Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Confessions of Catherine de Medici:
1. In Confessions, C.W. Gortner is determined to present a sympathetic picture of Catherine de Medici, a figure much maligned in history. His goal is to flesh her out as a complex and multi-faceted human being—one who will gain readers' sympathy. Does he succeed?
2. Some historians believe that France would have toppled into revolution 200 years earlier than it did—had Catherine not been at the helm. In what ways was she instrumental in preserving the Valois line and the stability of her country?
3. How do you see Catherine: as a murderess, victim, opportunist, or savior? Would you consider her means of survival ruthless...or pragmatic?
4. Talk about Catherine's early life in Florence, her imprisonment, and rescue. What must it have felt like to be a prisoner, then find yourself bride of a prince of France, Europe's most powerful state?
5. What about Catherine's arrival in France? What kind of reception does she receive? What are her expectations...and what does she find? What kind of prejudice does she face as an Italian in France?
6. Say, what about that mistress? How would you describe Diane de Poitiers, her hold over Henri, her status at court, and her position vis-a-vis Catherine? In what way does that change?
7. Discuss the religious strife that infected most of Europe. What would it have been like to live through such violent turmoil? (Any parallels we can draw today?) Talk about the ways in which Catherine seeks to keep peace between the Catholics and Huguenots?
8. How does Gortner present the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre—events leading up to it, misjudgments and missteps, provocations, the spark that set it off...and Catherine's role?
9. Discuss Catherine's relationship with Coligny. What brought them together...and what led them to the final tragic moment between them? Was that moment inevitable?
10. How does Gortner treat Catherine's belief in the occult? How strong an influence is it on her? What do you feel about her visions?
11. Talk about Catherine's children. Are any of them worthy of her devotion? Are any admirable...likeable?
12. Is there regret in Catherine's account for the actions she's taken....the sacrifices she's made?
13. How do you account for Catherine's bad reputation in history?
14. Catherine's life was not her own. Talk about the role throughout history of young high-born women—who were used as pawns in male games of power. Catherine is only one in a long line of pubescent girls married off to seal the deal, either geopolitical or financial...can you think of others?
15. Having finished, what part of this book most surprised you? Which part most engaged you...or did you find most interesting? What have you learned from reading The Confessions...about the 16th century, the religious wars, French monarchy, about Catherine herself? Do you feel smarter?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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