The Accursed Kings Series Books 1-3: The Iron King, The Strangled Queen, The Poisoned Crown

These are fantastic historical novels. They're set in a very narrow time frame at the end of the House of Capet kings in France (1315-1330). Druon knows his French history, and most of the characters in the books are or were actual persons. The action and the politics involved are fascinating. Druon wrote these books in the 1950's and early 1960's. It took a while before translations from the French into English were available. He makes some interesting political observations along the way. Philip IV of France, along with his appointed court ministers, were working to centralize power in the French government. They were opposed to other centers of power--such as the Catholic Church (Philip IV was hoping to find a way where he would effectively designate the Pope), the Knights Templar (Philip IV would seize their treasury and arrest all of the Knights) and the various regional Barons, Counts, Dukes and such. In that regard they were a sort of early 14th century bunch of "progressives" seeking to consolidate power in the executive and royal government , and they were opposed by the "conservatives" who liked things the way they were, and wanted to retain their power. Now the reality is that these squabbles among and between the King and the local magnates (see also the War of the Roses in England between say 1460 and 1480) didn't much effect the peasantry--unless they were called up for service as foot soldiers, most of the dying and fighting was done by the middle and upper classes (knights, squires and such). In that regard these disputes remind me of the Godfather movies on a larger, country wide scale. They were battles for power. Druon makes some interesting political observations along the way. They are cogent, well worth reading, and don't interrupt the larger flow of the story. One of the observations that amused me involved life in medieval villages. Most of the people living in those villages were not directly involved in or impacted by the struggles among the barons. The fight was off somewhere else and they weren't interested. Druon, writing in the late 1950's observes that village life in North Africa and other parts of the fading French empire hadn't changed much and was not distinguishable from medieval village life. He was thinking of Algeria (Indochina had already been lost by then) and the Francophone colonies in West Africa. I'd posit that village life in Syria and rural Iraq today might be thought of that way---until warring forces sweep over the villages and destroy them.

If George R.R. Martin's endorsement isn't compelling enough, it's pretty hard to think that my recommendation will win the day but I'll give it a shot. A lot of historical novels struggle with the magnitude of the task: the vast sweep of interconnecting events, the need to explain the significance and complicated customs/ways of thinking that are bizarre to modern readers, and the challenge of making five characters from history — in a time where every third person was called Louis or Phillipe or Jean — distinctive individuals whose concerns are sufficiently engaging to make them stand out from each other in a story and keep the reader immersed in the events of their lives. These books do this; so much so that, upon finishing the third book, I immediately acquired the remaining books in the series. The author has managed to find key characters that can make the dry facts of history come alive and — even though we know how things turn out because this is history, not a fantasy with a pseudo-historical setting — personal. I once had a university professor claim that all of the great wars had, at their core, an instance of personal enmity. Reading these books has reminded me of his assertion. These books really do bring the times alive and show that, while people and politics remain consistent, the means they have at hand vary quite dramatically. There are few heads of state today who can have their arch enemies burned alive in the public square and it is a rare instance when someone has no hesitation in poisoning a head of state who is not to their liking. Books like this remind us that we live in different times and yet, that the things that drive us remain the same.

This is by far the best trilogy of history, that I have ever read in my life. Being American born and raised, I do believe that if these accounts are found to be true and accurate, this should be mandatory reading for World History and English Literature classes in high school. The grades would soar off of the charts. The characters are great, while you have all various types of personalities all politicking for their own personal agendas, you get to see the character flaws in each. I find this a great teaching tool for all. " What are you going to do with the power that you have?" , is the question that I asked my children as we read this trilogy. I can't wait to read the rest...

. . . titles of the first three of Druon’s eight novels re-creating lives of the Capet dynasty of France, ca. 1300, give a clear indication of the general plot of each. The Iron King is Phillip the Fair (Philip IV of France), a reformer shifting power in France from the old feudal system to a somewhat less rigid body politic that gave great power to a few able but low-born men eager to share power. Intrigues abound as those who lost power, wealth, and status under the Fair’s policies plot to recover what had been their feudal rights. The Strangled Queen is the wife of Philip’s son Louis, the Hutin, who comes to the throne following his wife’s discovered adultery and sentence of life imprisonment, heir-less and ill-advised by those who had suffered under his father’s rule. The Poisoned Crown follows the plot that results in Philip IV’s second son, Philippe, coming to the throne. Weaving through all three books is the side story of Tolomei, the Lombard banker, and his nephew Guccio, whose lives are spent lending money and collecting debts, falling in love, uniting a king’s daughter to the ruler of another kingdom, and holding secrets that give them increasing power and influence, survivability in the troubled times they navigate. The entire series is overshadowed by the curse of the Knights Templar, who had lost their riches, status, and many of their lives under the rule of The Iron King, the curse of the Templar Grand Master as he died on the flaming pyre, watched by all of the city of Paris, the curse extending to King Philip IV and his successors for thirteen generations, even including the Pope who had approved the persecution of the Templars. George R. R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones, credits The Accursed Kings as being the ‘original’ of his fantasy series. Good reading, both

This is a fascinating story and Druon is quite a good writer. Historical fiction fans will enjoy these novels. The constant unceasing royal intrigue is captivating and this is a tale largely new to non-French audiences. I would have given the books a higher rating but Druon, for some reason, spends way too much of the story on the travails of peripheral characters. With such a rich tapestry of French kings, conniving queens, intriguing ministers, English kings and several Popes, it's a shame so much of book three involves the romantic travails of a minor Italian banker. Anyone looking for Game of Thrones is likely to be disappointed, but there is a fantastic, well-told story here that affected history for several hundred years

I found these stories to be interesting. I have read a lot of English history and some French history , only from the 18th century, but not any before. I found it interesting to learn history from the 13 th century.

I stumbled on this series....and now have read 6 of the 7 books, with #7 queued up. The series recounts the French Capet dynasty from Phillip the Fair thru the end of his direct heirs. The daughter of Phillip the Fair marries Edward II of England. Lives of both dynasties become entwined. The fulcrum of the story is the enmity between an aunt and nephew, Mahaut and Robert of Artois. The dispute over who has ownership of the county drives much of the mayhem, and has major ramifications for the house of Capet. The translation is lovely. My favorite line is in one of the later books when Mahuat is described as "(arriving) like a catafalque, draped like a church in Passion Week." There is lots of sex, lots of violence, and amazing amounts of betrayal and double dealing. I found the series to be like potato chips -- I couldn't stop after just one. It will be difficult, after finishing book 7, to realize that is the end of the line.

Very well written and oh so real. It takes one deep into the world of 14th century French politics and the personalities that flavored it.

This is Medieval Machiavellian power politics at its absolute best. I first read these books twenty years ago and our old paperbacks have started to fall apart because they've been enjoyed by the many people who have borrowed them. I am now reading them again on Kindle and find them just as wonderful the second time around.Some characters you love, some you hate but they are all fascinating.

I am a history person and know a lot about the history of the British monarchy but very little of the French dynasties. They always seemed to be bit players in our history until the 100 years war. These 3 books in one purchase start with Philip V (the fair) known as the Iron King and then his son took the throne as Louis X. His wife Marguerite had been unfaithful to him so not sure about the paternity of his daughter Jeanne. He arranges to have her strangled in jail so that he can marry again and produce a legitimate heir. He marries Clemence of Hungary who seems a willing doormat and possible breeder but then Louis is poisoned by his aunt as Clemence is pregnant with an heir or heiress. In the final book, we find a squabble of who will be regent whilst Clemence prepares to give birth. Louis has two brothers, Philippe and Charles, two uncles Charles of Valois and Louis of Evreux and a cousin Robert of Artois all wanting to be head of the country. Philippe makes his move to consolidate his position and the in-fighting begins. I am so fixated on this that I have downloaded the other 4 books in the series. Well recommended!!1

This series of books was written in the 1950s but it is still as fresh as yesterday. Gripping stories of medieval France where queens are strangled, buckles are swashed and ones attention is held from beginning to end.

So much intrigue. Excellent books.

An excellent translation of Maurice Druon's first three books about the last Capetian kings of France and the road to the Hundred Years war between France and England. It is very lively, well-researched and has a huge cast of interesting characters. The only two downsides for me were that the author had neglected several important and interesting episodes that occurred during the course of the first three books and his portrayal and characterization of women is rather archaic (then again it was written nearly 70 years ago so it's not altogether surprising).