”When one has governed men for a long time, when one has thought that one has acted for the best, when one knows the pains the task has entailed, and then suddenly sees that one has never been either loved or understood, but merely submitted to, then one is overwhelmed with bitterness, and wonders whether one could not have found some better way of spending one’s life.”Philip IV, or as he is also known Philip the Fair, is dead. The curse that was cast upon him by the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay, while on his way to being burned at the stake, was fulfilled. Philip may have been known as The Fair, but in the case of the Templars it would be more accurate to call him Philip the Welcher. His father left the kingdom destitute. Philip borrowed a lot of money from the Templars but needed much more. He also didn’t like the idea of the Templars attempting to form their own country on the Island of Cyprus with uncertain loyalty to the French crown. Louis XEven with the confiscation of Templar money and assets, the son of Philip and the heir apparent, Louis X, found the treasury empty. Dire circumstances for a new king who also is still stinging from the recent adulterous scandal involving his wife Marguerite, his sister-in-law Blanche, and two handsome brothers. The brothers were broken on the rack and disposed of, but the issue of his wife and his sister-in-law remained a nagging problem. For now they are locked up in a drafty castle with the hope that with a poor diet and poor conditions they will succumb to disease. ”He was a king and knew not how to reign; he was a man and knew not how to live; he was married and had no wife.” Don’t be fooled by the pius appearance of Marguerite here. Her lustful dalliance not only cost her the chance to be Queen of France, but also cost her her life. Meanwhile, he has people trying to settle the question of the next Pope. Louis wants an annulment from Marguerite so he can marry Princess Clemence of Hungary, but the cardinals are being difficult, and no one seems to be able to come up with enough bribes to determine who will be the next Pope. No Pope, no annulment, no princess. His uncle, the Count of Valois, sees an opportunity to break his arch rival Enguerrand Marigny who was left in charge of the treasury. He also sees an opportunity to undo many of the laws that Philip had put in place to keep the country peaceful and give some rights to peasants. The nobles were finding these laws most constrictive. Louis is much more worried about finding a new bed warmer than he is about the laws his father passed. He signs a new charter allowing the kingdom to slid back into a feudal state. Things do not work out well for Enguerrand Marigny.The country is suffering from a drought; food is scarce, and the population is becoming restless. When the stew pots aren’t brewing, the conspiracy cauldrons become warm. The once proud, reckless, and disobedient Marguerite has reached the end of her rope. The title alone of this book betrays her fate. The intrigues of others insure that any options she has will not reach the ears of those who care. The insecurities and ineptitudes of Louis X could prove fatal for himself, but also for his kingdom. Maurice Druon looking more regal than the subjects of his novels.George R. R. Martin has endorsed this series. He found the plots, betrayals, and intrigues of the Maurice Druon’s writing fertile ground to expand his own imagination. The influence of Druon’s historical fiction series on Martin is easy to see for those that have watched Game of Thrones. Druon does a great job of staying within the confines of actual history although a few liberties here and there do help move the plot along. I’m looking forward to book three, although I’m a little worried about poor Louis. The title is The Poisoned Crown. With two brothers and an ambitious uncle, I would suggest that Louis sleep with one eye open and pay his cook very well. A delightful and entertaining series!If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.comI also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
While the plot of the novel is pretty obvious, it still makes a very interesting read. King Philip IV is dead and France is in turmoil as the Grand Master of Templar’s curse seemed to work quite mysteriously.Louis, his first born ascends the throne as the King though his disgraced wife and Queen Marguerite of Burgundy is still imprisoned. With no possible way out to get an annulment (as there was no Pope), Louis’s reign is fraught with controversies and the power struggle between his uncle Valois and Enguerrand de Marigny. Valois seeks to get his nephew (the King) to be married to his own niece while this is opposed by Marigny whose machinations leave Europe without a Pope.Louis is definitely unhinged and has none of the brilliance that his father possessed (I could see shades of GOT Joffery Baratheon in him). You could also understand why Marguerite strayed away from their marriage to find love elsewhere. Poor Marguerite is a pitiful character in this novel. She almost got out of her prison only to be strangled by the power play of Marigny, thus justifying the title.The power struggle between Marigny and Valois is very interesting to read and one really gets a glimpse of how the medieval world worked. Tyrion Lannister’s quote is very apt when he says, “The powerful have always preyed on the powerless. That’s how they became powerful in the first place.” Valois can’t stand the sight of Marigny because he is an up jumped steward while Marigny finds Valois to be overbearing and obnoxious and his influence on Loius irks him to no end.Marigny hands over the care of treasury to Valois and troubles pile up for the King. The treasury is empty and with the conclave not electing a Pope anytime sooner, he can’t annul his marriage. Valois in the meanwhile has found the perfect bride for Louis who will not wait for more than a few months. That’s when Loius comes up with the plan of doing away with his wife and Robert of Artois hurries to curry his favour by getting rid of her.After Marguerite’s death, Louis is free to marry but with the treasury empty they had to take a loan from the Lombard bankers to buy bridal gifts for Clemence of Hungary (which is quite pathetic if you ask me).Read the complete review here
What do You think about The Strangled Queen (1985)?
The Iron King is dead but his successor, Louis X, is a weak and insecure man. Thus the centre cannot hold as powerful men conspire to gain, or maintain, power. The chief pawn in this game is the Royal Succession - the king must have a new wife who can breed a dynasty... but there's a problem. The king has a wife, Margaret, imprisoned for adultery (a source of burning shame for the cuckold Louis) and getting rid of her is not going to be easy."The Strangled Queen" (now THERE'S a spoiler for you!) is not centred on Margaret, as one might be led to believe, but rather on the (at times) desperate struggle for power between Louis' uncle, Charles of Valois, and Enguerrand de Marigny, the dead king's right hand. The story is intriguing as each tries to gain the upper hand and others play their not-unimportant part in the struggle. Cardinals, Popes and bankers all have their role... and hanging over all is the curse of the Templars. Once again, Druon has written a book that glues itself to your hand as you gorge on the feast of intrigue, deception and cold-blooded, political murder that plays itself out before you. The Middle Ages come to life like a multi-coloured tapestry playing out before you like some television drama. Wonderful stuff!
—Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk
Derivado de que es un poco menos extenso que el primer libro y que ya conocía a los personajes, no me pareció difícil de leer.En fin, este libro empieza justamente donde el primero ha terminado, el rey ha muerto, y su primogénito heredará el poder, el príncipe conocido como "Luis el Obstinado", quién aparentemente no tiene la fuerza y el carácter para gobernar, además, la esposa y ahora casi reina, ha sido acusada (y no sólo acusada, sino que es culpable) de adulterio, por lo que se encuentra enclaustrada en una torre, donde esperan que permanezca de por vida.Este volumen está lleno de intrigas y luchas de poder, mientras varios personajes intentan manipular al rey, a quién lo único que le interesa es anular su matrimonio para poder casarse nuevamente, y dejar en el olvido la traición de la que fue objeto.El libro termina con una desgracia más, cómo el título lo dice, con una reina estrangulada en el calabozo, todo para que el rey pueda continuar con sus deseos de casarse nuevamente.Terminó muy interesante este libro, definitivamente debo conseguir los que le siguen a esta serie.
—Rodrigo Campos
This is written in a style that was old was I was young. It seems factual in detail, but somehow pulls you out of the path of the action by context asides and philosophy nuance. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case with translation or pace result, it seems stilted. But that is so much better than being revisionist to today's sensibilities, that I only mention the resulting choppiness as it took a star for me. But this is a thorough telling of Queen Marguerite, wife of Louis X and the numerous under players to their drama. Most of the crux is tied within character driven agendas to those under players. The politico and strategies are not that far distant from Game of Thrones, at all. Real history holds as much tragedy as the fiction.
—Jeanette
