Queen Margot Vol 1 Review

A historical graphic novel about the most famous French princess. This story is drawn from the memoirs of Marguerite de Valois, called “Queen Margot,” the first wife of the King of France, Henri IV. “The Age of Innocence” is the first volume of a trilogy that recounts the youth of Queen Margot. By drawing on serious historical analysis, the authors enlighten us about the major role of the one who became the first French feminist.

1569 – Queen Elizabeth I of England and King Philippe II of Spain confront each other by proxy. The war between the Protestants and the Catholics is tearing France apart. Margot’s hand is the object of a negotiation intended to strengthen the throne of her brother Charles IX, King of France. But Margot is 16 years old, and she has lost her heart to the Duke of Guise. Confronted with reasons of State and with every possible ambition, the princess is plunged into an intrigue that is beyond her.

Queen Margot a trilogy by Olivier Cadic and François Gheysens

Queen Margot, set between 1569 and 1573, is the story of Princess Marguerite de Valois of France, sister to King Charles IX.  Margot (a nickname from childhood) is described at the beginning of the story as 16 years old and already the admiration and envy of the whole Royal Court.  The poet Ronsard praises the beauty of the Princess, always so happy and friendly.  Apart from embroidery and dancing, she loves to study, speaks fluent Latin and above all has a passion for poetry.

The books begin with Margot travelling to meet her favourite brother Henri Duke of Anjou who is head of the Royal Army and has just been victorious in a campaign against the Calvinists at Jarnac.  During the celebrations the young Margot reacquaints herself with a childhood friend Henri Duke of Guise, who is the nephew of the Cardinal of Lorraine, described as a fanatic Catholic who sits on the Kings council and wants to eradicate heresy at all costs from the Kingdom.  The Cardinal hopes that Margot and Henri will marry thus securing his position at court.  Margot and Henri oblige, unknowingly, by falling deeply in love.  This is unfortunately does not suit the Dowager Queen Mother or King Charles as they hope to marry Margot to the son of the Queen of Navarre to secure a peace with the Calvinists as Navarre is a Calvinist stronghold.

At this time Margot falls foul of the lecherous Lord Du Guast who has designs on her person.  In order to escape from his unwanted attention and teach him humility Margot entices Du Guast back to her room, where she drugs him and has him placed naked in the pigsty to be found the next morning by the Duke of Anjou and his regiment.  This unfortunately makes Du Guast a lifelong enemy and he plots Margot’s downfall at every step of her life from then on, even managing to turn her favourite brother Anjou against her.

Not to give too much of the plot away but as you can probably guess Margot and her love Henri of Guise do not end up happily ever after and at the end of book 1 Henri marries another and Margot betrothal to the Prince of Navarre is announced.

Book 2  begins with negotiations for the nuptials to take place.  The Queen of Navarre comes to France to negotiate the biggest sticking point, that of the couples differing religious views.  During this book the emphasis is on the continuing unrest between the Catholics and the Calvinists.  Tensions run high and the fact that the Princess of France is betrothed to a Calvinist Prince and one, moreover, who will not set foot in a Catholic Cathedral, even for his own wedding exacerbates the situation.  Plots are set in motion which embroil the Cardinal of Lorraine, his nephew Henri of Guise and the Prince of Navarre on differing sides.  The Dowager Queen Mother and King Charles are also involved and the plot becomes quite intricate at that point.  Through this Margot’s story is continued and although her involvement in the tensions between the two religions seems peripheral she is used as a sparking point which culminates in the St Bartholomew Day Massacre in August 1572.
Again, not to give too much of the plot away but the volume concludes with the Prince of Navarre being implicated in the Massacre, among others, and Margot shows her true strength of character and intelligence in enabling her new husband to be spared.  It finishes with the Prince of Navarre changing his religion to suit his new in laws and Margot resigning herself to be the dutiful wife of a man she doesn’t love.

Book 3 starts 3 days after the St Bartholomew Day Massacre.  On the surface life appears to have returned to normal at court but Margot’s husband (now King of Navarre) is already showing signs of infidelity and Charles’ increasing jealousy of his younger brother the Duke of Anjou are satisfied when Anjou is offered the crown of Poland.  Charles sees this as the perfect opportunity to rid himself of his hated rival.   Margot meanwhile is falling under the charms of a character simply known as Le Mole and while her husband dallies with a Madame De Sauve Margot falls in love for a second time with Le Mole.  Alas as with Henri, this love is again doomed as Le Mole is sacrificed for politics and once again Margot is left alone in a loveless marriage.

This book however, truly shows Margot as a strong, intelligent woman whom while a loser in love turns every other disadvantage to her own benefit.  At the end of the volume Margot is a free. independent woman the likes of which have never been seen in the 16th Century.  In his novel La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) Alexandre Dumas called on vicious gossip to describe her as a nymphomaniac who takes her first steps of love with her own brothers.  This book describes Margot as an intelligent and cultivated woman.  Cheated upon, betrayed, humiliated, she decided to live as a free woman, alas that was her crime.

That description written in the forward of the 3rd volume is shown at every page of these books.  The story is of a beautiful woman, who is the envy of everyone, but who at every turn is used and abused for political and religious purposes by her own family.  In the end she turns it around and becomes her own woman.  That strength of character is shown beautifully throughout.

The story is captivating and gripping, keeping the reader spellbound throughout and enticing them to further research to find out more about the times and the personalities of the story.  The plots are complicated and fascinating throughout and consequently these books require multiple readings to be able to grasp every nuance of detail, however nothing is lost in the first reading due to this as the story is so gripping that picking the book up over and over again enhances the pleasure of the reader.

The artwork in these books is incredibly detailed and beautifully rendered given the reader a superb visual of the glamorous, richly appointed court of France.  The characters are individual and easily recognisable throughout the books and the characteristics of each one is captured in their features.

In conclusion I would highly recommend these books to anyone who loves costume drama, political thrillers or even just a good adventure story.

Review by Stephanie Precious.