What do you think?
Rate this book
A Kingdom for a Song
Phillipe le Bel, Dauphin of France, sends his sister Isabel, after the death of her first husband Carlos of Spain, to marry Charles, Duke of Burgundy, a traditional enemy of France. Her brother Phillipe is to become Phillipe IV, the sinister "Iron King" of France.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 6, 2023
A brilliant piece of work by Ira J Morris.
July 11, 2023
First, let me say that when I was a teenager (which was a long time ago), I immensely enjoyed both this book and its sequel, The Witch’s Son: they’re adventure stories, and very well told indeed.
However, the historical background is complete nonsense. To take just the points mentioned in the summary above, Phillipe le Bel had no sister Isabel, and there was no Charles, Duke of Burgundy — in fact, no Duke of Burgundy at all — until decades after he died.
So if you have the slightest knowledge of the relevant period, these are best regarded as fantasies of alternative history; which function they fulfil very well.
Update 2025
On re-reading this, I find an Author’s Note at the beginning: ‘All the characters in this story are fictitious and no resemblance to historical events, places or persons is intended’. So fair enough.
BTW, the ‘folk song’ Je tire ma révérence quoted at the head of Chapter IX was apparently written around 1938 by one Pascal Bastia (I have a lovely recording by Jean Sablon — you can find it on YouTube).
However, the historical background is complete nonsense. To take just the points mentioned in the summary above, Phillipe le Bel had no sister Isabel, and there was no Charles, Duke of Burgundy — in fact, no Duke of Burgundy at all — until decades after he died.
So if you have the slightest knowledge of the relevant period, these are best regarded as fantasies of alternative history; which function they fulfil very well.
Update 2025
On re-reading this, I find an Author’s Note at the beginning: ‘All the characters in this story are fictitious and no resemblance to historical events, places or persons is intended’. So fair enough.
BTW, the ‘folk song’ Je tire ma révérence quoted at the head of Chapter IX was apparently written around 1938 by one Pascal Bastia (I have a lovely recording by Jean Sablon — you can find it on YouTube).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews