Maria Salviati de' Medici (1499-1543) was a Medici daughter, wife, and mother of a Medici duke. Her surviving correspondence documents a life spent close to the centers of Medici power in Florence and in Rome that witnessed its failures, resurrection, and eventual triumph. Presented here for the first time in English is a representative sample of her surviving letters that document a tumultuous life spent as a wife, widow, and mother who used her Medici connections to further the interests of husband and son. She earned the exasperation of some but gained the respect of many more including her son, Cosimo. Maria ended her life as an influential dowager, powerful intercessor for local Tuscans of all strata, and wise elder in Duke Cosimo l's court. Book jacket.