Chicot the Jester [Hardcover]

Alexandre Dumas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

On the evening of a Sunday, in the year 1578, a splendid fête was given in the magnificent hotel just built opposite the Louvre, on the other side of the water, by the family of Montmorency, who, allied to the royalty of France, held themselves equal to princes. This fête was to celebrate the wedding of François d'Epinay de St. Luc, a great friend and favorite of the king, Henri III., with Jeanne de Crossé-Brissac, daughter of the marshal of that name. The banquet had taken place at the Louvre, and the king, who had been with much difficulty induced to consent to the marriage, had appeared at it with a severe and grave countenance. His costume was in harmony with his face; he wore that suit of deep chestnut, in which Clouet described him at the wedding of Joyeuse; and this kind of royal specter, solemn and majestic, had chilled all the spectators, but above all the young bride, at whom he cast many angry glances. The reason of all this was known to everyone, but was one of those court secrets of which no one likes to speak. . . .

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 584 pages
• Publisher: IndyPublish.com (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1404384464
• ISBN-13: 978-1404384460
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,122,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a true favorite, August 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Chicot the Jester (Paperback)

In some ways this is my favorite Dumas and thus I think that it ranks with the Count of Monte Cristo and the Three Musketeers. The action takes place during Henry III's reign and follows two intertwined plot lines: 1)the adventures of Chicot, the king's "jester," and 2) the love intriques of Bussy d'Amboise and the tragic Dame de Monsoreau. The political rivalries of the various aristocratic court factions is entertaining and interesting and, it is my impression, fairly (but not completely) accurate history. Though Chicot is an invention and the historical Bussy (a footnote character of the period) highly highly romanticised. Who cares if a small liberty or two are taken? Chicot is marvelously drawn, a wonderful character who both loves and despises his weak and highly flawed benefactor, Henry III. Chicot is clever, cunning, brave and decent but interested too in his own interests. He is also a proud but poor Gascon gentleman. He manipulates the king for his own amusment but also for good purpose. Were the book only about him it would be a great read. But even better, Dumas gives us Bussy d'Amboise, Louis de Clermont, Comte de Bussy, the brave, proud, handsome, man of honor who personafies the French aristrocratic (especially the post-Revolution, 19th Cent. Romantic notion of,) ethos. The romance between Bussy and La Dame (Diana) is romantic indeed: he is injured in a cowardly ambush (in which he defends himself magnificantly, of course) Diana nurses him but secretly and her identity remains a mystery for sometime. Poor Diana has a tragic situation and eventually, Bussy manages to find her etc... The ending is unforegettable and provides the basis for the sequal: The Forty-Five Guardsmen: an uneven story with some good moments, but sadly, inferior to this. Note: "La Dame" is the sequal to Marguerite de Valois (see film: La Reign Margot aka Queen Margot) I first read this when I was about 19 and it is still great, great fun 21 years later. If you like any Dumas, you'll like this alot. Technically, of course, this is not great literature but it is great in its own way.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good book but too many typos in this edition, July 29, 2007

By 

qh (CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chicot the Jester (Paperback)

Great book if you are a Dumas fan, and especially if you've read "La Reine Margot". But this edition (ISBN 1-60096-103-7) of the book is full of typos. They even misspelled the name on the front cover - if you click on the "Search inside the book", you'll see the name of the book blatantly misspelled as "Chico the Jester". These typos get really annoying in an otherwise great book. I would not buy books from this publisher (Waking Lion Press) any more.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sad, November 13, 2002

By 

robsky kostratsky (princeton, nj USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicot the Jester (Paperback)

I read this book after I saw movie La Dam de Monsoreau when I visited France with my parents, I was 12. I think the actual book is much better than a movie, Dumas made a good statement in this book by drawing the line between something dirty, which is politics and something that could be so clean, beautiful and yet tragic, which is love. Whenever we love something in this life, we afraid it will be taking away, nothing is permanent. Although this book is a complete fiction, the message in it is very real.
Highly recommended.