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Catherine #2
Catherine
"...she will be beautiful enough to make a man die of love..."Violet eyed Catherine born to the violence, terror and sensuality of the Hundred Years War, knew well the madness of the masses. She had seen them sack the Dauphin's palace, destroy her own home and kill her father, a Parisian goldsmith. By the age of 12 she was a refugee in the Beggars' Kingdom under the protective custody of a gypsy named Sara.At 21 a golden-haired woman of tantalizing and dangerous beauty, she attracts the attention of Philippe of Burgundy and finds herself in the center of royal politics and intrigue--and one step further into the destiny foreseen by the gypsy so long ago.
379 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
19 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Juliette Benzoni
304 books154 followersJuliette Benzoni, (Andrée-Marguerite-Juliette) was a French author and international bestseller in several genres, including historical romance, historical fiction, mystery and screenwriting. Named by the Media as the « Queen of History Novels » and « Daughter of Alexander Dumas».
Born 1920 in Paris and growing up in an upper-middle-class family. At the age of nine, she discovered her passion for history while looking at a photo of ‘Joan of Arc’. Benzoni studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris’, philosophy, law and literature. At the age of fifteen, her parents moved to Saint-Mandé where she lived until her death.
In 1941, she married a doctor from Dijon, and was soon mother of two children. During that period, she studied at the libraries of Dijon the History of the Dukes of Burgundy, where she stumbled on the Legend of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which would later inspire her for her Catherine series.
In 1950, her husband died and she went to Morocco, visiting relatives of her late husband and joined the editorial staff at a radio station and met her future husband, Colonel Count André Benzoni di Conza. They married in 1953, but because of the unstable political situation, she returned to Paris, while her husband was to join the 6th Regiment of Moroccan Spahis in Hué.
Back in Paris, she launched into journalism and worked for various Newspapers, Magazines and wrote for ‘Confidences’ historical articles and interviewed celebrities such as Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Erich von Stroheim and Maurice Chevalier.
In 1959, Gérald Gauthier, director of the Press Agency at Opéra Mundi, watched her in a popular television Quiz show and impressed by her historical knowledge about the Italian Renaissance asked her if she were able to write a historical romance series
in the style of Anne Golon's ‘Angélique’.
Benzoni affirmed, remembering her fascination for the ‘Order of the Golden Fleece’. Her research for that soon-to-become Bestseller took up three years and in 1963, 'Catherine, Il suffit d’un amour’ was published. The success was enormous and there followed in 1965, a Song called ‘Catherine, ma mie’ composed by Paul Amar, text by Juliette Benzoni.
The Catherine series was translated into 26 languages. Benzoni's Works includes: 3 Single Novels, 17 series, 18 self-contained short stories; 55 million Readers and 300 million books sold Worldwide. She was a huge fan of the books by Agatha Christie, Anne Perry and Ken Follet. In 1978 she received from the White House a letter by President ‘Ronald Reagan’ for the way she described in her Novel ‘The Lure of the Falcon’ the Independence War!
Four of her Bestsellers the ‘Catherine, Marianne, Le Gerfaut and La Florentine’ series were filmed for French television, for which she wrote the Screenplay, together with Jean Chatenet. Although her later works were not widely translated, in 1984, she was one of the top ten female French writers whose works were translated into English. Two weeks before her death in 2016, her last book ‘Le Vol du Sancy: Des carats pour Ava’? was published. It was the 15th adventure of her favourite hero Prince Aldo Morosini, a mystery series.
Her Awards and Honours:
1973 the Alexandre Dumas Prix, for the Catherine and Marianne series.
1988, the Prix Littéraire « Louis Barthou » Silver Medal from the Académie Française for Felicia au soleil couchant.
1998, the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit Medal, by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Born 1920 in Paris and growing up in an upper-middle-class family. At the age of nine, she discovered her passion for history while looking at a photo of ‘Joan of Arc’. Benzoni studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris’, philosophy, law and literature. At the age of fifteen, her parents moved to Saint-Mandé where she lived until her death.
In 1941, she married a doctor from Dijon, and was soon mother of two children. During that period, she studied at the libraries of Dijon the History of the Dukes of Burgundy, where she stumbled on the Legend of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which would later inspire her for her Catherine series.
In 1950, her husband died and she went to Morocco, visiting relatives of her late husband and joined the editorial staff at a radio station and met her future husband, Colonel Count André Benzoni di Conza. They married in 1953, but because of the unstable political situation, she returned to Paris, while her husband was to join the 6th Regiment of Moroccan Spahis in Hué.
Back in Paris, she launched into journalism and worked for various Newspapers, Magazines and wrote for ‘Confidences’ historical articles and interviewed celebrities such as Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Erich von Stroheim and Maurice Chevalier.
In 1959, Gérald Gauthier, director of the Press Agency at Opéra Mundi, watched her in a popular television Quiz show and impressed by her historical knowledge about the Italian Renaissance asked her if she were able to write a historical romance series
in the style of Anne Golon's ‘Angélique’.
Benzoni affirmed, remembering her fascination for the ‘Order of the Golden Fleece’. Her research for that soon-to-become Bestseller took up three years and in 1963, 'Catherine, Il suffit d’un amour’ was published. The success was enormous and there followed in 1965, a Song called ‘Catherine, ma mie’ composed by Paul Amar, text by Juliette Benzoni.
The Catherine series was translated into 26 languages. Benzoni's Works includes: 3 Single Novels, 17 series, 18 self-contained short stories; 55 million Readers and 300 million books sold Worldwide. She was a huge fan of the books by Agatha Christie, Anne Perry and Ken Follet. In 1978 she received from the White House a letter by President ‘Ronald Reagan’ for the way she described in her Novel ‘The Lure of the Falcon’ the Independence War!
Four of her Bestsellers the ‘Catherine, Marianne, Le Gerfaut and La Florentine’ series were filmed for French television, for which she wrote the Screenplay, together with Jean Chatenet. Although her later works were not widely translated, in 1984, she was one of the top ten female French writers whose works were translated into English. Two weeks before her death in 2016, her last book ‘Le Vol du Sancy: Des carats pour Ava’? was published. It was the 15th adventure of her favourite hero Prince Aldo Morosini, a mystery series.
Her Awards and Honours:
1973 the Alexandre Dumas Prix, for the Catherine and Marianne series.
1988, the Prix Littéraire « Louis Barthou » Silver Medal from the Académie Française for Felicia au soleil couchant.
1998, the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit Medal, by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 10, 2022
Truly a Jessica Rabbit kind of heroine.
I think the book covers say it all about Catherine and the plot, but here we go anyway.
Another book I read as kid. Technically this is a bodice-ripper, but it predates and no doubt is just one series that inspired the much creepier, rapey late 70s and 80s bodice rippers. This was so much more fun.
Catherine is cursed with a body of sin, violet eyes and a mane of golden hair. Poor thing. She may be the mistress d’jour, but secretly she longs for a picket fence and a little castle with Arnaud the man that loves her and despises her. Not a biggie as she spends half her time in bed as the treasured mistress of the Duke, married to another man and lusted by the pageboys and swains of medieval Europe.
Misunderstandings abound, Joan of Arc makes a brief appearance and the reunited couple walk into the mists of time only to wake up in the next book torn asunder. Again. I haven’t read the rest of the series, but would guess it’s lather, rinse and repeat.
The best description I’ve read of these kind of epics comes fromLong Shadows.
Iblis asks about the latest events of his favorite show, Olympian Heights.
’Well,’ I said, stabbing a chip. ‘While you’ve been gone, Sascha has stolen Sienna’s secret designs – you remember, the ones that were to revolutionise the fashion house and save them from bankruptcy. He doesn’t yet know that she’s his twin and they were separated at birth. Everyone thinks it was Ryan who stole the designs because he’s desperate to recapture Chardonnay’s love. She, however, has fallen head over heels in love with Estevan, who, despite fighting for the World Title in a few days’ time, is shagging his mother-in-law, his wife, Chardonnay herself, and for some reason not yet revealed, the au pair, Ruby, who murdered André’s half-sister, although he doesn’t know that yet because he thinks he’s got a weak heart because he overheard a conversation between Mnemone and her doctor, but actually it’s the dog who has the weak heart and he, the dog, is the true father of Jewel’s pups and not Rufus the Randy Red Setter, who is having performance issues owing to the break-up of his owners, Savannah and Oberon, over Desdemona’s secret shame.’
He shovelled in another chip. ‘So I haven’t missed much, then?’ ‘Hardly anything at all.’
Dream casting:
Brigitte Bardot
Sergio Franchi (Spanish)
I think the book covers say it all about Catherine and the plot, but here we go anyway.
Another book I read as kid. Technically this is a bodice-ripper, but it predates and no doubt is just one series that inspired the much creepier, rapey late 70s and 80s bodice rippers. This was so much more fun.
Catherine is cursed with a body of sin, violet eyes and a mane of golden hair. Poor thing. She may be the mistress d’jour, but secretly she longs for a picket fence and a little castle with Arnaud the man that loves her and despises her. Not a biggie as she spends half her time in bed as the treasured mistress of the Duke, married to another man and lusted by the pageboys and swains of medieval Europe.
Misunderstandings abound, Joan of Arc makes a brief appearance and the reunited couple walk into the mists of time only to wake up in the next book torn asunder. Again. I haven’t read the rest of the series, but would guess it’s lather, rinse and repeat.
The best description I’ve read of these kind of epics comes fromLong Shadows.
Iblis asks about the latest events of his favorite show, Olympian Heights.
’Well,’ I said, stabbing a chip. ‘While you’ve been gone, Sascha has stolen Sienna’s secret designs – you remember, the ones that were to revolutionise the fashion house and save them from bankruptcy. He doesn’t yet know that she’s his twin and they were separated at birth. Everyone thinks it was Ryan who stole the designs because he’s desperate to recapture Chardonnay’s love. She, however, has fallen head over heels in love with Estevan, who, despite fighting for the World Title in a few days’ time, is shagging his mother-in-law, his wife, Chardonnay herself, and for some reason not yet revealed, the au pair, Ruby, who murdered André’s half-sister, although he doesn’t know that yet because he thinks he’s got a weak heart because he overheard a conversation between Mnemone and her doctor, but actually it’s the dog who has the weak heart and he, the dog, is the true father of Jewel’s pups and not Rufus the Randy Red Setter, who is having performance issues owing to the break-up of his owners, Savannah and Oberon, over Desdemona’s secret shame.’
He shovelled in another chip. ‘So I haven’t missed much, then?’ ‘Hardly anything at all.’
Dream casting:
Brigitte Bardot
Sergio Franchi (Spanish)
September 22, 2016
Oh my god. It took me long enough, but this book was amazing. Even better than the first one! So much happened. It was brutal, funny, exciting, lovely, everything I could ask for.
Also I'm still not sure if I'm team Arnaud or team Philippe, because they're both so prejudiced and just dumb but so so romantic.
Also I'm still not sure if I'm team Arnaud or team Philippe, because they're both so prejudiced and just dumb but so so romantic.
November 11, 2016
I'm more of a realist when it comes to romantic stuff, which clearly makes me not the ideal person to read this. If you love historic novels with an overdose of cheesy romance, this was written for you.
Sometimes while reading this book I just had to pause for a second and calm down, otherwise I probably would have shouted aloud “come on Catherine, get your shit together and be a woman!” It was nowhere near as bad as in the first book though, but still…
This makes me sound like I hated this book, which is far from the truth actually. I enjoyed reading it (most of the time anyways) and I appreciate how detailed Benzoni described everything, it felt very real, and she definitely did her fair share of research! In fact I am only writing this review, because over a month passed since I read this book and I still think about it, because of the way it’s written and how legit it felt.
All in all I think this is a good book, just be prepared, it is a medieval romance novel after all and although Catherine is a strong character, she’s also just a child of her time. But it's an easy read and if you like the genre it's something to relax with.
Sometimes while reading this book I just had to pause for a second and calm down, otherwise I probably would have shouted aloud “come on Catherine, get your shit together and be a woman!” It was nowhere near as bad as in the first book though, but still…
This makes me sound like I hated this book, which is far from the truth actually. I enjoyed reading it (most of the time anyways) and I appreciate how detailed Benzoni described everything, it felt very real, and she definitely did her fair share of research! In fact I am only writing this review, because over a month passed since I read this book and I still think about it, because of the way it’s written and how legit it felt.
All in all I think this is a good book, just be prepared, it is a medieval romance novel after all and although Catherine is a strong character, she’s also just a child of her time. But it's an easy read and if you like the genre it's something to relax with.
September 14, 2020
OMG I found my tattered old paperback copy of this and read it again. Catherine is a product of her time and yes, it is a romance (which I usually don't enjoy) but there is a lot of action and it is well researched to say the very least. I wonder if I can find some of the others i had - i think i stopped with Catherine and Arnaud.
August 29, 2018
Loved it.
February 7, 2020
I red those books when I was young and now again...thanks to e-reader-_-.
June 21, 2016
Catherine ja herttua jatkaa suoraan siitä, mihin Catherine päättyi. Juoni kulkee sopivan nopeaan tahtiin, kun Catherine yrittää päästä rakastamansa Arnauldin luo, vaikka Arnauld on sanonut vihaavansa häntä. Catherine selviää mielestäni monesta kiipelistä hieman turhankin helposti, mutta toisaalta pidin kirjasta yhtä paljon kuin ensimmäisestä osastakin.
October 19, 2021
I read this in middle school when I was a huge history geek but I don't remember liking it very much. Probably didn't find Catherine's love affairs so compelling but that's probably just me, and has nothing to do with the quality of the book.
August 15, 2008
Fantastic !
November 17, 2008
Set in the 15th century france and tells the love story between Catherine and Arnaud.
Ofcourse there are complications, and Catherine deals with them in her own way.
Ofcourse there are complications, and Catherine deals with them in her own way.
June 4, 2012
Without a doubt the best historical romance I've ever read.
October 24, 2013
Catherine et Arnaud sont de retour et je passe des heures délicieuses en leur compagnie.
October 12, 2014
did not enjoy
November 28, 2014
3,5 actually, plush historical romance in the vein of Anne Golon´s Angelique books. I liked it.
November 16, 2016
Kahden ensimmäisen osan perusteella - Ihana sarja ❤️
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews