Maurice Druon - The Poisoned Crown

‘History is a novel that has been lived’

E. & J. DE GONCOURT

‘It is terrifying to think how much research is needed to determine the truth of even the most unimportant fact’

STENDHAL

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Epigraph ‘History is a novel that has been lived’ E. & J. DE GONCOURT ‘It is terrifying to think how much research is needed to determine the truth of even the most unimportant fact’ STENDHAL

Foreword

The Characters in this Book

Family Tree

The Poisoned Crown

Prologue

Part One: France Awaits a Queen

1. Farewell to Naples

2. The Storm

3. The Hôtel-Dieu

4. Portents of Disaster

5. The King Receives the Oriflamme

6. The Muddy Army

7. The Philtre

8. A Country Wedding

Part Two: After Flanders, Artois

1. The Insurgents

2. The Countess of Poitiers

3. The Second Couple in the Kingdom

4. A Servant’s Friendship

5. The Fork and the Prie-dieu

6. Arbitration

Part Three: The Time of the Comet

1. The New Master of Neauphle

2. Dame Eliabel’s Reception

3. The Midnight Marriage

4. The Comet

5. The Cardinal’s Spell

6. ‘I Assume Control of Artois’

7. In the King’s Absence

8. The Monk is Dead

9. Mourning Comes to Vincennes

10. Tolomei Prays for the King

11. Who is to be Regent?

Footnotes

Historical Notes

Author’s Acknowledgements

By Maurice Druon

Copyright

About the Publisher

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 KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE:

LOUIS X, called THE HUTIN, great-grandson of Saint Louis, son of Philip IV, the Fair, and of Jeanne of Navarre, widower of Marguerite of Burgundy, aged 26.

HIS SECOND WIFE:

CLÉMENCE OF HUNGARY, a descendant of a brother of Saint Louis, granddaughter of Charles II of Anjou-Sicily and of Marie of Hungary, daughter of Charles Martel and sister of Charobert, King of Hungary, niece of King Robert of Naples, aged 22.