LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
WATERSTONES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: HISTORY
The boldly original, dramatic intertwined story of Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots - three queens exercising power in a world dominated by men.

'Alluring, gripping, real: an astonishing insight into the lives of three queens' ALICE ROBERTS
'Takes us into the hearts and minds of three extraordinary women' AMANDA FOREMAN
'Conveys the vitality of the past as few books do. An enviable tour de force' SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB

Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots lived together at the French court for many years - years that bound them to one another through blood and marriage, alliance and friendship, love and filial piety. When they scattered to different kingdoms, they would learn that to rule was to wage a constant war against the deeply entrenched misogyny of the sixteenth century. A crown could exalt a young woman. Equally, it could destroy her.

Young Queens masterfully weaves the personal stories of these three queens into one, revealing their hopes, dreams, desires and regrets at a time when even the most powerful women lived at the mercy of the state.

Leah Redmond Chang is a former Associate Professor of French and Director of the French Literature Programme at George Washington University, and was most recently a Senior Research Associate at University College London. She is the author of two previous books: Into Print: The Production of Female Authorship in Early Modern France and Portraits of the Queen Mother: Polemics, Panegyrics, Letters, winner of the Josephine Roberts Award from the International Society for the Study of Early Modern Women. She lives with her husband and three children, and spends her time between Washington, DC and London.