La Reine Margot(English:Queen Margot)is ahistorical novelwritten in 1845 byAlexandre Dumas, père.Although it is based on real characters and events, certain aspects ofLa Reine Margotmay be inconsistent with the historical record; historians have attributed that toartistic licenceand the fact that Dumas might have been influenced by propaganda against certain historical figures, notably Catherine. Written in French, it was almost immediately translated into English, first anonymously and soon afterward publicly by David Bogue asMarguerite de Valois: An Historical Romance.[1]
 Cover | |
| Author | Alexandre Dumas in collaboration withAuguste Maquet |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Reine Margot |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Historical novel |
Publication date | 1844–1845 (serialised) |
| Publication place | France |
| Followed by | La Dame de Monsoreau |
Plot
editThe story begins inParisin August 1572, during the reign of theValoisKingCharles IX,it is theFrench Wars of Religion.The protagonist isMarguerite de Valois,better known as Margot, the daughter of the deceasedHenry II.The antagonist is the schemingCatholicpower playerCatherine de Medici,Margot's mother.
Although Margot herself is excluded from the throne by theSalic Law,her marriage to aProtestantprince offers a chance for domestic reconciliation during the reign of the neurotic,hypochondriacKing Charles IX,while Catholics are vying for political control of France with the French Protestants, theHuguenots.
Catherine decides to make an overture of goodwill by offering up Margot in marriage to prominent Huguenot and King ofNavarre,Henri de Bourbon,which is supposed to cement the hard-foughtPeace of Saint-Germain.At the same time, Catherine schemes to bring about the notoriousSt. Bartholomew's Day Massacreof 1572 and assassinate many of the most wealthy and prominent Huguenots, who are in the largely-Catholic city of Paris to escort the Protestant prince to his wedding. The massacre begins four days after the wedding ceremony, and thousands of Protestants are slaughtered. The marriage goes ahead, but Margot, who does not love Henri, begins a passionate affair with the soldierLa Môle,also a Protestant from a well-to-do family.
Murders by poisoning follow, as court intrigues multiply and Catherine's villainous plotting to place her son, the futureHenry III,on the throne threatens the lives of La Môle, Margot and Henri.
Adaptations
editThe plot of the novel was fully or partially included in adaptations forfilm,televisionandcomics,which also drew on the historical facts:
- La Reine Margot,a 1910 French silent film directed byCamille de Morlhon,startingBerthe Bovy
- La Reine Margota.k.a.A Woman of Evil,a 1954 French-Italian film directed byJean Dréville,starringJeanne Moreau
- A mysterious artist named Valentin adapted the novel into a 1972 newspaper comic.[2]
- La Reine Margot,a 1994 French-German-Italian film directed byPatrice Chéreau,starringIsabelle Adjani
- Koroleva Margo,a 1996 Russian television series directed byAleksandr Muratov,starringYevgenia Dobrovolskaya
References
edit- ^Coward, D. (1997). Note on the Text. In A. Dumas,La Reine Margot(p. xxv). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- ^"Valentin".
External links
edit- La reine Margot — Tome IIatProject Gutenberg(French)
- La Reine Margot,English translation atGoogle Books(Oxford World's Classics,ISBN0-19-283844-X)
- Google Library 1900 English language edition
Marguerite de Valoispublic domain audiobook atLibriVox