Cursed Kings. Iron King. Prisoner of Château-Gaillard. Poison and Crown

"A curse upon your lineage until the thirteenth generation!" - throws from the flames of the fire the Grand Master of the Order of the Templars Jacques de Molay in the face of King Philip IV the Beautiful of France. This fiery prophecy will come true: from 1314 for more than half a century, kings will succeed each other on the throne, but none will stay long. Court intrigues, sudden deaths, dynastic upheavals, and bloody wars will accompany this grim procession of cursed kings. Creating his cycle about the incredible era that defined the future of beautiful France, Maurice Druon painstakingly worked in the National Archive, researching ancient documents. "Cursed Kings," this unique series of grand historical frescoes, later inspired George R.R. Martin, a great admirer of Druon, in his work on "A Song of Ice and Fire." In the first three novels of the cycle, the king's daughters-in-law are accused of infidelity, one king dies, then another, rebellious barons sow discord in the provinces, officials embezzle the state treasury, and the country faces famine. Personal rivalry, court intrigues, the inevitable filth of politics - or perhaps all these strokes of fate are indeed just the consequences of the curse?..