When the King Destroys France

Reading audiences know Maurice Druon primarily for the saga «The Accursed Kings», which unveiled the dark secrets of the Middle Ages. Behind each work of the cycle was meticulous research in the National Archive, studying documents written in archaic French or Latin. The series of historical frescoes is concluded by the novel «When the King Destroys France». Cardinal Eli Perigord recounts the tumultuous events he witnessed, about John II, nicknamed the Good. However, this ruler was neither good nor benevolent. By 1356, France is ravaged by an exhausting war that is destined to last for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the king intends to give the English a decisive battle near Poitiers. The French knights are about to engage in a deadly clash with the forces of Edward the Black Prince. And although the numerical superiority is on the side of the French, the king gives orders that lead to disastrous consequences. The curse of the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, cast from the flames of the stake, continues to take effect.