Queen Margot by Alexandre Dumas
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Blurb
During religious wars in France, Marguerite de Valois, a Catholic, marries Henry de Navarre, a Protestant and the future king
Review
Alexandre Dumas is one of my favourite authors and I have read The Three Musketeers many many times. Dumas’s books are generally really long and I don’t mind because I could read his books forever.
The first thing that occurred to me when reading this book was that although the book is called Queen Margot, Margot is not the central character of the book. Instead she is a connecting character. All the other characters in the book are connected to her. The King of Navarre is her husband, Catherine de Medici is her mother, the Duke of Guise is an ex lover, de Mole is a current lover, her brothers King Charles IX and Francis and Henri. She is like the hub of a wheel and the other characters the spokes.
The book features the brutal St Barthlomew’s Day Massacre within the first hundred pages and although I knew about this period in history Dumas’ description is rather brutal and a harrowing read. In fact there are a few gruesome scenes within this book. I will be honest, since becoming a mom I struggle with gruesome scenes.
Catherine de Medici is made out to be a villain within this book which I found a little sad because really she was an intelligent woman who knew how to rule and I think that bad propaganda about her has given her a bad name in history. I don’t think Dumas’ portrayal of her has helped her reputation.
The thing I love about Dumas is the humour he can put into quite a serious subject. The Three Musketeers always has me laughing out loud. This book still has that humour but I found it rather more subtle. I am also really happy to have the swashbuckling atmosphere in this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and awaited nap time to get reading again. As soon as I finished this book I went straight on to Chicot the Jester which is the next book in the Valois trilogy. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) was a French novelist and playwright. He is one of the most widely read French authors and his works have been translated into many language.
