Fortune de France
Fortune de France is a 13-volume historical novel series by French writer Robert Merle, published from 1977 to 2003. The books follow 16th- and 17th-century France through the eyes of a fictitious Huguenot doctor-turned-spy, Pierre de Siorac, and later through his descendants. The story covers the years 1547 to 1661, during Europe’s Wars of Religion, and blends personal drama with major historical events.
In the early books, Jean de Siorac and Jean de Sauveterre build a loyal community in Château Mespech, balancing loyalty to the crown with their Huguenot faith. Pierre narrates the first six novels, and his son Pierre-Emmanuel tells the remaining seven. The series includes notable moments such as the marriage of Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) to Margaret of France, the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, and the assassination of Henry III.
The first novel, Fortune de France, appeared in 1977 when Merle was nearly 70, and the last was published in 2003 when he was 95. Merle wrote the books to be historically accurate and to reflect the era’s language and voices, using regional dialects to bring the past to life. He did not want to be seen as writing in the style of Dumas or Hugo, though readers and critics often compared him to Dumas.
Merle’s work made him famous in France, and he has been called the Alexandre Dumas of the 20th century. The series sold more than five million copies in France by 2014. He also sought to present a thoughtful, anti-war view, influenced by his experiences in World War II, showing the cruelty and chaos of civil conflict and focusing on the desire to protect loved ones regardless of religion.
English translations began much later. The first volume, retitled The Brethren, was translated by T. Jefferson Kline and released by Pushkin Press in 2014, with City of Wisdom and Blood following in 2015, Heretic Dawn in 2016, and League of Spies in 2018. As of 2021, Pushkin had no plans to translate the remaining nine volumes.
Robert Merle passed away in 2004. The Fortune de France series is praised for its depth, historical detail, and vivid sense of life in a turbulent era.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:38 (CET).