The Iron King (The Accursed Kings, Book 1) Kindle Edition

Firstly I would like to get a bit of unpleasantness out of the way. This novel, the first in a series of historical novels concerning the French monarchy. That means that for a person adept only in the English language, there will be many trials and challenges awaiting the reader involving pronouncing those lovely French names, titles, and terms. This difficulty in no way affects how I feel about the absorbing tale Maurice Druon has written. I take full responsibility for my linguistic shortcomings.Philip IV or Philip the Fair as he is commonly referred to is the titular character of the Iron King and I found him to be an intriguing character who is able to reveal to us a cold and sometimes cruel persona, but also a man capable of gentleness and caring. It is alluded to a few times in the book that he seems almost inhuman or otherworldly because of his statuesque demeanor and his icy, unblinking stare.Perhaps my favorite character in the story is Beatrice who is in service to Mahaut. Beatrice was not featured near enough in my opinion but I suppose that added to the mystery that surrounded her since her introduction. She seemed to know a thing or two about sorcery which automatically thrust her to the top of interesting characters for me. It's also the cavalier manner in which she acts, making her seem almost otherworldly as well.I could go on about each character and family involved in the story but I will conclude my review on a positive note: if you enjoy medieval tales of courtly intrigue and especially if you enjoy the Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R. Martin then the Iron King will be a welcome read. I look forward to the Strangled Queen and I anticipate my review for it to be posted quite soon.

The Iron King is terrific. So much historical fiction today is thinly disguised romance (the recent novels of Sharon Penman spring to mind). Maurice Druon doesn't make the mistake of romanticizing history. The Iron King is the pellucid tale of Phillip the Fair, who found France fractured like a medieval Humpty Dumpty and set about putting it back together again. Through sheer force of will and a combination of dastardly deeds he succeeds spectacularly.To achieve his goals Phillip needs money. What he doesn't have, the Knights Templar do, so he ruthlessly and single-mindedly goes about taking what isn't his. Recent historians have been kinder to Phillip, pointing out the Knights Templar who returned from the crusades brought with them Christian rituals foreign to western Europeans that could indeed seem heretical. A few have argued (unconvincingly, I think) Phillip regarded their destruction as his duty. Surely if so he would not have pilfered their coffers but given the money to Mother Church.Regardless, Druon doesn't indulge in simplistic interpretations. The Phillip he presents is something of an enigma and therefore it is up to the reader to determine just how venal and mendacious the French king was. My conclusion was, very. If one is know by the company one keeps, his ministers Marigny and Nogaret attest to his cruelty and selfishness. Either would have felt right at home in the Gestapo. Phillip's and their relentless persecution of Jews and Templars (15,000 by some accounts( belies a saintly temperament.I thoroughly enjoyed the author's of daughter Isabelle: cold, beautiful and seething with rage against a husband (Edward II of England) who has publicly shamed her with his infatuation for young men. I have always wondered how the three wives of Phillip's sons could have been so errantly stupid. Yet when you meet them and their husbands (particularly the heir Louis), it's not so surprising they would take lovers. Druon convincingly makes Isabelle their nemesis from bitterness and hate and their exposure and disgrace is very well done. There is also a delightful sorceress who likes to pretend the lover she's copulating with is actually the Devil. Only the French....Like Phillip, I pitied a France that had Louis in the wings as heir, and was hoping against history the famous (though certainly apocryphal) Grand Master's curse would fall one short. Alas, it was not to be. Phillip follows Boniface and Nogaret to the bowels of hell....or thereabouts. Can't wait to read The Strangled Queen.

This sets the stage for the rest of the series. Eminently readable, I especially enjoyed the author’s philosophical comments on human behavior. I only wish the author had other series. The tale of the destruction of the Knights Templar and the view that the curse of the dying leaders affected the French throne as well as the English lends an inevitability to history already known. The entire series is an excellent read, and the author is more historically accurate than most of the historical fiction genre.

First, I read Maurice Druon's epic in French a long, long, time ago. Won't say how long. I have also watched both French TV versions. This is French History put in a novel form. Maurice Druon very much stays with the facts and this may make for a slower book than most people want in an historical fiction. I love it. I said "Finally" because the only english versions of these books that are currently on sale are usually very old and very expensive. I have my French set that I can read but it is really nice to be able to sit with my Kindle and enjoy these books. Also, my husband is very excited since he does not read French and has wanted to read these books.I hope the next books become available soon. I hope we don't have to wait a year between books. I just wish they had made all the books available as one large Kindle book.If you like fact based historical fiction you will enjoy these books. So much is written about English history, especially the Tudors, that you may enjoy reading about a new part of history.

Not exactly Game of Thrones, but pretty absorbing nonetheless -- and you learn some history in the process. This series is a great read -- I am on Book III at present, and it's difficult to out down. It does help if you have some French language background in order to be able to mentally pronounce the many French names and locales; I have that background, but I can see how this might be a frustrating aspect for for others that do not.

A five star page turner, read in two sittings. Brilliantly depicted history of the French Capet dynasty, full of gory murder, sex, intrigue. George Martin has said this series, of which the Iron King is the first, was an inspiration for his own Game of Thrones and you can see why. It would take only the merest tweak to turn this history into fantasy. The writing is vivid, precise, not a word wasted. The depictions of people, places captivating. A joy to read, addictive. Some characters stand out as for instance Robert d'Artois, a huge bear of a man full of life and intrigue. You want to know more of him and his plots. You want to know what happens next to this cursed royal family. This is history brought to glorious life. A wonderful read. Roll on the next in the series. Can't recommend it to greatly.

I learned of this book through the praise of George R.R Martin and although I hoped it would be good I did not expect it to be. How wrong I was from the opening pages I was hooked on the story of Philip iv and the other members of the house of Capet. The characterisation is brilliant and I really felt as though I was walking the streets of medieval Paris and London. The whole book was a joy and is one I would recommend to anyone.

Philip IV of France, astute, cold and power hungry, rules with an iron fist his hapless sons and heavily taxed kingdom. Mr Druon writes as if he knew intimately the personalities involved and completely brings to life that complex, powerful man Philip IV King of France from 1285. Druon's series have been compared to Game of thrones and they certainly are as readable if not more so but the fact that these events are based on reality gives it double interest.

Some authors can establish intimacy with a character with well chosen analogy. Marguerite is an intriguing vixen, Robert of Artois a tree trunk of a man, Beatrice D'Hirson a captivating and possibly vicious femme fatale. Knowing them, their individual motivation becomes obvious, colouring in the history they influenced, for there is more history than fiction in here even if the fiction is absorbing. If all medieval history was blessed with as learned a story-teller as Maurice Druon, we would all want to know much more about our past. I have ignored the George Martin controversy expressed in some reviews, but am delighted that his sponsorship facilitated the reprint of a series of books I might never have discovered otherwise. Introducing the Valois era as clearly as it does, this story clarifies the link between Normans of the 11th and 12th centuries and Bourbons of the late 16th, but also starts you off on Edward III's precedents in England. Before long, thanks to the story-telling ground laid by this author, I expect to have a decent command of The Hundred Years War, which will bathe pre-Tudor English history in bright sunlight. Edward III was Isabella's son and his victory at Crecy in 1347 is as pivotal as was his great grandson Henry V's victory at Agincourt in 1415. Read all about Isabella and her times in this fabulous series of books.

Philip the Fair is the King of France, the Iron King of the title. His daughter is the Queen of England, married to a King who prefers his (male) favourites to her. His sons are married into the family of a powerful noblewoman. This is the setting for scandal, intrigue and politics. Two of the wives of the Princes of France are unfaithful, the third wife helps and supports them in their adultery. The Queen of England is involved in a plot to trap them in their sin and revenge is brutal and swift.This should be a fantastic book as the facts are there and the setting is rich with detail but it just never takes flight. Whether it is the fault of Druon's original writing or the translation it is hard to tell. The language used is simple and the book just does not grip. I think I'd prefer to read a non-fictional account of the same events.