Dark Eminence Catherine De Medici And Her Children (16 page)

On January 5, 1589, Catherine de Medici died at Blois, perhaps in the very room where she first had dreamed of an empire in which she and her children would rule.

Marguerite Vance

MARGUERITE VANCE lias combined the careers of writing and editing books for young people.

Mrs. Vance was born in Chicago and attended private schools there and in Europe. For some years she and her husband, William Little Vance, lived in Cleveland, Ohio. After her husband's death in 1931, Mrs. Vance directed the children's book department in Dutton's Book Store in New York City. In 1939, she joined the staff of E. P. Button & Company as editor of children's books. Since 1955 she has devoted her time to writing.

Among her many books are The World for Jason, A Star jar Hansi, and Jeptha and the New People. Her Willie Joe and His Small Change won the Thomas Alva Edison Award for "special excellence in contributing to the character development of children/* Mrs. Vance has also written a number of biographies of historical figures, including Flight of the Wildling: Elisabeth of Austria, Ashes of Empire: Carlota and Maximilian of Mexico, and The Lamp Lighters: Women in the Hall of Fame.

Mrs. Vance now lives in New York City.

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Queen of France and mother of three kings of France, Catherine de Medici was driven by a consuming ambition for power. Unscrupulous and seemingly heartless, she vacillated from friend to enemy depending on what best suited her needs at the time. She manipulated and in the end destroyed almost everyone around her, including her own children.

Marguerite Vance has written an accurate, and at the same time, understanding account of this extraordinary woman, her children and their times.

E.P.DUTTON KWI & COMPANY

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