Renée of France - Book review

Renée of France, by Simonetta Carr, in the Bitesize Biographies series. Find it here on Amazon.

When you think of the Reformation, do you tend to think of big guys and cunning kings, weedy thinkers and bible-smugglers, councils and colloquies, politicians and popes and pastors ? The movers and shakers of the 16th century ?

Well this fascinating little book will make you think again about what the reformation meant for people caught up in huge events and trying to be adequate for the times they lived in. 

You'll discover Renée, a French princess married to an Italian duke from a ruling family. You might not feel that you get to know her very well, but you'll get an insight into her life and the struggles of the times she lived in. You'll discover her husband; he, too, walking a political tightrope. You'll read of pastors from noble families, trained at Geneva and sent to help noble households in living out the reformation. And you'll get an insight into Calvin, the letter-writing friend.

And you'll finish the book wondering how you would have fared in Renée's place, what advice you would have sent in Calvin's place, how you're faring in the struggles of our day - different, but no less real.

It's an apéritif, an amuse-bouche, a taster - a short book that will open the taste-buds of your mind and leave you wanting and ready for more !