Under the Red Robe

Paris, 1630s. Cardinal Richelieu holds France in his iron grasp, and in the shadow of power, Gil de Berault has carved out a notorious existence. Known throughout the city as 'The Black Death,' he is a duellist, a spy, a man who has taken lives without flinching and ruined countless others without remorse. When he is sent to arrest a young man for political crimes, he expects another chore in a life built on violence. Then he meets the young man's sister. Mademoiselle de Cocheforêt is everything he is not: gentle, humble, full of pity. And when she looks at him, she sees not the monster he has become but the man he might have been. For the first time in his life, Gil de Berault feels shame. What follows is a swashbuckling tale of intrigue, love, and impossible choices as a man who has sold his soul tries to buy it back. Weyman writes with theatrical verve and genuine emotional depth, giving us a protagonist we cannot help but root for, even as we recognize the darkness he carries. A ripping adventure that happens to ask whether any heart is beyond redemption.