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Renée of France
by Simonetta Carr ISBN-13: 9780852349090 Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: Evangelical Press Released: January 8, 2013 |
Source: Review copy provided by Cross Focused Reviews.
Book Description from Amazon:
Renée of France is little known today, but this fascinating and often controversial woman was a correspondent of Calvin. She loved the Reformation, but in sixteenth century Italy such a position could not be lightly held. Add in a husband (the Duke of Ferrara) who served the pope and was determined to oppose Renée, plus the complexity and intrigues of Italian society of the time, and you have all the ingredients for a gripping biography.
My Review:
Renée of France is a biography about a noblewoman, Renée of France (1510-1575). She was a princess of France who was married to a duke of Italy, and she lived during the Protestant Reformation. She wrote to and received letters from John Calvin about some of the questions of faith that she was dealing with.
Renée used her wealth and influence to provide a refuge to Protestants while she was in Italy and, after she returned to France, during the French Wars of Religion. Still, some Protestants were concerned that she didn't seem to hold strong in her faith. She would sometimes make compromises in order to keep her lands and her freedom to act. She dealt with issues like: Is it okay to believe in private rather than make a stand in public? How much influence should a patron have over the church that they protect? Should we hate someone who persecutes members of our faith?
The biography mostly covered Renée's adult life and discussed the theological issues that Renée struggled with related to the Reformation. The book contained many quotes from John Calvin's letters to Renée.
Due to the "bitesized biographies" series title, I assumed this book was targeted at teenagers, but it's written with a scholarly tone and targeted at adults. This book is one good way for someone who knows little about the Reformation to learn about some of the theological and political issues involved. It's also an interesting look at a noblewoman caught between several strong, opposing forces and how she dealt with it.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Interview:
Link to a podcast interview with the author.
Posts
4 comments:
Debbie,
Thanks for contributing to the Bitesize Biographies - Renee of France blog tour.
Shaun Tabatt
Cross Focused Reviews
I reviewed the book as well, and I loved it, simply because Carr put so much useful information into such a brief book. I loved how she provided the context of Renee's life as well as providing such a thorough list of other resources for those wanting to find more information.
Hi Debbie, thank you for your review! Yes, the book is for adults. It is part of a series (Bitesize Biographies) published by Evangelical Press and I had to follow their guidelines. I am glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to read it and review it.
Hi, Shaun. Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of it.
Hi, Kim. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the book. I agree that she packed a lot of good information into the book.
Hi, Simonetta. When I was a teenager, I read a wonderful series of books that were short biographies about past, well-known Christians. So I just assumed that this series was similar. I decided I should mention the target audience in case others made a similar assumption. :) Thank you for taking the time to write this book.
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