The Strangled Queen. Морис Дрюон

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      The Strangled Queen

       Book Two of The Accursed Kings

      MAURICE DRUON

      Translated from French by Humphrey Hare

      ‘History is a novel that has been lived’

      E. & J. DE GONCOURT

      Contents

       Title Page

       Epigraph

       Foreword: George R.R. Martin

       The Characters in this Book

       Family Tree

       Prologue

       Part One: The Dawn of a Reign

       1. The Prisoners of Château-Gaillard

       2. Robert of Artois

       3. Shall She be Queen?

       4. Long Live the King!

       5. The Princess in Naples

       6. The Royal Bed

       Part Two: Dog Eats Dog

       1. The Hutin’s First Council

       2. Marigny Remains Rector-General

       3. Charles of Valois

       4. Who Rules France?

       5. A Castle by the Sea

       6. Chasing Cardinals

       7. A Pope is Worth an Exoneration

       8. A Letter’s Fate

       Part Three: The Road to Montfaucon

       1. Famine

       2. Vincennes

       3. A Slaughter of Doves

       4. The Night Without a Dawn

       5. A Morning of Death

       6. The Fall of a Statue

       Footnotes

       Historical Notes

       Author’s Acknowledgements

       By Maurice Druon

       Copyright

       About the Publisher

      Foreword

      GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

      Over the years, more than one reviewer has described my fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, as historical fiction about history that never happened, flavoured with a dash of sorcery and spiced with dragons. I take that as a compliment. I have always regarded historical fiction and fantasy as sisters under the skin, two genres separated at birth. My own series draws on both traditions … and while I undoubtedly drew much of my inspiration from Tolkien, Vance, Howard, and the other fantasists who came before me, A Game of Thrones and its sequels were also influenced by the works of great historical novelists like Thomas B. Costain, Mika Waltari, Howard Pyle … and Maurice Druon, the amazing French writer who gave us the The Accursed Kings, seven splendid novels that chronicle the downfall of the Capetian kings and the beginnings of the Hundred Years War.

      Druon’s novels have not been easy to find, especially in English translation (and the seventh and final volume was never translated into English at all). The series has twice been made into a television series in France, and both versions are available on DVD … but only in French, undubbed, and without English subtitles. Very frustrating for English-speaking Druon fans like me.

      The Accursed Kings has it all. Iron kings and strangled queens, battles and betrayals, lies and lust, deception, family rivalries, the curse of the Templars, babies switched at birth, she-wolves, sin, and swords, the doom of a great dynasty … and all of it (well, most of it) straight from the pages of history. And believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets.

      Whether you’re a history buff or a fantasy fan, Druon’s epic will keep you turning pages. This was the original game of thrones. If you like A Song of Ice and Fire, you will love The Accursed Kings.

      George R.R. Martin

      The Characters in this Book

      THE KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE:

      LOUIS X, called The Hutin, son of Philip IV, the Fair, great-grandson of Saint Louis, aged 25.

      HIS BROTHERS:

      MONSEIGNEUR PHILIPPE, Count of Poitiers, a peer of France, aged 21.

      MONSEIGNEUR CHARLES, Count of La Marche, aged 20.

      HIS UNCLES:

      MONSEIGNEUR CHARLES, Count of Valois, titular Emperor of Constantinople,