Queen Margot

In the second half of the 16th century in France, there was an almost constant war between Protestants and Catholics. After the death of Henry II, his son, the fifteen-year-old Francis II, became the new French king; however, in fact, the country began to be ruled by his mother, the Catholic Catherine de' Medici. Her daughter, Marguerite de Valois, was portrayed by Dumas in his novel under the name Queen Margot. The biography of this woman provided rich material for the prolific writer. In an effort to strengthen the power of the Valois house, Catherine de' Medici almost from the moment of her daughter's birth began to look for suitors from the crowned families of Europe. The most advantageous match for Marguerite, Catherine believed, was the son of Queen Jeanne d'Albret of Navarre. This marriage would help her unite the Bourbons and the Valois. However, the young Marguerite began to encourage the attention of the head of the Catholics, Henry of Guise... Thus, the web of events began to unravel, ultimately leading to the massacre of Protestants during the St. Bartholomew's Night. Marguerite de Valois was in the thick of these events, which captured Dumas's imagination. As a result, in 1845, a novel titled "Queen Margot" written by him was published in Paris. It became the first in a trilogy dedicated to the prolonged skirmishes between Catholics and Protestants that shook France during the last kings of the Valois dynasty. Soon, the second and third parts of the trilogy appeared - the novels "The Countess de Monsoreau" and "Forty-Five."