Francis I : the maker of modern France

'A captivating biography ... This rollicking story is packed with anecdotes' The Times'I can't suppose that there has been a better English biography of Francis, or indeed is likely to be one' Catholic HeraldFrancis I was inconstant, amorous, hot-headed and flawed.

Arguably he was also the most significant king that France ever had.

A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw himself as the first Renaissance king.

A courageous and heroic warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be reckoned with.

Bestselling historian Leonie Frieda's comprehensive and sympathetic account explores the life of the most human of all Renaissance monarchs - and the most enigmatic.