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Fortune de France #6
La Pique du jour
Ce n'est pas tout que d'avoir pris le si Henri IV veut « relever la fortune de France », il doit d'abord affermir son trône et pacifier le royaume. Amant d'une grande dame de la Cour, Pierre de Siorac se voit confier des missions tantôt guerrières, tantôt diplomatiques, souvent secrè convoi de fonds ou enquète sur les menées des jésuites... À Rome, il prend part aux subtiles intrigues vaticanes dont l'enjeu est l'absolution du roi; en Espagne, il voit mourir le dévot Philippe II dans le funèbre décor de l'Escurial...
636 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 1985
2 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Robert Merle
121 books266 followersBorn in Tebessa located in ,what was then, the French colony of Algeria. Robert Merle and his family moved to France in 1918. Merle wrote in many styles and won the Prix Goncourt for his novel Week-end à Zuydcoote. He has also written a 13 book series of historical novels, Fortune de France. Recreating 16th and 17th century France through the eyes of a fictitious Protestant doctor turned spy, he went so far as to write it in the period's French making it virtually untranslatable.
His novels Un animal doué de la raison (A Sentient Animal, 1967), a stark Cold War satire inspired by John Lilly's studies of dolphins and the Caribbean Crisis, and Malevil (1972), a post-apocalyptic story, were both translated into English and filmed, the former as Day of the Dolphin. The film The Day of the Dolphin bore very little resemblance to Merle's story.
He died of a heart attack at his home La Malmaison in Grosrouvre near Paris.
His novels Un animal doué de la raison (A Sentient Animal, 1967), a stark Cold War satire inspired by John Lilly's studies of dolphins and the Caribbean Crisis, and Malevil (1972), a post-apocalyptic story, were both translated into English and filmed, the former as Day of the Dolphin. The film The Day of the Dolphin bore very little resemblance to Merle's story.
He died of a heart attack at his home La Malmaison in Grosrouvre near Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 25, 2014
Great as all other Robert Merle's books of this series. Amazingly detailed descriptions of daily life and chores of people, relationships, morals, customs, intricacies of politics, high and low. The only thing, as my French prof said about 'Les rois maudits': "Too much sex. I suppose it was the case at that epoch, but I got really bored of it." Same here. Maybe more interesting the reader is a man, but for a woman such ease in love affairs and the use of women is disheartening. But let you appreciate more our modern times :)
June 26, 2022
Tome 6/13 des aventures du Marquis de Siorac espion et confident du roi Henri IV. A la fin de ce livre l’édit de Nantes est signé. La paix retrouvée. La Ligue écrasée. Siorac a 48 ans. Et l’envie de se reposer désormais. A suivre évidemment…
March 22, 2018
Plus l'intrigue se rapproche des événements reels, moins l'histoire trouve d’intérêt a mes yeux. Ce sera le dernier Fortune de France que je lirais (mais probablement pas le dernier Robert Merle)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews