s side. I care about her because, in my new novel The Importance of Sons, (Release date, April 2022) she plays an important role since she’s the mother-in-law of Louise de Savoie, François’s mother. She was Breton, daughter of …
What clothing did French Renaissance Noblewomen wear? As a writer, I ask myself this question each time I need to describe a woman. I focus on noblewomen because courts set the fashion. People of every class copied the one above it as closely as their finances allowed. Styles varied from one country to another and from …
I began this website with facts not fiction about the women of 16th Century France. It was too limiting. , I posted historical content about the women I was fictionalizing. It was too limiting. Now my site is more eclectic. I have lots about my fiction, the blog posts with historical content about the women …
The Women of 16th-Century France: Fact and Fiction Read More »
Who are the four women in The Importance of Pawns who dominate the action? At the centre of the plots are Princess Claude and Princess Renée of France, the elder and younger daughters of the French King and Queen. The third, Baronne Michelle de Soubise, Renée’s Gouvernante*, fights to shield herself and the two daughters …
As a dominating mother, did Louise de Savoie rule for King François I? She played a powerful political domestic and international political role in his Council. Twice she acted for him as Regent. Many say Louise de Savoie was the ruling force behind King François’s government until her death in 1531. Louise’s Early Life In …
In 1519 Françoise de Foix became the first official mistress to King François 1. Countess Françoise de Chateaubriant, an exceptional beauty, was already married. Her husband, Jean de Laval, Count de Chateaubriant, did not take it well, being a jealous man and head of a leading Breton family. But François was king when royal power …
From the moment of her birth, Suzanne de Bourbon was well-loved by both her mother and father. When she married, her husband loved her well too. In this, she was a fortunate woman for her times. Basic Facts Father: Pierre de Beaujeu, later Duke de Bourbon [1488] Mother: Anne de France, Duchess de Beaujeu-Bourbon, aka …
When the not-quite 12-year-old Anne of Brittany became duchess, her people found in her their unlikely heroine. She inherited a duchy on its knees. Brittany was reeling from defeat at the decisive battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in July 1488. Her senile father signed the disastrous peace Treaty of Verger with France. Then he fled to his …
Women of 16th-century France in important roles deserve individual articles. Details about 7 major French women & links to The Freelance History Writer blog. I am planning to take several of the most exciting incidents from a draft novel about Anne of Brittany and rewrite them as short stories. Comments? Ideas on places to submit?
The Dukes and Duchesses of Brittany between 1485 to 1559 were also kings and queens of France from the time France conquered Brittany to the death of King François II of France. Anne of Brittany, the last truly independent Duchess of Brittany, fought her whole life to keep her duchy separate from France. She had …
The Three Graces Trilogy offers something unusual: novels of the French religious conflict with noblewomen as heroines. The three de Clèves sisters find themselves on differing sides, so each brings a unique perspective. Thus Laura du Pre offers her readers an experience of the religious wars in a personal, female way. The Three Graces Trilogy: Engaging …
Three Graces Trilogy: Novels of the French Religious Conflict Read More »
