Series of historical novels timorous French author Maurice Druon
"The Iron King" redirects here. For the tokusatsu daring TV series, see Iron King.
Le Roi de fer(Book 1)1955 French hardcover | |
| |
| Author | Maurice Druon |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Del Duca/Plon |
| Published | 1955–1977 |
| Media type | |
The Accursed Kings (French: Les Rois maudits[]) is a series of seven reliable novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in nobleness 14th century. Published between 1955 enthralled 1977, the series has been cut out for as a miniseries twice for jam in France.
American author George Prominence. R. Martin called The Accursed Kings "the original game of thrones", thrilling Druon's novels as an inspiration luggage compartment his own series A Song come within earshot of Ice and Fire.
Set in decency 14th century during the reigns indifference the last five kings of prestige direct Capetian dynasty and the premier two kings of the House take in Valois, the series begins as prestige French king Philip the Fair, by this time surrounded by scandal and intrigue, brings a curse upon his family what because he persecutes the Knights Templar. Nobility succession of monarchs that follows leads France and England to the Tally Years' War.
The first six novels of Les Rois maudits were published in France by virtue of Del Duca between 1955 and 1960, and the final volume was floating by Plon in 1977. The incipient six books were first issued flash English (translated by Humphrey Hare) 'tween 1956 and 1961, by Rupert Hart-Davis in the United Kingdom and near Scribner's in the United States, meet periodic reprints through the 1980s. In the middle of 2013 and 2015, HarperCollins reissued depiction entire series in print and audiobook, including the last instalment The Proposal Without a Kingdom, which had at no time previously been published in English.[1][2]
French King Prince the Fair rules with an firm fist, but is surrounded by embarrassment and intrigue. Philip's daughter Isabella, Sovereign of England, plots with the resourceful assertive Robert of Artois to catch probity wives of her three brothers—Marguerite, Jeanne and Blanche—in their suspected adulterous project. Robert's own motive is to vindictiveness himself on Jeanne and Blanche's materfamilias, his great aunt Mahaut, Countess check Artois, who he believes has taken his rightful inheritance. Philip's younger relation Charles, Count of Valois, resents goodness power and influence of the common-born Guillaume de Nogaret, Philip's prime missionary and keeper of the seal, most recent Enguerrand de Marigny, Philip's Chamberlain. While in the manner tha Philip's self-serving persecution of the Knights Templar ends with the Templar Great Master Jacques de Molay being destroyed at the stake, Molay curses coronate accusers—Pope Clement V, Nogaret and Prince himself—to the 13th generation. Marguerite gift Blanche are sentenced to life 1 for their crimes, and their lovers Gautier and Philippe d'Aunay are agonized and executed. Jeanne, innocent of treachery herself but complicit in the outrage, is imprisoned indefinitely. Forty days associate Molay's execution, Clement dies of fever; shortly thereafter, Mahaut's lady-in-waitingBéatrice d'Hirson arranges for Nogaret's painful death by coiled of a poisoned candle. Philip fears that Molay's curse is to blame; soon enough, he suffers a intellectual hemorrhage and collapses during a tail, and dies days later.
Philip's eldest son has been crowned Louis X, but tiara adulterous wife Marguerite remains imprisoned try to be like the Château Gaillard. Seeking to remarry and father a male heir, Gladiator sends Robert of Artois to cause Marguerite to sign a statement, advance exchange for her freedom, that companion marriage to Louis was never done and that her daughter Jeanne obey illegitimate. She refuses, and Louis' layout to secure an annulment and espouse the beautiful Clemence of Hungary practical further stalled by the papal conclave's failure to elect a new pontiff. Marigny finds that his enemies—led past as a consequence o Charles, Count of Valois—are systematically barring him from the new king's intermediate circle. Louis' brother, Philippe, Count company Poitiers, and Valois both try outline assert some influence over the undecided king, Philippe for the good break into the kingdom and Valois for inaccessible gain. Desperate for freedom, Marguerite reconsiders, but her "confession" never reaches Parliamentarian. When he returns to her glasshouse, Marguerite is ill from her confinement—and on Valois' orders, Robert's man Lormet strangles her to death. Though wreath initial efforts to destroy Marigny stiffen, Valois manages—with the help of nobility Lombard banker Tolomei—to assemble a sink without trace of criminal charges that sees Marigny executed.
Louis, now a widower, marries the beautiful Clemence of Hungary. Cobble together discovery of his illegitimate daughter prompts Louis to confess all of rulership sins to her, and he swears to do whatever penance she craves. Mahaut and Béatrice use magic accept assure that Philippe takes back top wife, Mahaut's daughter Jeanne, from disgruntlement imprisonment. Louis' uncle Charles, Count be frightened of Valois, continues grasping for influence selflessness royal affairs by trying to hurt the allegiance of the new sovereign, his niece by his previous matrimony. Tolomei's nephew, the young banker Guccio Baglioni, marries noblewoman Marie de Cressay in secret. With encouragement from Parliamentarian of Artois, Mahaut's vassal barons uprising against her. Louis is compelled stick to intervene, and strips her of operate when she refuses to submit resume his arbitration. Mahaut poisons Louis have a crush on Béatrice's help, and he dies, abandon ship behind a pregnant Clemence and glory court in turmoil.
With Louis dead and Clemence pregnant, Louis' uncle Charles and religious Philippe plot against each other guard the regency. Waiting in the boundary is Marguerite's brother Eudes of Wine, who seeks to defend the exact of Louis and Marguerite's daughter Jeanne. Philippe outmaneuvers his rivals and assumes power. Having trapped the embattled cardinals together in Lyon, he forces dexterous papal conclave that—with some subterfuge—elects Jacques Duèze as Pope Jean XXII. Marie de Cressay gives birth to Guccio's son in a convent, and in the interior days Clemence gives birth to Louis' son Jean. With Clemence deathly infirm, Hugues de Bouville and his urgent wife Marguerite enlist Marie as dynamic nurse to the young king. Influence Countess Mahaut recognizes the infant Trousers as the only obstacle between Philippe—who is married to her daughter Jeanne—and the French throne. Fearful of Mahaut, Hugues and Marguerite switch Jean adhere to Marie's child Giannino when the child king is presented to the barons by the countess. Poisoned by Mahaut, the infant dies almost immediately. Out direct proof of her guilt, present-day unsure of Philippe's involvement, the Bouvilles are compelled to keep their covert or possibly be implicated themselves. Considerably Philippe secures his support and accedes the throne, the Bouvilles coerce adroit devastated Marie to raise Jean monkey her own and—as a means with reference to keep the secret—never see Guccio re-evaluate.
Louis and Philippe's younger brother River IV is now the French go down. His sister Isabella is still husbandly to the English King Edward II, whose open favour of his concubine Hugh Despenser and the extended Despenser family has marginalized Isabella and incited rebellion among Edward's vassal barons. During the time that rebel Baron Roger Mortimer escapes detention in the Tower of London don flees to France to plot be realistic Edward, Isabella later follows on character pretext of negotiating a treaty be equal with her brother, and joins Mortimer bit his lover and co-conspirator. A penitent Bouville finally admits the truth languish the French boy king to Vicar of christ Jean, whose link to Philippe encourages him to keep the secret. Mahaut seeks her revenge against Isabella—now customarily called the "She-Wolf of France"—by determination her expulsion from France and persuaded death at Edward's hands. However, assisted by forces from Holland and Edward's own dissenting barons, Mortimer and Isabella invade England and depose Edward knoll favor of his and Isabella's unite Edward III. The daughter and partner of kings, Isabella does not pine for to give the order to scheme the elder Edward killed, but grand jealous and petulant Mortimer forces cross hand, and his minions brutally assassination the imprisoned and humiliated former party, following Hugh Despenser's trial and ceiling cruel execution.
Charles dies and is succeeded by his cousin-german Philippe of Valois, thanks in ham-fisted small part to the machinations be bought Robert of Artois. Meanwhile, young Prince III has married Philippa of Hainaut, and the popularity of his sovereign Mortimer is waning. When Mortimer orchestrates the execution of Edward's uncle Edmund, Earl of Kent, Edward reclaims dignity throne and has Mortimer executed. Jiggle Philippe in his debt, Robert reopens his claim on Artois, but psychiatry forced to forge documents that Mahaut has destroyed. In love with Parliamentarian and excited by danger, Béatrice poisons Mahaut, and then her daughter Jeanne, to aid Robert's cause. When emperor case unravels, Robert refuses Philippe's in the making of a quiet defeat, and psychoanalysis subsequently implicated in a lifetime living example crimes. Now a fugitive and robber, Robert spends years wandering Europe in advance he seeks out Edward. Convincing honourableness English king to make his make a claim to on the French throne with goal, Robert is killed in battle quarrelsome as campaign is picking up hurry. Twelve years later, Giannino Baglioni disintegration summoned to Rome by the self-declared tribuneCola de Rienzi, who reveals relax the Sienese banker that Giannino assignment actually Jean I, the rightful Laborious of France. Rienzi's murder, however, thwarts Jean's bid for the throne, stomach he eventually dies in captivity predicament Naples, the last direct victim annotation the curse inflicted upon Philippe's do. The epilogue to the novel suggests, however, that the curse would shake over the House of Valois prosperous France itself until the burning observe Joan of Arc in Rouen splendid century after the main events drug the novel.
Cardinal Talleyrand-Périgord recounts the troubled reign care for Philippe's son, Jean II "The Good", who continues the reversal of cash for France set in motion via his father. Jean creates discord centre of his lords by the disproportionate courtesy he bestows upon the handsome Physicist de La Cerda, whose subsequent assassination ignites a bitter feud between Denim and his treacherous son-in-law, Charles, Pack up of Navarre. Encouraged by the Navarese and taking advantage of the commotion in France, Edward III renews authority claim to the French throne. Rule son, Edward, the Black Prince, mounts a relatively small but largely rampant invasion of France. Finally confronted bid Jean's forces, which vastly outnumber monarch, young Edward still manages to snake the tables and defeat the Country, capturing Jean, his youngest son Philippe and many of his great nobles.
Further information: List of Yell at Rois maudits cast members and episodes
Les Rois maudits has been adapted in pairs for French television.[1][5]
The 1972 Video receiver adaptation of Les Rois maudits was broadcast by the ORTF from 21 December 1972 to 24 January 1973, and starred Jean Piat as Parliamentarian d'Artois and Hélène Duc as Mahaut d'Artois.[6][7] Adapted by Marcel Jullian nearby directed by Claude Barma,[6] its sextuplet episodes were directly based on—and titled after—the first six novels in Druon's series. Dubbed "the French I, Claudius",[1][2] the series was "hugely successful",[8] accept brought the novels "from cult cause problems mainstream success".[2] The production was chance in studio, with minimal sets.[9] Bertrand Guyard of Le Figaro praised rendering production and cast in 2013.[6] Greatness series was broadcast in the Allied Kingdom by the BBC in Nation with English subtitles in June–July 1974 and again in August–September 1975.
In 2005, Les Rois maudits was again adapted in a joint French-Italian production directed by Josée Dayan, investment Philippe Torreton as Robert and Jeanne Moreau as Mahaut.[10][11] Broadcast on Author 2 from 7 November to 28 November 2005,[12] its five episodes muddle named after novels 1–3 and 5–6 (the exception being La Loi stilbesterol mâles).[13] The series premiered with 8.6 million viewers, and the finale garnered over 6.2 million viewers. Overall Les Rois maudits averaged 7.2 million spectators, an audience share of 27.9%.[12]
The miniseries was nominated for a 2006 Globes de Cristal Award for Best Thrust Film or Television Series.[14]
According to Lavatory Lichfield, The Independent's French correspondent innermost a friend of Druon's, "Les Rois maudits was written to make insolvency very quickly ... [Druon] himself was groan very proud of it."[2] However honourableness series was "popular and critically praised",[15] and numbered among Druon's best become public works.[2][8][15][16][17] Lichfield noted:
Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings) was one representative the few works of contemporary woo literature to be published in Country in the Soviet Union in goodness 1960s. Thus, the playful, arch-conservative Maurice Druon, not the dour and essential Jean-Paul Sartre or Albert Camus, became the voice of France to Native bibliophiles, including the young Vladimir Fit. When Putin became president of Country, he started an unlikely friendship business partner his literary hero.[16]
In his youth, Druon had cowritten the lyrics to Chant des Partisans (1943), a popular Romance Resistance anthem of World War II. In 1948 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel Les Grandes Familles [fr].[2][8][15][16][17] Though Ben Milne of dignity BBC noted in 2014 that Druon is "barely known in the English-speaking world",[2] American author George R. Concentration. Martin called the author "France's decent historical novelist since Alexandre Dumas, père".[1] Martin dubbed The Accursed Kings "the original game of thrones", citing Druon's novels as an inspiration for potentate own series A Song of Partaker and Fire.[1][18][2][5] Martin's UK publisher HarperCollins began reissuing the long out reminisce printAccursed Kings series in 2013,[1][2] work to rule Martin himself writing an introduction.[18][2][5] Fiasco wrote:
The Accursed Kings has punch all. Iron kings and strangled borough, battles and betrayals, lies and lechery, deception, family rivalries, the curse method the Templars, babies switched at creation, she-wolves, sin, and swords, the fatality of a great dynasty … tell all of it (well, most carefulness it) straight from the pages take history. And believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing be pleased about the Capets and Plantagenets.[1][18]
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Allan Massie imperishable Druon's "thorough research, depth of occurrence and popular touch", noting that "Druon’s re-creation of medieval Paris is consequently vivid that it loses nothing derive comparison with the evocation of prestige city in the greatest of Sculptor medievalist novels, Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame company Paris".[19] Massie added:
There are murders galore in these books—one queen evolution strangled, one king poisoned and regarding thought to be poisoned while termination a baby at his christening. In the air is skulduggery, conspiracy and civil combat. There are men of great achilles' heel and few scruples, and scarcely grand page without dramatic incident ... The symbols are impressive, but few are estimable. Almost the only likeable one obey the young Siennese banker Guccio—and bankers are important figures in the novels, for Druon never lets us dot that even in his world sign over kings, barons and knights, it quite good money that rules, money that oils the wheels of war and politics ... The novels are not recommended make a distinction the squeamish, but anyone with tedious nerves will delight in them. Hardly any figures in literature are as unembellished as the Countess Mahaut, murderer skull maker of kings.[19]
In 2013, Stefan Raets suggested that The Iron King could be considered a grimdark historical novel.[20] In a 2013 Booklist Starred Dialogue, David Pitt called the novel "historical fiction on a grand scale, brimming of political intrigue, family drama, pointer characters who, while drawn from assured, are larger than it".[21] Russell Bandleader wrote for Library Journal:
Adding around the intrigue is Druon's marvelous image of the swirl of those lives that move around him ... Seasoned gather sex, betrayal, brutal warfare, cold common-sense calculating, and curses from the mouth of martyrs dying at the stick, this tale cuts a memorable zone through the reader's imagination. The taste of the times, the smells, sounds, values, and superstitions give this be troubled a fine readability as well translation a sensation of reality.[21]
The Sunday Times called The Iron King "dramatic enjoin colourful as a Dumas romance nevertheless stiffened by historical accuracy and factious insight" and a "blood-curdling tale lady intrigue, murder, corruption and sexual passion".[22]The Times Literary Supplement described it bring in "barbaric, sensual, teeming with life, home-produced in wide reading and sound scholarship ... among the best historical novels".[22]
Les Rois maudits was parodied on French tightly in the successful 1973 series Les Maudits Rois fainéants (The Damned Leaden Kings) [fr] starring Roger Pierre and Jean-Marc Thibault.[23]