Follow Friday - There Are Currently One Hundred and Seven Nobel Laureates in Literature

It's Friday again, and this means it's time for Follow Friday. There has been a slight change to the format, as now there are two Follow Friday hosts blogs and two Follow Friday Features Bloggers each week. To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow both of the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts (Parajunkee and Alison Can Read) and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow the two Featured Bloggers of the week - Pretty Deadly Reviews and Boarding with Books.
3. Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments.
5. Follow, follow, follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "Hi".
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the love . . . and the followers.
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If you're new to the Follow Friday Hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

And now for the Follow Friday Question: Give us a sneak! What are you reading? Tell us about a fun or fail scene in your current read.

I am currently reading The Iron King, a historical fiction novel by Maurice Druon. The novel, written originally in French, is the first of a seven book series about the intrigues of the Capetian and Plantagenet dynasties that led to the Hundred Years War. The series has been cited by George R.R. Martin as one of the inspirations for his Song of Ice and Fire series, and the influence easy to see when one is reading The Iron King.

One of the interesting scenes takes place when Grand Marshall Jacques de Molay of the Templars is being executed. The fact that he and his fellow Templars would be executed was more or less a foregone conclusion in the book, since it is a well-documents event in history, and if things had turned out differently then all pretense at being historical fiction would have been lost. And since his final words were also a matter of historical record, the fact that he announced that his persecutors would soon stand before God's judgment was also no surprise. But the scene is so well-written that it seems fresh, and even though a reasonably informed reader will already know what is coming, it still seems almost shocking when it happens.

Another compelling scene is the banishment of all three of the princesses of France for adultery. Once again, this is a well-documented historical fact, as two of the daughters-in-law of Philip the Fair were actually convicted of adultery and sentenced to life imprisonment, while the third was convicted of conspiring to aid the others in their adultery and sentenced to imprisonment for an indefinite period of time. The scenes surrounding this event, which is the pivotal moment in the novel, and the pivotal moment in the series, as it cast the line of succession to the throne of France into chaos, are fascinating to read, not just for the historical content, but for the deft way in which Druon makes these momentous events clearly human events, driven by vanity, greed, jealousy, and anger. For example, the princesses live are spared not because of any particular magnanimity on the part of the King, but rather because to execute them would have impoverished one of his sons. The accusations against the princesses were instigated by Isabella of England and Robert of Artois, who laid a trap to reveal the affairs. In the book, Isabella is motivated by personal animosity, while Robert is motivated by a desire to gain the upper hand against his aunt in a dispute over property, and the result of these petty aims is to throw the entire nation into chaos, and spark a war that would last a century. But it all revolves around a scene in which the three princesses are before the King, their heads shaved in shame, saying goodbye to their husbands forever after watching their lovers get flayed alive. And the scene is gripping, and brilliant.

Go to previous Follow Friday: 17 U.S.C. § 106 Protects Exclusive Rights in Copyright

Go to subsequent Follow Friday: Ulysses Killed All 108 of Penelope's Unwelcome Suitors

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