The Lily and the Lion

Part III: Decline and Fall (#litres_trial_promo)

1. The Phantom Bait (#litres_trial_promo)

2. The Axe in Nottingham (#litres_trial_promo)

3. To the Common Gallows (#litres_trial_promo)

4. A Bad Day (#litres_trial_promo)

5. Conches (#litres_trial_promo)

6. The Wicked Queen (#litres_trial_promo)

7. The Tournament at Evreux (#litres_trial_promo)

8. The Honour of a Peer and the Honour of a King (#litres_trial_promo)

9. The Tolomei (#litres_trial_promo)

10. The Seat of Justice (#litres_trial_promo)

Part IV: The War-Brand (#litres_trial_promo)

1. The Outlaw (#litres_trial_promo)

2. Westminster Hall (#litres_trial_promo)

3. The Defiance at the Tower of Nesle (#litres_trial_promo)

4. Windsor (#litres_trial_promo)

5. The Heron and the Oath (#litres_trial_promo)

6. The Walls of Vannes (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue: 1354–62 (#litres_trial_promo)

1. The Road to Rome (#litres_trial_promo)

2. The Night at the Capitol (#litres_trial_promo)

3. ‘We, Cola di Rienzi …’ (#litres_trial_promo)

4. Jean I, The Unknown (#litres_trial_promo)

Footnotes (#litres_trial_promo)

Historical Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Author’s Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

By Maurice Druon (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Foreword (#ulink_74b5a7e2-1184-545a-b43d-28ea3fc8d546) 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 (#ulink_42c3ad93-82d3-5fe3-90e6-448375f667ec)

THE HOUSE OF FRANCE:

The King: PHILIPPE VI OF VALOIS, great-grandson of Saint Louis, nephew of Philip the Fair, eldest son of Count Charles of Valois and his first wife, Marguerite of Anjou-Sicily, aged 35.

The Queen: JEANNE OF BURGUNDY, called the Lame, grand-daughter of Saint Louis, sister of Duke Eudes IV and of the late Queen Marguerite of Burgundy, aged 33.

Their Eldest Son: JEAN, Duke of Normandy, the future King JEAN II, the Good, aged 9.

The Dowager Queens: JEANNE OF EVREUX, daughter of Louis of France, Count of Evreux, and niece of Philip the Fair, third wife and widow of King Charles IV, the Fair, aged about 25.

JEANNE OF BURGUNDY, called the Widow, daughter of Mahaut of Artois and wife of the late King Philippe V, the Long, aged 35.

THE HOUSE OF ENGLAND:

The King: EDWARD III PLANTAGENET, son of Edward II and Isabella of France, aged 16.

The Queen: PHILIPPA OF HAINAUT, second daughter of Count Guillaume of Hainaut and Jeanne of Valois, aged 14.

The Queen Mother: ISABELLA OF FRANCE, widow of Edward II, daughter of Philip the Fair, aged 36.

The King’s Relatives: HENRY, called Wryneck,

Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, aged 47.

EDMUND, Earl of Kent, uncle of King Edward III, aged 27.

THE HOUSE OF NAVARRE: