This is the third in a classic series of 13 French historical novels about the lives of a family of minor Huguenot nobles, the de Sioracs, in 16th and 17th century France, written by Robert Merle over a period of 26 years. This novel focuses on the run up to and the actual events of the infamous massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve in August 1572 when the weak French king Charles IX, led on by his mother Catherine de Medici, massacred thousands of Huguenot men, women and children, an act praised by the then Pope. Pierre de Siorac and his companions, finding themselves in Paris to seek a pardon for killing a local rival to his family who had been causing them trouble, fall in with the (historical) leading Huguenot Admiral Coligny, and after he is attacked and later murdered, must flee Paris to escape the murderous rage of a populace whipped into a killing frenzy by the Queen Mother and the Catholic leader Guise. Some very shocking scenes, mixed in with more humorous passages with Pierre's amorous entanglements with a large range of women from all walks of life he comes across. Pierre is a humanist, holding Huguenot religious views, but viewing with sadness the fratricidal war between his co-religionists and the Catholic majority. This is a great series, and I really hope the novels beyond the fourth one are translated into English. ( )

En vain Pierre de Siorac s'attarde-t-il au " nid crénelé " de ses aïeux ou dans le Montpellier de ses études de médecine : un duel le contraint de gagner la capitale pour y demander la grâce du roi. Voici donc Paris en 1572. La faveur du protestant Coligny auprès de Charles IX, " l'infâme accouplement " de la catholique Margot avec Henri de Navarre scandalisent l'opinion. La haine entre les deux camps est à son comble. Pierre de Siorac découvre le monde des ruelles, du petit peuple, des ouvrières et des artisans ; et puis le Louvre, les princes, les grandes coquettes " dévergognées ", les soldats et les maîtres d'armes... Jusqu'au terrible matin de la Saint-Barthélemy qui le verra s'échapper de justesse.