Le Roi Libre

by François Bayrou

Dans le siècle le plus déchiré, le plus violent, le plus sanglant de l'histoire de France, surgit un jeune homme qui ne ressemble à aucun de ses contemporains. Prince d'un État libre au pied des Pyrénées, il a été l'enfant de la guerre, objet de la haine amoureuse et politique entre sa mère, âme du parti protestant, et son père, chef de l'armée catholique. La tragédie marque définitivement son destin, lorsque son mariage avec Marguerite de France, la reine Margot, donne le signal de la Saint-Barthélemy. Conquérant de son royaume, il retrouve le pouvoir dans un pays épuisé. Ce livre n'est pas seulement l'histoire d'une vie. Il est aussi une tentative pour comprendre l'entreprise de réconciliation nationale, et le plus spectaculaire redressement financier, économique, politique et moral, que notre pays ait connu. Réussite à l'échelle des siècles, conduite par un homme qui sait rire, y compris de ses propres angoisses, la vie d'Henri IV ne pouvait que fasciner un de ses lointains successeurs à la tête du Parlement de Navarre.

Genres: Nonfiction

542 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is superficial and not always credible, especially when we look at some of the “sources” used by the author. Tallemant's imaginative tales, Agrippa's pamphlets full of exaggerations and prone to slander, Ritter's subjective and distorted judgements full of anachronisms. These are almost uncritically repeated in this bio.
Some of the author's interpretations are interesting and invite reflection. The book would have obviously benefited from more rigorous analysis and less reliance on certain anecdotes about Henri. It would have been better if the author didn’t repeat certain cliches of Corisande and Gabrielle, etc.
Bayrou chose to repeat slanderous rumors about Gabrielle. For me this uncritical reliance by a modern author on Ritter’s very partisan and anachronistic view of Gabrielle has become a marker that helps separate neutrality and exploration from just repeating what some others said. It’s clearly not fair to portray in a negative light a young woman who gave the king kids, affection and even her jewels when he desperately needed money during the war with Spain.
Also, the author confused a line from the hostile pamphlet “Divorce Satyrique” with something allegedly said by Marguerite de Valois in her Memoirs, something Marguerite never said. This more than sloppy and irresponsible approach to historical material is very typical of French books about Henri IV, leading to perpetuating a caricature image and tall tales.

1.5 stars

[Anne♡loves♡romance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il existe de bien meilleures biographies sur Henri IV.