The Accursed Kings Series: The Iron King / The Strangled Queen / The Poisoned Crown

The Accursed Kings #1-3

by Maurice Druon

“This is the original Game of Thrones.” George R.R. Martin.

A collection of the first three books in Maurice Druon’s epic historical fiction series, The Accursed Kings.

“Accursed! Accursed! You shall be accursed to the thirteenth generation!”

The Iron King – Philip the Fair – is as cold and silent, as handsome and unblinking as a statue. He governs his realm with an iron hand, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak and their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men.

A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich and powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty…

This bundle collects the first three novels of The Accursed Kings: THE IRON KING, THE STRANGLED QUEEN and THE POISONED CROWN.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, France, Medieval, French Literature

727 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Maurice Druon was born in Paris. He is the nephew of the writer Joseph Kessel, with whom he wrote the Chant des Partisans, which, with music composed by Anna Marly, was used as an anthem by the French Resistance during the Second World War.

In 1948 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel Les grandes familles. On December 8, 1966, he was elected to the 30th seat of the Académie française, succeeding Georges Duhamel.

While his scholarly writing earned him a seat at the Académie, he is best known for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1950s under the title Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings).

He was Minister of Cultural Affairs in 1973 and 1974 in Pierre Messmer's cabinet, and a deputy of Paris from 1978 to 1981.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Książkowe Bajdurzenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Król z żelaza 4,25/5 ⭐
Zamordowana Królowa 4/5 ⭐
Trucizna Królewska 3,5/5 ⭐

[Olga Kowalska (WielkiBuk) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so positively surprised by this book! I don't know exactly what I've expected, but I got so much more! First of all, I thought this is a fantasy novel - it is not - this is pure historical fiction based on real history of France. And you know what? This is so true that sometimes life is much more fascinating than fiction - games, schemes, secret plans and above all: LOVE, because it is a truth universally acknowledged that most conspiracies begin in bed ;)
Oh! And everything starts with a Templar's curse!

[Sandrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess that I bought this book because of George RR Martin's saying that this series were the original 'Game of Thrones'. After reading the first 3 books I can say that I'm liking this series better than GOT, O.K. the epic fantasy element is gone but all the rest is there and it goes to the point and won't make you read 300 pages where little moves on.
(Still, I am anxiously waiting for the release of the final GOT books :) )

I have bought the first book (The Iron King) in the original French and comparing some sections I have noticed that the English translation sometimes is not the best, awkward sentences and some strange renderings. Just one little example, on the French version we read about the Templar attire, a white mantle with a the red cross and in the English it says it is a black cross: "..endosser le long manteau blanc à croix rouge ..." -> "..wearing the long white mantle with the black cross...".

Mr. Druon brought to life all those ancient historical characters in a superb way. You can feel their love, fear, hatred. All of it on a much higher level than in GOT which makes up for the lack of dragons.

You will learn about how people lived in those times, what they ate, what they wore, their religious beliefs and superstitions, etc. I never thought that reading history could be this fun!

[Lesyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding trilogy

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...

[Teresa]

History is a novel that has been lived.
-- E & J de Goncourt

The France of 1314 is not a very safe place to live, for Kings, Queens, Courtiers, or Peasants. If the famine won't get you, the Court politics will. The author, Maurice Druon, took an obscure, but important, time in Frence history and made a wonderful set of books based on it.

The "Iron King", King Philip IV, sends the Knights Templars to the stake. The head Templar curses him "to the thirteenth generation of your line". Well, he was right, the Kings sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are all a problem - as these books show. The consequences of the actions in these books lead us to Marie Antoinette and her Louis on their scaffold.

I had my Wikipedia open the whole time I was reading these books. I love that almost all the characters are based on real life people. It is historical fiction at it's finest.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this interesting and beautifully written trilogy about the early ( 14th. Century) kings of France in stages, one book at a time over a few months finishing it today.
All three books in the trilogy, three of a longer series, are worth reading for those readers who really enjoy historical fiction of a serious, as opposed to romantic, type. These kings of France, and those who populate the Royal Court are not particularly likeable. Treachery, venality and cruelty was natural to them. But they are fascinating.
I thought that the first two books were better than the last one, shift was the shortest, intended to be a bridge to the next parts of the story of medieval Feance's royal struggles. All were good.
Recommended for lovers of history written in a way that illuminates a distant period, with interesting detail.

[Eugene Braginets · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book based on the real historical facts and one day has inspired George Martin for his Games of Thrones. As he said "those are real game of thrones!".
And, IMHO, it is far better - more dramatical and unpredictable than any fictioan.
On my next visit to Paris after this book, I found that French history started to play with all its colours to me: now all those intrigues and palace secrets make much more sense to me ;)
Was funny to discuss some historical anecdotes with our french guide, he was quite impressed and asked for the book title, where I have read all that ;)

[Alis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need the rest of the books ASAP 😭

[Paul Burnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Iron King, The Strangled Queen, & The Poisoned Crown. . . 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 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.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Iron King, but I didn't care for the way Druon just told me what his characters' motivations were instead of showing me. Perhaps because this is the second in the series, and characters are already established, there was far less of that. What did strike me, however, is that Druon doesn't seem to know how to write a young woman. His depiction of Mahaut is interesting; I'd like to read more about her because she shows some character. But the way he writes Marguerite and Blanche, Marie de Cressay, and Clemence of Hungary is a bit dull. They all appear to live for nothing other than love or their romantic idea of it. The older women, such as Marie's mother or Clemence's grandmother, Marie of Hungary, have more dimension. Of course, one can argue that young woman of the time had few options, and marriage was generally it, so much of their attention would be focused on that aspect of their life, while older women--who presumably have married and had children--would begin to expand their interests and pay attention to other matters. There's some justice in that, but the idea that none of the young women in the book see beyond the marital/romantic is disappointing. Certainly Marguerite and Blanche, incarcerated and abandoned, have the greatest cause to be focused only on themselves and their loneliness. But they weren't particularly well-rounded in The Iron King, either.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this as a library book on Kindle and that's a good book for reading electronically, unfortunately, the library has only the first book (Accursed Kings) in this series . Maurice Druon who lived a long life (1918-2009) wrote the series between 1955-1977. It's a great story which doesn't need any fictionalization to make these real-life characters and their times, late 1200-early 1300s, crazy and interesting. It falls into " you can't make this up ..." Kings whose wives are found in compromising trysts, ending up in prison and as pariahs, kings whose person and antics lead to a changed world, and then they die! Really, it's much more interesting than this. Philip the Fair, and his 3 sons, each king in their own time (shortly) and Philip's daughter the "she-wolf" Isabella, queen of England, are gripping characters in and of themselves but together they're even more astonishing.

[Pixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe this series isn’t rated yet!

I might edit this review, as I read it many years ago, and in French so I have no idea what the translation is worth, but I have very fond memories of it.

It is the series that led me to major in medieval history, it is the series that made me love history.
Plunge into 14th century France; during the tumultuous reign of Philip the Fair, riddled with political intrigues and unrest, treason, murder, a brewing succession war, and the last Grand Master of the Knight Templar’s execution.

So much happened in France at that time, and Maurice Druon managed to write a lively and colourful depiction of the main players, their motives and ambitions, you’ll almost not believe that this is not entirely a work of fiction.

[Julia Simpson-Urrutia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sans aucun doute, Druon est l'un de mes écrivains préférés. Il intrigue le lecteur par ses commentaires philosophiques très français et son merveilleux sens de l'ironie. oh, donnez-moi un écrivain avec un sens de l'ironie et je suis au paradis 😇.

[Steven Cardoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this series!!!!! Can't wait til book 5 comes out at the end of the month! I can see where Game of Thrones got their inspiration!

[Hania Grajcar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spodziewałam się czegoś innego. Dla fanów historii super.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

The review applies only to the first book - The Iron King, since Goodreads doesn't list it individually. Like other reviewers, I was interested in this series because of George R. R. Martin's recommendation and inspiration for Game of Thrones. I also enjoy medieval European history and, while I am more familiar with the English monarchy during this period, I knew nothing about Philip the Fair. On that point, this was an interesting history lesson. However, I did not find the "novel" to quite be the gripping or dramatic story it was advertised to be.

There are at least 3 different storylines - The Templars, the adulterous wives, and the Lombards - all key events in Philip the Fair's reign, but poorly connected in this novel. I didn't understand how they were connected, or why the Templars or Lombards mattered to the central storyline at all. The primary plot was about Philip's three daughters-in-law, two of whom were convicted of adultery. I found these women to be annoying, shallow, and undeserving of any empathy. Whether they were like this in real history, or just depicted this way, I cannot say. Without that character connection, there was nothing else in the story to make me care or invest in any of the characters. As for any link or similarity to Game of Thrones, I found none. This would be more applicable after Philip's death, when all three of his sons ruled and died, leaving the throne to his brother, Charles of Valois and the counter claim from Edward III. Philip's throne was otherwise secure, so no political drama here.

[Daniel W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The French side of history is often avoided in the English speaking world. This historical series is a good beginning for Anglophiles in need of broadening their horizons to another point of view. French history also has its own series of tragedies, only occasionally offset by human kindness. While writing fiction, the author keeps narrowly to what we know of these 14th century events from direct sources (and copious footnotes).

[Clare Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting Historical Fiction

This is a period of French and English history that I’m not familiar. The story is intriguing and holds my attention. But what I really like is the footnotes that clarifies the historical facts. While I love the way historical fiction writers can give more personal accounts of why history took the direction it took, I’m always wary of how history may be distorted in the fiction. The footnotes help keeps the facts separated from the fiction.

[Autumn Brown-Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously? I just quite reading it with 100 pages to go. The fact that George Martin endorsed these books as like Game of Thrones is laughable. Not even close, George. So much history I felt like I went to school every night. Just ridiculously dry. I liked, not loved, Book one of series but book two, wow- BAD. Miss it

[Pllapitan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the first 3 books in this historical fiction, wow, talk about confusing...the period is the 14th century, which covers the Kings and kingdoms of Mainly France and Italy and Great British, so many characters and families all trying to outdo each other. I hung in there and hooked just enough that I just ordered Book 4.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 of the Accursed Kings Series was probably the most exciting. "The Poisoned Crown" is good and I can see where and how it would lead to Games of Thrones in idea. At this time I will not continue on with series I have some book club reads to catch up on. But the series is slow at the beginning gets very good, and if you thought English monarchy history was good the French is even more so.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book in the series, The Iron King, for my historical fiction book group. Philip the Fair was someone I had never heard of before. The Knights Templar feature prominently in this book as does Isabelle, Philip's daughter who is married to Edward II of England. At some point I plan to read the next book, The Strangled Queen.
Recommended!

[Lucy Marx]

I've read the series over 45 years ago and decided to revisit. A fascinating recreation of medieval France leading up to the Hundred Years War. Full of mystery, murder, superstition and lots of poisoning not to mention political machinations. A TV series (with English subtitles) was aired on SBS several years ago and can be found on youtube.

[Gail Mclaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kings, queens, knights, kingdoms, treachery...this story has it all. Personally I did not enjoy this book but I do believe you need to read it to decide for yourself. It was not the genre I enjoy but it was well written.

[Susan Woehrle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to a lot of the themes and stories covered in Game of Thrones. George R. R. Martin wrote the introduction and explained that this book wasn't even available in the states until after GOT took off (unless you wanted it in French, that is).

[Paola T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maurice Druon it's definitely my favorite author. George Martin it's also a big fan of him. Martin said he based a lot of his books on Druon's literature. If you are a Martin fan you will love Druon's seven books.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is amazing. Its puts a fictional frame around real events that runs up to the Hundred Years' War between France and England. It truly brings history alive and illustrates the inherent flaw in all hereditary monarchies.

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Journey

This whole series is a good journey through time in the 1300's France. From brings to life the Kings and their families along with all the internal struggles for power. The series is a great read.

[Fivewincs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series as a whole is excellent. As the series continued, I feel that the books lost me with all the Joans, Johns, etc. and the detailed storyline became less and less developed which was disappointing.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of the first 3 books in this series - the author's writing and the English translation both feel very incisive and the book is hard to put down despite my heretofore lack of interest in Medieval French history.