Louise de la Valliere
by Alexandre Dumas
Louise de la Vallière is the central part of the Viscount de Bragelonne, or Ten Years Later. In the background of a sensitive love story, Dumas continues the tension that begins with "Vicomta de Bragelonne" and ends with "The Man in the Iron Mask." This is the beginning of the summer of 1661, and the French royal court is in disarray. Could it be true that the king fell in love with the Duchess of D'Orleans? Or was he caught in the eye by the sweet and gentle Louise de la Vallière? No one wants to know the answer more than Raoul, the son of Athos, who loves Louise more than life itself. Behind the scenes, dark intrigues are standing on their feet. Louis XIV wants to make himself the absolute master of France. The looming crisis is shaking the now aging gunslingers and d'Artagnan from their smug retirement, but is the reason fair?
