Chicot the Jester
1844
The year is 1578. France bleeds beneath the feuding of king and Catholic League, and at the heart of the madness sits a jester who refuses to kneel. Chicot is no ordinary fool: he's a gentleman, a swordsman, and the only man in Henri III's crumbling court who speaks truth to power while wearing bells. Dumas builds his novel around the wedding of St. Luc, a young nobleman whose marriage to the king's former mistress ignites the monarch's notorious jealousy. What follows is a dance of wit and menace, where jokes conceal knives and every feast could be a final supper. This is the novel that birthed one of Dumas' most magnetic creations. Chicot would eventually eclipse the book itself, becoming the only character in all of Dumas' gallery who might rival d'Artagnan in popularity and splendor of portrayal. Here he appears first: young, fierce, impossibly clever, using his license as a fool to navigate a court where royal favorites are assassinated and the King's "mignons" die bloody. It's darker than The Three Musketeers, stranger, more attuned to the psychological toll of political terror. For readers who crave Dumas at his most ambitious: historical fiction that plays chess with history while juggling swords.
Editions
X-Ray
“Catherine wished to discover whether her son were really ill or feigning. But he, worthy son of such a mother, played his part to perfection. She had wept, he had a fever.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“If you break this door you will find me dead on the threshold."And be easy, madame, you shall be revenged," said Bussy.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“What is it?" said Jeanne, when Diana was gone; "you look rather gloomy.""Why, yes.""What has happened?""Oh, mon Dieu! an accident.""To you?""Not precisely to me, but to a person who was near me.""Who was it?""The person I was walking with.""M. de Monsoreau?""Alas! yes; poor dear man.""What has happened to him?""I believe he is dead.""Dead!" cried Jeanne, starting back in horror."Just so.""He who was here just now talking…""Yes, that is just the cause of his death - he talked too much.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“People never mind giving or lending to rich people, only to poor ones;””
— Alexandre Dumas
“Nu, urmărește-ne de departe și doar eu am să te văd, dragul meu Louis. La curbele drumului, în vârful movilelor, pana pălăriei, broderia hainei, batista fluturând, toate îmi vor vorbi de numele tău, toate îmi vor spune că mă iubești. Iar când soarele apune sau când ceața coboară pe câmpie, voi vedea umbra ta înclinându-se și trimițându-mi dulcea sărutare de seară și eu voi fi fericită, foarte fericită!””
— Alexandre Dumas
“Dumnezeu mi-e martor și știe ce am de gând; te iubesc atât de mult, Diane, încât n-aș putea acționa ca oricare alt bărbat. Știu că mă iubești. Dumnezeule! Nu încerca să negi, pentru că te-ai asemăna acelor spirite vulgare ale căror cuvinte dezmint faptele. O știu, pentru că ai mărturisit-o. Și apoi, o dragoste ca a mea radiază ca soarele și animă toate inimile pe care le atinge; așa că nu-ți voi cere nimic, dar nici nu voi dispera. Nu, mă voi apleca spre genunchii tăi pe care-i sărut și îți voi spune, cu mâna dreaptă pe inimă, pe această inimă care n-a mințit niciodată din interes și nici din teamă, îți voi spune: „Diane, te iubesc și te voi iubi cât voi mai trăi! Diane, îți jur în fața Cerului că sunt în stare să mor pentru tine, că voi muri adorându-te.””
— Alexandre Dumas
Link to this book
Add a free, dofollow link to Lex on your blog, forum, syllabus, or reading list.
<a href="https://lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524"><img src="https://lex-books.com/badges/read-on-lex.svg" alt="Read Chicot the Jester by Alexandre Dumas free on Lex" width="160" height="40"></a>[](https://lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524)[url=https://lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524][img]https://lex-books.com/badges/read-on-lex.svg[/img][/url]Read Chicot the Jester by Alexandre Dumas free on Lex: https://lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524Cite this book
Reading this edition for a paper or guide? Copy a citation.
Dumas, Alexandre. Chicot the Jester. Lex, lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524.Dumas, A. (1844). Chicot the Jester. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524Dumas, Alexandre. Chicot the Jester. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/chicot-the-jester-50041f4d-ee7e-4087-a8f6-a2e645a09524.
![Alexandre Dumas, [Père] (Gutenberg Index)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd3b2n8gj62qnwr.cloudfront.net%2FCOVERS%2Fgutenberg_covers75k%2Febook-58024.png&w=3840&q=75)
