”When one has governed men for a long time, when one has thought that one has acted for the best, when one knows the pains the task has entailed, and then suddenly sees that one has never been either loved or understood, but merely submitted to, then one is overwhelmed with bitterness, and wonder...
I know there are seven books in The Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon, but do I really need to read book 7 to have a proper closure? Judging by reviews and the fact that book 7 was published 17 years after the sixth almost like an afterthought, I’d say the answer is: no, this is it. The stor...
Even though I'm French Canadian, it's thanks to George R. R. Martin that I recently discovered the excellent The Accursed Kings by French author Maurice Druon. Having enjoyed both The Iron King and The Strangled Queen, I was curious to see what the third installment would have in store for reader...
Louis X is dead, poisoned by Mahaut d'Artois. Her plan is to clear the path to the French throne for his brother Philippe, her own son-in-law. But their uncle Charles Valois has the same plans for himself - if Queen Clementia gives birth to a boy, he'll be regent. If a girl, who knows...Philippe ...
WARNING: REVIEW FULL OF SPOILERS(view spoiler)[Après la malédiction des trépas rapides, la malédiction de la médiocrité. “After the curse of the sudden deaths, the curse of mediocrity…” This poignant observation sums up the book’s plotline, and is told by the narrator, Cardinal Talleyrand-Périgor...
Read it a few years ago and loathed it, absolutely loathed it.I'll begin with a few things that I did like. The list of characters at the beginning is very helpful, and I like the system of 'Historical Notes' at the end of the novel, even if they're not always totally accurate (I don't know why t...
These are most noble enterprises, but they cannot be termed crusades. I am not at all sure that I shall consent to renew the tithe next year, and still less, Messire Count, that I shall agree to the supplementary subsidies that are being asked of me for the expedition.'Bouville took the blow hard...
From the castle to the gates, from the church to the town hall, the streets were crowded. There was joyful animation as people jostled each other in the alleys and taverns. Since morning, hangings had hung from the windows; the town-criers had announced that Monseigneur Philippe, Count of Poitier...
LA CAUCHE … There you are, I remembered it. The name I was looking for; the King of the Ribald. His is a curious office, which originated from an institution of Philip II Augustus. He had set up a corps of sergeants for his close guard, all giants, that were called the Ribaldi Regis, the Ribald o...
But the attack came from another quarter.There was one man present at the Assembly over whom no one had an ascendancy; he forgot the money with which he had been bought; noble blood failed to impress him, for his was of the best; he was not subject to force, for he could overturn a horse with his...