Heretic Dawn

Heretic Dawn is the 3rd book in this 13 volume history of 16/17th France as seen through the eyes of Pierre de Siorac and his family who live in the Perigord region of France. It is a well written, fast paced, humorous, rollicking, bawdy and considering the times this book is set in, very tolerant of religious differences. The characters are down to earth, and inquisitive about the world at large and the human body and soul and Pierre and his father are involved in the study of bodies and they practice the art of dissection that is becoming all the rage in Paris at this time. Due to the many skirmishes of religious wars, there are plenty of corpses to dissect and medical discoveries feed the curiosity of both lay people and the medical practitioners of the times. Pierre de Siorac is now 21 years of age and has qualified as a doctor. He is a Huguenot when most of France is Catholic and this volume concerns the night of the 23/24th August, a date of infamy in the history of France and has become known as St. Bartholomew's Massacre. In 1572, the Kings sister Margot, a Catholic was married to the Duke of Navarre who was a Protestant to the great disgust of the Parisian citizens , who rose up against the Huguenots and massacred thousands, men, women and children in a blood thirsty event that is remembered still. These events are described in blood chilling detail and are only surpassed by the cruelty of the French Revolution 2 centuries later. A magnificent read deserving of my 5 star rating! I cannot recommend this series of books too highly, please take the time to investigate this series!! French was never so interesting when I studied the subject in the 1960s!!

In Heretic Dawn, the third book in the Fortunes of France series, Pierre Siorac shares his adventures traveling to Paris to obtain a pardon from the king for having slain his villainous neighbor in a duel. French court life is revealed with its scheming, shifting alliances, and ostentatious foppery. Although warned by his father that “caution, prudence and patience are the teats of adventure,” Pierre— through his big heart and lust for living—becomes ensnared in the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre where thousands of Huguenots were butchered by Catholics in the raging war of religion. The best paced and most interesting of this series thus far, this book left me breathless. I would advise the reader that Heretic Dawn is best enjoyed after having read the first two books in the series, The Brethren and City of Wisdom and Blood.

In this third of the series, Pierre is caught up in a duel and so travels to Paris to obtain a pardon. Once there, of course, he witnesses the machnations of the court and the terrible St Bartholomew's Massacre.

In some ways, this Dumas-alike series comes closest to its forbear here, especially La Reine Margot where Dumas himself deals with the French religious wars and the struggles between Huguenot and Catholic. The comparison isn't always to Merle's benefit as he doesn't have the literary sensibility of Dumas himself.

All the same, this is a lustful and vivid story, Rabelaisean in its bawdy, earthy, rowdy energies. Great summer reading.