1st half of this book. Not his strongest. From what I've read online, he probably didn't write any of it. It was sketched by him but was written almost entirely by a collaborator.
Set in the early years of Henri II's reign with a young Catherine de Medici as his queen. We see the conflict of Protestant and Catholic brewing but not yet boiling over. This tells the story of Diana de Poitiers (Henri II's mistress) and Diana de Castro, the King's illegitimate daughter who is in love with the son of the imprisoned Count de Montgommery. This first book fleshes out the characters and their relationships as well as the seige and fall of St. Quentin to the English and Spanish. Gabriel, the Vicount of Montgommery, and Diana de Castro taken hostage by the English in Calais after the fall of St. Quentin. Gabriel is released for payment of his bond but Diana is kept out of love for her by her jailer. Diana is then rescued by Gabriel who works with the French to capture Calais.
Could have been great in Dumas' actual hands. ( )

Illustrated with a frontispiece in photogravure, each illustration has tissue guard printed with caption. Very attractive binding in black cloth with floral decoration on covers and spines in light green and orange. Spine titles are gold, most very bright, a few slightly rubbed.