Historical Fiction Weyman, Stanley J.: A Gentleman of France, v.1, 25 Jan 2009

[BenG]

'Stanley Weyman's fame stands on the foundation of his historical, romantic fiction. The 15 novels written between 1890 and 1904 are set amidst the turmoil of 16th and 17th century France. Weyman was one of the first authors to 'cast the romance of adventure' in the historical framework. He was able to resurrect the great heroes and bring them to life by his loving hand. This author claimed: "The graves of our heroes--the real heroes--move us; the doors through which the famous dead have passed are sacred to us." Stanley Weyman regarded himself as fortunate that the timing of his early novels followed closely the popular historical fiction of Alexandre Dumas in France.

One of his most well known novels was A Gentleman of France, which is set during the time of the War of the Three Henrys. It describes the "grand climacteric of a man's life". Forty-year-old M. de Marsac is in the process of losing his finances and gentleman status. He has been forced to groom his own horse by cover of night and faces ridicule because of his tattered appearance when he goes before the court of Henry of Navarre seeking a commission. Rewarded for his past valor and loyalty to France, M. de Marsac teaches others that the clothes in no way make the man and that a true gentleman can win the respect he so rightly deserves by initiative and courage. These words play out until the final curtain "I had need of all the courage which religion and a campaigner's life could supply." '

I started with the PG text and proofread it using the page images from Google Books.

Count Hannibal and Under the Red Robe by Weyman (pronounced "Wyman") are also available on MobileRead.

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