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424th out of 3,151 books
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13,811 voters
Queen Margot, or Marguerite de Valois (The Last Valois #1)
Released to coincide with the new Miramac film starring Isabelle Adjani, this is the classic novel unavailable for over 25 years. Massacres, conspiracies, clandestine trysts, secret alliances, daring escapes, sumptuous feasts, and duels of wit propel the action in this delightful story of French royalty during the 16th century. Advertising with movie.
Paperback, 542 pages
Published
October 1st 1994
by Miramax Books
(first published 1844)
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By turns highly unlikely and highly hilarious, Dumas' La Reine Margot is a wildly uneven, careening tale that knows perfectly well what it is and wants your gasps, sighs, and unbidden, unstoppable, "Oh no he didn't!"s. Or perhaps I should say "Oh no she didn't!" as the most shocking, ridiculously amazingly evil and awful moments are reserved for the truly unbelievable Satan of the piece, Catherine de Medici. She spends most of the book figuring out new ways to poison, arrest and assassinate anyo...more
SO much better than I expected it to be. The book is long, but the story moves at such a fast pace and so much happens that you don't even notice. All the characters are fascinating, and my personal favorite was Catherine d'Medici, who wins the award for Worst Mother-in-Law Ever. I swear, she spends all her time trying to poison just about everybody in the book. She kills one person with poisoned gloves, then fills somebody's lamp with poisoned oil so the vapors smother them, and then she poison...more
10 likes · like · see review
If you're one of those people who lick their finger before turning over the page, I strongly recommend that you don't read this book. Particularly if you're on the paranoid side.
9 likes · like · see review
It’s 1572 and in an effort to ease tensions between the Catholics and the Huguenots Henry III King of Navarre is married to Marguerite de Valois (Margot). Shortly after the marriage the Huguenots are slaughtered at the order of Charles IX and his mother Catherine de Medicis on Saint Bartholomew’s Day. Catherine is also bent on destroying Henry as her astrologer has foretold that her three sons will die and Henry of Navarre will rule France through the Bourbon line. Margot's dashing lover La Mole...more
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A lovely story! I just love the works of Dumas. However, I will admit that I do prefer his better-known works, such as "The Count of Monte Cristo". As a matter of interest, for fans of "The Count", I strongly recommend having a look at these two amazing new sequels to the Dumas original, by the mysterious "Holy Ghost Writer". They are written in the same style, and are equally as gripping. Titled "The Sultan of Monte Cristo" (Book II) http://www.amazon.com/The-Sultan-Mont... and "That Girl Start...more
Okay - I have the same issues with this book that I have with all historical fiction: Where did you get your material ? Did you use first hand sources that liked or disliked the persons ? Did you rely on newspaper/gossip ? Where is your bibliography ? Prove to me that you know the feelings of each historical personage well enough to devise whole long-term motivations and personal conversations....
Having read a short history of French royalty of the time, I noted the gaping hole of HenryIV's incr...more
Having read a short history of French royalty of the time, I noted the gaping hole of HenryIV's incr...more
Dumas, the Rossini of literature, churned out an impressive amount of his time's pop-historical novels. He wrote about most, if not all, time periods this side of year 1000. But boy are they fun! (much like Rossini's silly but terribly convoluted yet always lighthearted operas, his books never let deep thoughts/issues get in the way of proper fun). I got into Dumas when I was very young (the books were all over the place at my parents', my aunt's and my grandparents') and THIS, a battered, cover...more
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I LOVE the first 3/4 of this book. It's full of action, humor, wit, and a little romance. Also, Queen Margot herself: gorgeous, smart, and clear-headed yet passionate. I love Dumas' use of suspense through implication in this book - as when he describes the events leading up to a poisoning at great length but without ever explicitly saying what is happening until after it's over. Lots of very funny French irony (my favorite bits were dialogue in which the various royal folks were pretending they...more
Dumas è sempre una conferma. Questo libro avevo già tentato di leggerlo anni fa, senza successo, forse un po' annoiata dalla parte storica. Ora invece l'ho ripreso e letto con piacere. Dumas è un asso nell'escogitare trame degne della miglior telenovela, lasciando il lettore in qualche modo in sospeso fino alla fine, anche quando non c'è più nulla da svelare.
For all those people who find the classics wordy or tedious, then this is the perfect book. Although long, this book is fast paced and filled with betrayal, love affairs and secret passages - I just loved it. The story is based on the marriage between Marguerite de Valois, sister of King Charles of France and Henri de Navarre, the leader of the Huguenots. The marriage is arranged by Marguerite's mother, Catherine of Medici, an evil scheming woman whose weapon of choice is poison, and stops at no...more
Here Dumas takes on the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, focusing on Marguerite de Valois, Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV), and the villainous (in Dumas' version) Catherine de' Medici. This is as full of action and intrigue as The Three Musketeers, but I found the characters a little less well-rounded. Though Catherine is wonderfully villainous and Henry of Navarre makes a good solitary hero, the two noblemen who are the romantic leads lack the nobility of Athos or the cleverness of d'Artagnan....more
Nobody can make a mess of life like these royals - deceptions, extreme loyalties, affairs, betrayals, poisonings and murders. No one is totally virtuous, but compared to the insanely evil Queen Catherine it is easy to want victory for Margot and Henry. The undercurrents and plotting for power and the throne move the storyline quickly and pull in a host of fascinating characters. Dumas has a unique way of getting characters out of seemingly impossible scrapes, only to later rip the rug right out...more
Another great adventure story from Dumas. I found it sagged a bit in the middle but certainly picked up again towards the end. I can see now where all the spy/adventure novels have their roots. The arch-villain in this one is Catherine de Medici who makes use of trap-doors, poisons, voodoo, secret passageways and a network of spies to control her children and maintain her family on the throne of France. It did get a bit confusing at times - too many disguises and hidden chambers but overall a th...more
Out of all the Dumas books I've read (and I think I've read them all) I love this one the most. It is not for the squeamish though as it takes in the horrible night of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bart... and there is a lot of violence, cruelty, betrayals and intrigue.
This book has got it all, it's dark and sexy and retains your interest throughout. If you prefer visuals I would recommend you watch the movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Reine... Whateve...more
This book has got it all, it's dark and sexy and retains your interest throughout. If you prefer visuals I would recommend you watch the movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Reine... Whateve...more
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Come in quasi tutti i romanzi di Dumas che ho letto, anche in questo il vero protagonista della storia non è chi da il titolo al libro. Infatti qui il protagonista è Enrico di Navarra, il marito di Margot.
Il libro nel complesso mi è piaciuto molto, anche perché mi piacciono moltissimo i romanzi storici, ma mi ha deluso un po’ il finale, che rimane alquanto appeso. Ok, per chi conosce la storia non rimane appeso, perché sa cosa succede, però rimanendo dentro la storia del romanzo, l’ho trovato u...more
Il libro nel complesso mi è piaciuto molto, anche perché mi piacciono moltissimo i romanzi storici, ma mi ha deluso un po’ il finale, che rimane alquanto appeso. Ok, per chi conosce la storia non rimane appeso, perché sa cosa succede, però rimanendo dentro la storia del romanzo, l’ho trovato u...more
Brilliant historical fiction!
Set during the religious civil wars that wracked France, Dumas has woven an intricate plot of intrigue, love, politics and religious tension around actual historical characters and events. Catherine de Medici, dowager Queen of France, is portrayed as the consummate villain, plotting to kill Henry of Navarre to ensure that he does not take the throne from her sons. Despite this, you still manage to feel sympathy for her as her sole motive is to ensure that her sons ke...more
Set during the religious civil wars that wracked France, Dumas has woven an intricate plot of intrigue, love, politics and religious tension around actual historical characters and events. Catherine de Medici, dowager Queen of France, is portrayed as the consummate villain, plotting to kill Henry of Navarre to ensure that he does not take the throne from her sons. Despite this, you still manage to feel sympathy for her as her sole motive is to ensure that her sons ke...more
I was worried as I started reading this book because it starts with St. Bartholomew's Massacre, so I was concerned about the violence, but it's not too graphic and was ok. I loved the middle of the book - court intrigues, plots, love, good fun. I didn't like the superstitious parts, and the end was not what I hoped, but I guess when you're writing historical fiction you have to go with what actually happened. These were horrible people - very violent and immoral, and their mom was the worst of a...more
So this is book is basically about the two first years of the marriage between Marguerite de Valois (daughter of the king Henry II) and Henri de Navarre – she was catholic and he was protestant –, from 1672 to 1574. It starts with the wedding of the two characters and just after the massacre of St Bartholemy (which took place only six days after the wedding) of the 'huguenots' by the catholics.
It's a very entertaining book, the fact that is was "serialised" really shows because there's always s...more
It's a very entertaining book, the fact that is was "serialised" really shows because there's always s...more
Jul 30, 2012
Daniella
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of historical fiction who aren't too nitpicky.
Apparently, Queen Margot was originally published serially in several newspapers and magazines of the day, and I imagine that it was basically the 19th century French equivalent of a soap opera. It certainly reads like one. But guess how many fucks I give? None! Not a single fuck.
Don't get me wrong--I'm really not the kind of girl who enjoys that sort of thing. Space operas, yes. Soap operas and generally similar things? Not so much. But come on, how can I not love this book? Courtly intrigues!...more
Don't get me wrong--I'm really not the kind of girl who enjoys that sort of thing. Space operas, yes. Soap operas and generally similar things? Not so much. But come on, how can I not love this book? Courtly intrigues!...more
Read this in about a week one summer. This began a summer of Dumas' take of this 'cursed' family. Marguerite, Charles, Henri (all three of them), Catherine, the powerful iron hand behind the throne who after the death of her philandering husband, Henri II, took over and mostly ran France all during her sons' reigns. (François, Charles and Henri).
This is a tale of love, hate, betrayal, war, power and how it corrupts absolutely. What I remember the most are the three Henris. Henri de Guise, doome...more
This is a tale of love, hate, betrayal, war, power and how it corrupts absolutely. What I remember the most are the three Henris. Henri de Guise, doome...more
O Massacre de São Bartolomeu é talvez o mais interessante evento histórico que os brasileiros por algum motivo não aprendem na escola.
Felizmente, quem quer começar a aprender algo pode ler A Rainha Margot.
A época e os personagens sempre me fascinaram - e eu queria que o livro tivesse o triplo do tamanho, para passar mais tempo com eles. Eu passei muito tempo procurando livros sobre Marguerite de Valois, Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Henri III, Henri IV, François d'Anjou (na época desse livro,...more
Felizmente, quem quer começar a aprender algo pode ler A Rainha Margot.
A época e os personagens sempre me fascinaram - e eu queria que o livro tivesse o triplo do tamanho, para passar mais tempo com eles. Eu passei muito tempo procurando livros sobre Marguerite de Valois, Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Henri III, Henri IV, François d'Anjou (na época desse livro,...more
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I think i liked this just as much if not more than Count of Monte Cristo , it might just be that a bit of time has passed since reading that other wonderful Dumas book. I watched the film of this and have also read a biograhpy of Catherine de Medici so this may have helped having a background to the characters allready. Theres a lot of names to remember at first, and whos related to who and which faction do they belong to. But once your past that its a gloriously plot rich, colourful and gothic...more
Although I have not read enough of their works to be an authority-
I don't really care for the Dumas' (père or fils) style of writing. Swashbuckling and adventurous, ok, but melodrama and over-sentimentality turned me off.
But interesting to read about (the real) Reine Margot's history (in a non-fiction source, outside of this novel) before reading this book. Unfortunately it made the Dumas' rendition rather a letdown.
I don't really care for the Dumas' (père or fils) style of writing. Swashbuckling and adventurous, ok, but melodrama and over-sentimentality turned me off.
But interesting to read about (the real) Reine Margot's history (in a non-fiction source, outside of this novel) before reading this book. Unfortunately it made the Dumas' rendition rather a letdown.
One of the darkest and most violent novels of Dumas, set around the time of the St. Bartholomew Massacre in France. Instead of fictional characters, the novel is based on real historical characters: Margarite Valois, and her mother, Catherine di Medicis, ruthless queen. Coligny, Henry of Navarre, D'Anjou, all of them are here... I found this period in history quite interesting, and the novel does it justice.
Dec 28, 2011
Craig
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
Dumas' La Reine Margot brings high adventure and romantic ups/downs much like that found in Three Musketeers. One may think this would become old and tired, even predictable. But no! Dumas takes historical characters and events, turns and tweaks them to his own desires and reveals a world of intrigue, murder, and excitement. Catherine, the queen-mother, is by far the most wretched and vile, with multiple murder plots, poisonings, arrests, etc. Not always having the heros/heroines prevail is a ni...more
The history of France through Alexandre Dumas ; the French war of religion is amazingly well-described by the mean of a wide range of emotions : from love to sadness. Queen Margot against the Medicis in addition the capital Paris occupied with complots. The book makes me flabbergasted in front of a such talent to tell the French history without being boring ! What a masterpiece !
Really great novel - even if I already knew the story from the opera and the movie. Wonderful characters - La Mole and Coccanas were brilliant. Great story of in-fighting in the French royal house. Poisonings, betrayals, and intrigue. A little like Wuthering Heights in that everyone has the same name so it is hard to keep everyone straight. Too many Henrys.
Alexandre Dumas was often criticized by his contemporaries that he acted offhandedly with respect to the history and his versions are not always relevant to the historical facts and events.
It looks like the violence over the history! - they resented.
Oh, yes,- Dumas willingly agreed. - I have raped the history... But it gave so charming kids!
It looks like the violence over the history! - they resented.
Oh, yes,- Dumas willingly agreed. - I have raped the history... But it gave so charming kids!
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This note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils.
Alexandre Dumas, père (French for "father", akin to Senior in English), born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of h...more
More about Alexandre Dumas...
Alexandre Dumas, père (French for "father", akin to Senior in English), born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of h...more
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