Richelieu
Faith in France

Max Gallo tells the true story of Richelieu, a legendary character and a great builder of French unity.

Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu should never have become Cardinal. Devoted to a military career he nonetheless inherited the post of Bishop of Luçon at the age of twenty-three. He showed great determination and ambition in order to escape his native town of Poitou and was able to gain access to the Court, the reputable position of Cardinal, and eventually became an advisor to the King.

Staying in good graces with the empowered involves being able to thwart the scheming that enlivened Marie de Medici’s, Anne of Austria or even the illustrious brother of the king. It is cruelly distancing oneself from the enemies of the kingdom: Protestants or the powerful lords who refuse to swear allegiance to the king. It is waging war against Spain. And, most importantly, it is being able to seduce Louis XIII, an elusive, hesitant and susceptible man who, at any moment, could decide the fate of his closest advisor.

Richelieu’s history is also that of his king and it is thanks to the couple they formed that Richelieu, servant to the magnificence of France, has entered into legend.

The fascinating destiny of a man of many facets – sensitive, torn, ill, but also merciless and daunting