There’s plot and counter-plot, duels, passion, murder, romance, disguises, poets and assassins. Red Sphinx is wonderful. It contains a huge cast of characters, most of them historical, including Father Joseph, Richelieu’s most important agent-the man who gave us the term éminence grise. Louis XIII is here, still heirless, and his queen, Anne of Austria, still pining over the English Duke of Buckingham. Here as well is Louis’s half-brother the Comte de Moret (Dumas also provides a fictional love-interest for the dashing Comte, but she’s really dull). Still scheming for the good of his beloved France, Richelieu’s goal is to see France as the superpower of Europe, and woe to anyone or anything standing in the way of this amiable hobby. Cardinal Richelieu, whom we learned to hate in The Three Musketeers, becomes the leading character in The Red Sphinx, which begins shortly after Musketeers ends. Richelieu without Musketeers? Inconceivable! But seriously, you won’t miss them in this labyrinthine romp through 1630s France. Written by Alexandre Dumas Lawrence Ellsworth (trans.)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |