The Poisoned Crown

This is lively history. Lots of action, lots of intrigue, lots of characters who flit in and out. I wish my knowledge of French history was a bit better, to be able to place some of the names the cropped up a little more readily. Focused on the reign on Louis X, one of France's less effectual monarchs, it's a nail in the coffin of primogeniture, when the ineffectual older brother becomes king when the whole kingdom thinks that his younger brother would do a better job. There's lots going on in this, and it's a good listen. One of a series, I'd pick it up again.

The third book in the series which begins with "The Iron King."

I felt like this book suffered a little from being the middle of the series. The events which began in the previous books kept developing, and new elements were introduced, but very little was resolved. The man who is King in this book is a particularly unlikeable character who spends a great deal of time whining, and that wore on me a bit.

The ending was also a bit more of a cliffhanger than the last two books, so while I look forward to reading the next volume I didn't like this one as much as its predecessors.

This was book 3/7 of the Accursed King Series. While still historical fiction, this book was more history than the first two books, making it a tiny bit dry. It was still very interesting, but more along the vein of political intrigue than the first two. It was the story of the short reign (2 years) of Louis X of France. Louis had his first wife imprisoned for 10 years before he had her strangled or poisoned, history is unsure. However, Louis X had a marriage contract for a new wife, Clementia of Hungary, before Margaret of Burgundy was dead. Clementia was on her way to France to marry Louis before Margaret was dead. Louis and Clementia were married just 5 days after Margaret died. I do know that in general, and this series in show more particular, (which I will continue to read), that I must have a hard copy of the book along with the audio because I can't make name distinctions auditorily due to the fact that many of the names sound alike, especially for a non French speaking person: Robert of Artois, Charles of Artois, Count of Eu, Mahaut, Charles of Valois, Charles of Patrois, etc. The political intrigue in this book focused on Louiis' ill-fated campaign against Flanders. 320 pages show less

'the feeble, nervous and incompetent Louis X'
By sally tarbox on 26 Jan. 2012
Format: Paperback
Third in Druon's 'Accursed Kings' saga, this continues the life of Louis X 'le Hutin' (the Stubborn). With his first, faithless wife now dead, Louis awaits his second marriage with the lovely and pious Clemence of Hungary. But there are plenty of problems in his realm: the barons uprising, famine, war with the Flemings...And can he provide France with an heir?
Alongside the story of the royals, runs the history of young Lombard banker, Guccio Baglioni, who appeared in the two previous books. Can he marry his love, Marie de Cressay?

This is the third book in the author's Accursed Kings series of novels set in the early 14th century during the period of crisis within the ruling Capetian dynasty when after the death of the Iron King, Philip IV, his three sons ruled for short periods, thus encouraging England's King Edward III to claim the French throne through his mother, thereby precipitating the conflict known later as the Hundred Years War. The first of these sons, Louis X is the subject of this novel, and in particular his relationship with his second wife Clementia of Hungary. More plotting, scandal and family tensions abound, though the plot of this novel seems a little lighter than that of the first two books, It's a very good series and I will certainly show more continue reading it. show less

This book chronicles most of the short reign (18 months) of Louis X of France, known as le Hutin (the Quarrelsome). As with the first two books in the series, they move pretty quickly -- I'm amazed that so much can be packed into about 250 pages -- and extensive historical notes are provided.

This book continue the story that started with the curse of the last knight templar, and it this case it seems that the curse is becoming real. The crown of France seems to slowly felt... Great continuation of this amazing period in history.