8. The Meet at Pont-Sainte-Maxence
9. A Great Shadow over the Kingdom
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:
PHILIP IV, called Philip the Fair, aged 46, grandson of Saint Louis.
HIS BROTHERS:
MONSEIGNEUR CHARLES, Count of Valois, Titular Emperor of Constantinople, Count of Romagna, aged 44.
MONSEIGNEUR LOUIS, Count of Evreux, about 40 years old.
HIS SONS:
LOUIS, King of Navarre, aged 25.
PHILIPPE, COUNT of Poitiers, aged 21.
CHARLES, aged 20.
HIS DAUGHTER:
ISABELLA, Queen of England, aged 22, wife of King Edward II.
HIS DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW:
MARGUERITE OF BURGUNDY, aged about 21, wife of Louis, daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, granddaughter of Saint Louis.
JEANNE OF BURGUNDY, aged about 21, daughter of the Count Palatine of Burgundy, wife to Philippe.
BLANCHE OF BURGUNDY, her sister, aged about 18, wife to Charles.
HIS MINISTERS AND JUSTICIARS:
ENGUERRAND LE PORTIER DE MARIGNY, aged 52, Coadjutor and Rector of the Kingdom.
GUILLAUME DE NOGARET, aged 54, Keeper of the Seals and Secretary-General of the Kingdom.
HUGUES DE BOUVILLE, Grand Chamberlain.
THE ARTOIS BRANCH, DESCENDED FROM A BROTHER OF SAINT LOUIS:
ROBERT III OF ARTOIS, Lord of Conches, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger, aged 27.
MAHAUT, his aunt, aged about 40, widow of the Count Palatine of Burgundy, Countess of Artois, a peer of France, mother of Jeanne and Blanche of Burgundy and cousin of Marguerite of Burgundy.
THE TEMPLARS:
JACQUES DE MOLAY, aged 71, Grand Master of the Order of Knights Templar.
GEOFFROY DE CHARNEY, Preceptor of Normandy.
EVERARD, one-time Knight of the Order of Templars.
THE LOMBARDS:
SPINELLO TOLOMEI, a Siennese banker living in Paris.
GUCCIO BAGLIONI, his nephew, aged about 18.
THE BROTHERS AUNAY:
GAUTIER, son of the Chevalier d’Aunay, aged about 23, Equerry to the Count of Poitiers.
PHILIPPE, his brother, aged about 21, Equerry to the Count of Valois.
THE CRESSAY FAMILY:
DAME ELIABEL, widow of the Squire of Cressay, aged about 40.
PIERRE AND JEAN, her sons, aged 20 and 22.
MARIE, her daughter, aged 16.
AND THESE:
JEAN DE MARIGNY, Archbishop of Sens, younger brother of Enguerrand de Marigny.
BEATRICE D’HIRSON, first lady-in-waiting to the Countess Mahaut, aged about 20.
The Grand Master felt surging within him one of those half-crazy rages which had so often come upon him in his prison, making him shout aloud and beat the walls. He felt that he was upon the point of committing some violent and terrible act – he did not know exactly what – but he felt the impulse to do something.
He accepted death almost as a deliverance, but he could not accept an unjust death, nor dying dishonoured. Accustomed through long years to war, he felt it stir for the last time in his old veins. He longed to die fighting.
He sought the hand of Geoffroy de Charnay, his old companion in arms, the last strong man still standing at his side, and