The subjects of Biography of a Family (Longmans, 16s.) are
Catherine de Medici and her children. Catherine, the consort of Henri II, lived to see three of her sons on the French throne, and to control the destinies of France during one of the bloodiest and most disastrous periods of her history. Mr. Waldman, who " insists on liking the biographical parts of history best," has produced a breathless review of the religious and dynastic rivalries of the period, full of historic presents and dramatic exclamations and suspensory dots. The source materials of a personal character are fairly abundant, including many letters of Catherine de Medici herself and the lively though unreliable memoirs of Marguerite of Navarre. Marguerite (the famous " Queen Margot "), the youngest daughter of Catherine, the wife of Henri of Navarre, and the future Queen of France, is the only figure in these pages who really comes to life, and her personality relieves to some extent this gloomy and monotonous story of massacre and intrigue. The period is one of con- siderable historical significance, which Mr. Waldman deliberately ignores. But an author who sets out to treat the lighter side of history could easily have chosen figures whose human qualities were more apparent and more attractive than those of Catherine de Medici and the warring nobles of her court.
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