The King Without a Kingdom

Years later, France is deep in the Hundred Years' War under King John II, the Good. Cardinal Talleyrand de Périgord, traveling to broker a peace, tells his nephew how the kingdom got there: the feuds with Charles of Navarre, the king's rash choices, the plague and the money that never stretches. The story builds to the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. The much larger French army is beaten by the Black Prince, Edward III's son, and John II himself is taken prisoner. The cardinal ends up looking at a kingdom without its king.

1. Behind the scenesSeventeen years later

   The sixth book came out in 1960 and this one not until 1977, from Plon rather than Del Duca. It was first published in English in the HarperCollins reissue, between 2013 and 2015.

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2. ReferenceGeorge R. R. Martin's praise

   Martin called the series "the original game of thrones" and wrote the foreword to the 2013 English reissue. He cites Druon as an inspiration for A Song of Ice and Fire.

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