Tracy Ryan on two remarkable Renaissance women of the Navarre in 'The Queen's Apprenticeship'

Good Reading Podcast

Two women from different worlds in Renaissance France cross paths in a way that changes both their lives. One is Marguerite de Navarre, a King’s sister. Powerful, privileged and widely admired, Marguerite must nonetheless marry where she is told to, regardless of her feelings, and – despite the thrilling new ideas of religious reform causing upheaval in France – must toe the line for the good of her brother’s kingdom. Ever a risk-taker, she does what she can to protect her reformist friends. The other is a cast out, itinerant child who longs to be a printer like her late father. Jehane goes dressed as a male by the name of Josse, at first for safety’s sake and then by choice, fending off the risks of being alone, unprotected and born female, poor but trying to live in freedom. These two remarkable women, the rich and poor come together in the most unexpected of ways. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Tracy Ryan about the challenges facing women in Renaissance France, how inventing a fictional character to complement the real Queen of the Navarre opened up storytelling possibilities, and how poetry, journal entries and Queen Marguerite's own writing have enriched the social and political fabric of this story.