a marvelous story of a relationship between two powerful women in an age when females were believed to be unsuited to the exercise of government.

Whether engaged in bloody battles or peaceful accords, Elizabeth and Catherine admired the force and resilience of the other, while never forgetting that they were, first and foremost, each other's true rival. But nothing has been said of their complicated relationship: thirty years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe. In the world of politics where masculinity rules, both women showed their resilience and expertise and proved to the whole world that femininity is never a hindrance to one’s greatness. She and the French monarchy itself are weakened by the religious wars and with the execution of Mary because France's heavily Catholic population sees Catherine and King Henry III as helpless because they could not protect her.One a virgin and Queen Regnant of England, the other a wife and Queen Mother to the Valois Kings of France. But omitted some relevant pieces of the story of Mary Stuart, in one part omitting information, or maybe just trying to simplify it, to such an extent as to make it incorrect - but then this is not a history of Mary Stuart, so maybe it was done deliberately.

The action in the book never lulls and, by the end, you're left feeling somewhat similar to how these two queens must have felt: utterly exhausted by the constant threats to them, their families, and their rule. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, while Elizabeth had to deal with the Spanish Armada and what to do with Mary Queen of Scots.

From honouree mother-daughter to friends to equals to rivals and sometimes enemies, these two powerful and extraordinary women were the real rivals to each other and their influence, power and struggles dominated the later part of the 16th century. Exciting and compelling, packed full of tantalising details of diplomacy and court life, Paranque succeeds both in bringing history to life, but also in putting flesh on the bones of these two extraordinary women and rival queens.

Instead, 'Blood, Fire and Gold' offers an insightful and colourfully fleshed out account of the relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, which altered the course of European history.

There is background on the reigns of Queen Mary of England and Catherine’s role as a queen mother in the administrations of her sons. But nothing has been said of their complicated thirty years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe. The argument it proposed threatened to topple the government, but sedition sold well in the coffeehouses of Fleet Street and the woman promised protection.

Dr Estelle Paranque masterfully draws together the strands of narrative of two of the most powerful Queens of Europe, engaged in a relentless and delicate balancing act of rivalry and common cause. After the deaths of King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, and Queen Mary I, Elizabeth got her chance to rule England in her way.The book tells the story of the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Catherine de Medici of France. I found the author's writing style to be easy to get into, although me being interested in this dynamic also very much helps in plowing through.