The Strangled Queen

The Strangled Queen
Maurice Druon

“This is the original Game of Thrones.” George R.R. Martin.The King is dead. Long live the King.With King Philip IV dead, and the Kingdom left in disarray, as the fatal curse of the Templars plagues the royal house of France.Imprisoned in Chateau Gaillard, Marguerite of Burgundy has fallen into disgrace. Her infidelity has left her estranged husband, Louis X King of France, with neither heir nor wife.The web of scandal, murder and intrigue that once wove itself around the Iron King continues to afflict his descendants, as the destruction of his dynasty continues at the hands of fate.

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 (#u09c9fd47-daa5-5993-aaa3-806d8ef995cd)

Epigraph (#ue545232c-df16-52ef-ab61-777986fc6ff6)

Foreword: George R.R. Martin (#u273fed3b-923b-5922-80b7-995f94fcc3dc)

The Characters in this Book (#u70e1c458-cf62-533e-97e8-c1f53f7d867c)

Family Tree (#u4920456a-5800-5367-bbf0-6e2b80a84c66)

Prologue (#uf1f7231c-4bbe-54d4-9d8f-81c0661bee52)

Part One: The Dawn of a Reign (#uaf0c145f-aa9d-5c00-b6a9-42326bd99a5a)

1. The Prisoners of Château-Gaillard (#u45975d51-b7c5-5032-a635-a2a73568a042)

2. Robert of Artois (#u1294fcd1-fe57-536e-a787-c8dd8b268869)

3. Shall She be Queen? (#ub14e378c-579d-548b-9b4d-b8d37747c896)

4. Long Live the King! (#uec1f2ef8-622d-529b-9380-9f834fd16721)

5. The Princess in Naples (#u798b41ab-5c9a-59cc-8ab5-0f3239f10d72)

6. The Royal Bed (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Two: Dog Eats Dog (#litres_trial_promo)

1. The Hutin’s First Council (#litres_trial_promo)

2. Marigny Remains Rector-General (#litres_trial_promo)

3. Charles of Valois (#litres_trial_promo)

4. Who Rules France? (#litres_trial_promo)

5. A Castle by the Sea (#litres_trial_promo)

6. Chasing Cardinals (#litres_trial_promo)

7. A Pope is Worth an Exoneration (#litres_trial_promo)

8. A Letter’s Fate (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Three: The Road to Montfaucon (#litres_trial_promo)

1. Famine (#litres_trial_promo)

2. Vincennes (#litres_trial_promo)

3. A Slaughter of Doves (#litres_trial_promo)

4. The Night Without a Dawn (#litres_trial_promo)

5. A Morning of Death (#litres_trial_promo)

6. The Fall of a Statue (#litres_trial_promo)

Footnotes (#litres_trial_promo)

Historical Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Author’s Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

By Maurice Druon (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

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.