The symbol of the French Renaissance, Diane de Poitiers (1499–1566), depicted by artists of that time as the ancient Diana the Huntress, thanks to her beauty, extraordinary personal qualities and political flair, managed to make an incredible journey from a provincial lady from the disgraced family of a state criminal to the powerful favorite of Henry II Valois, who actually decided the fate of French politics for many years. She was 20 years older than the king, but, nevertheless, she reigned supreme in his heart all her life. Under the light and lively pen of the famous historian Philippe Erlanger, against the backdrop of the brilliant era of the heyday of court life in France, the story of a noble lady, by the will of fate involved in power and management. She was destined to play a very controversial role in French history, indirectly becoming the cause of the bloody Civil Wars of the second half of the 16th century.