Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Butterfield’s sweeping plot follows Marguerite de Valois, initially a naïve princess of France who enters a tumultuous marriage with Henri, the Prince of Navarre, and comes into her own through hard-fought battles, profound love affairs, and a deep awakening to the dangerous, conniving world around her. The story grows with Marguerite, as she transforms into a powerful—and infamous—queen, while somehow managing to keep vestiges of her youthful self at the same time.
Prose: Butterfield writes with charming, witty pose, perfectly intoning the speech patterns of her characters and the era of the novel.
Originality: This novel sets itself apart through Butterfield’s spotless prose and deeply thoughtful character studies; Marguerite is a powerhouse from the start, stunning in her intensity and relatability, and Butterfield perfectly balances her vulnerability with her growing skill and capacity to rule.
Character/Execution: Marguerite is alive with poise, vulnerability, and a sincerity that makes her breathtakingly real. Butterfield animates the novel’s historical setting, fashioning character interactions that breed familiarity and arresting charisma; Catherine de Medici is a powerful contradiction of volatility and strength, a worthy opponent to the renowned Marguerite, who slowly comes to realize her own resoluteness through the mistreatment she experiences at the hands of others.
Date Submitted: April 11, 2024
"The Serpent and the Rose" is a captivating tale that skillfully weaves together historical, dramatic and personal elements. Catherine Butterfield brings to life a fascinating period in French history and paints a complex and memorable portrait of Queen Marguerite de Valois."
5 stars, Highly Recommended Award of Excellence.
Over the course of this novel, Butterfield employs a diarylike style from Marguerite’s perspective that makes for a brisk read, and Marguerite, despite her royal background, comes off as approachable and very human throughout; for example, late in the novel, she has a powerful experience that brings her a sense of fulfillment that she’d never encountered in her strictly proscribed life. The author, for the most part, sticks closely to the events of the historical timeline, but takes some creative liberties, as when she notes in an afterword that the idea that one key character “was Marguerite’s One Great Love is cause for speculation; and so, I did.”
A sweeping but intimate story that highlights the author’s clear attention to detail.
The Serpent and the Rose audiobook, narrated by the author/actress Catherine Butterfield, is now available for purchase on all platforms. The novel tells the story of Marguerite de Valois, who found herself in a lifelong battle of wits with her famously manipulative mother, Catherine de Medici.
