much like the historical fiction being published these days, which tends to sensationalize as well as glamorize the lives of kings, queens, and courtiers.
This reads more like history, which is how it should be, It is also a very fine work of literary imagination as well as careful historical research, Really quite beautiful. The story of the life of Charles d'Orleans, nephew to Charles VI of France, who was a dreamy reclusive boy until he was thrust into the middle of a blood feud after the savage murder of his father.
Very moving, as is Hella Haasse's quiet, haunting prose, Internationally, Het woud der verwachting by Hella Haasse In a dark wood wandering is her magnum opus, And rightfully so.
It has taken me some time, Thats partly due to logistics and my laziness: I read mainly in public transportation, forensing, The dimensions and the weight of my edition made me read this novel only at home, with other priorities over here, As a side effect, in the mean time I have read a number of other books, Hence this one took me from Aprilto Juneto finish,
The novel is about Charles dOrléans, literally from his first cry to his last sigh,
In between we see more rivalry than chivalry, politics on all levels in what is now called France as well as internationally in the hundred years of conflicts and war with England.
On the level of family relations, and those to be, love is a thing that hardly counts when business interests seeking power are at stake mostly.
Charles has been painted in many colours and details, In fact, there is a vast number of characters that get a prominent position in the narration,
For me, Charles comes forward as a romantic soul in a medieval armour, By the way, Charles had his strives as a statesman, but he was a poet too,
Haasse has structured the novel clearly and gives room for extended elaboration on dialogue, thoughts, nature, My feeling is that the novel is very well balanced, Haasse has used beautiful and very careful language as usual, I can say,
All together it is a wonderful and excellent achievement, JM De Bourgondiërs van Bart Van Loo en Het woud der verwachting van Hella S, Haase vullen elkaar perfect aan, Nu lees ik alles vanuit het standpunt van De hertog van Orléans, de aartsvijand van de hertog van Bourgondië, Had ik in het boek van Van Loo nog sympathie voor de Bourgondiërs, dan weet ik nu hoe verschrikkelijk oneerlijk en onbetrouwbaar zij zich hebben gedragen.
De andere kant van de medaille dus, Magistraal en prachtig gedetailleerd verhaal, Het is alsof Haase in het hoofd van haar protagonisten zit en door hun ogen kijkt, Ze lijkt overal bij aanwezig en geeft verslag als tijdgenote, De ene keer zit je in volle thrillerspanning te lezen, de andere keer waan je je in een avonturenroman, dan weer bevind je je in het midden van een hoofse romance.
Hella slaagt erin van de hertog van Orléans een man van vlees en bloed te maken, Topschrijfster. Surprisingly compelling. I expected this one to be very dry, especially because it's a book in translation and not a recent translation, at that.
And it does have a dryness about it, admittedly, but it worked for me in this context, I think I learnt more about French history from this than I've learnt anywhere else except maybe that book on Joan of Arc and Yolande of Aragon.
Unfortunately, I read this over quite a loooong period of time, because dissertations are distracting, so my memories of the beginning of it are hazy and I probably would need to read it again to really appreciate it.
I won't have any qualms about doing that, though, when my to read list is a little less dramatic, I enjoyed the way Haasse brought to life these historical characters motives and thoughts and all, they felt real, In a dark wood wandering, . . A novel of the Middle Ages, . . Well, what a book, and what a writer, I saw I started this book in May of this year already,
It is not an easy book and I took some pauzes to read other books, But when I returned the story captured me every time again, It is indeed a book you need to take your time with I think, . . read it slowly, take in the scenery, the language, the content,
I wasn't very familiar with the French history in depth and it is utterly fascinating, And the historic figure of melancholy Charles of Orleans, leader and poet, was so fascinating and sympathetic, Hella Haasse, the grande dame of the Dutch literature, she's a poet as well, So there were some tough parts in this book, hard to get through, I admit, but overall it is such a grand book and the lastpages or so kept me fascinated til the very end.
I doubted between four and five, but the last part of the book is so wonderful and beautiful, I can't give anything other than five grand!
Recommended for history fiction fans the serious stuff and Dutch literature.
Note, very happy to see this book has been translated and several of my Goodreads friends have read it in English, so they got to know one of Holland's greatest writers in this outstanding book! This is a beautiful translation of a masterpiece of medieval historical fiction.
It is a story about loyalty, love and loss, It is about France during theyear long Hundred Years' War with England, and in particular the life of Charles, Duke of Orléans.
The book starts with the christening procession of baby Charles, but most of the first part of the book describes the terrible state that France was in at that time.
The king, Charles VI was insane, the nobles were fighting amongst themselves, the populace was starving and succumbing to the plague and there was chaos at every level of society.
Then of course there was also the ongoing war with England with the huge defeat of the French at Agincourt,
The novel comes into its own as Charles becomes a man, He is a man of integrity and courage, a man who would rather sacrifice his own interests for the good of his country and his people.
During the course of the tale which I leave to you to read he becomes a poet and a peacemaker, and creates a court of literary pursuits.
At times it seems as though he is the only sane man in France,
Enter Jeanne d'Arc, If one is stupefied by this young girl being placed at the head of an army, bear in mind that France was in such a chaotic state that it had nothing to lose.
Various royal figures are depicted, including a very young Margaret of Anjou,
The novel is well researched and well written, It is full of beautiful descriptions, not only of court and the nobility, but of the poor and hungry with their anger and their occasional exuberant joy, as well as of nature, love and beauty.
It is definitely one of my best reads of, and I even love the cover of the book, It was interesting to read about the Hundred Years' War from a French point of view, I think that the novel would translate well into film, and I wish that someone would write the story of Charles d'Orléans's wives.
Withdrawn from Kirklees Libraries Museums and Arts
Translated by Lewis C Kaplan, Revised and Edited by Anita Miller,
A map of England and France circa
Cast of Major Characters November,
Family trees of the four houses
Valois
Orléans
Burgundy
Berry
The introduction is a story unto itself.
Prologue:
In the middle of the journey of our life,
I found myself in a dark wood,
For the straight way was lost.
Dante Alighieri
Opening: Valentine, Duchess of Orléans, lay in her greencurtained bed of state, listening to the bells of SaintPol.
The church was not far from the royal palace only a stone's throw away,
Update
I finally reread this book after not reading it since thes when it was published in English.
Now that I know so much more about French history it was a completely different reading experience, The book is an engaging history of theyears war, Haasse brings these characters alive, but be warned, there is a lot of actual dry history in here of battles, political court intrigue, alliances, feuds, marriages etc.
. . It is worth the effort however, I war rooting for Charles d'Orleans until he took his last breath, What is remarkable though is that even though this book ends, the story does not, I wish there was a sequel, The end left me want to know what happened next, I know from my knowledge of history, but I would have liked her telling of it, Also I would like to read this same story from the perspective of the Duke of Burgundy, I'll bet he would tell this story in a completely different manner,
I read this book many years ago, It is one of the best fictional accounts of the French Monarchy in the middle ages ever written, This book was first published in, I didn't get my hands on it until the earlys, and I loved it then, I may read this one again just for fun, If you are at all interested in European History, or the Middle Ages, this one is highly recommended, I have meant to read this for years and finally set aside the time to do so, I learned about it from the excellent blog about all things historical, She Reads Novels,
It is a tale of the Middle Ages, set in the midst of the Hundred Years War between France and England.
An unusual translation history brought the novel originally written in Dutch into publication in English in,
The story is centered around the French court with all its pageantry and intrigue, King Charles VI has spells of insanity while three royal houses vie for power, riches and influence, The Duke of Orleans, brother of King Charles, along with his lovely, pious but proud wife Valentine, are dashing figures who reminded me of Dorothy Dunnet's characters in The Game of Kings.
When the Duke of Orleans is murdered, thanks to his arch enemy and uncle, the Duke of Burgundy, his young son Charles must take on the responsibility of avenging his father's death and serving the mad King.
The younger Charles then becomes the main character, He is a peaceloving boy ofwho prefers books to battles but must live out his life caught up in the political wrangling and wars between France and England, all the while fending off his greatuncles.
Thus he is forever conflicted and feels he is a failure, I felt a strong sympathy for Charles,
The novel also includes the English Kings Richard II, Henry V and Henry VI, all determined to bring France under English rule.
Joan of Arc makes an appearance, Except for her, women are mainly tools to gain power, always being married off at a young age to the various Kings.
Hella Haasse brings to life the royal characters, their wives and offspring, the influence of the Roman Catholic Church over the lives of both the royalty and the common people, who actually do all the work.
In a Dark Wood Wandering is a stunning example of historical fiction that overshadows in every way most of our modern bestselling historical novels.
It is on a level with the recently deceased Hilary Mantel, Boekenclubboek
Had helaas te hoge verwachtingen van dit boek en vond het bij vlagen echt heel saai, Jammer dat de vrouwen niet meer aandacht kregen en het had ook best wat juicier gemogen, Vond Charles zeker aan het einde echt alleen maar zwelgen in zelfmedelijden, Maar ja, hij is op dat punt ook wel dik, blind en lelijk dus wat moet je anders,
Wel de quiz gewonnen want ben blijkbaar goed in het onthouden van stambomen, So this is another epic tome of medieval historical fiction, I have tried to read it several times in the last few years with little success, However, after reading sitelinkAgincourt, I am more interested in the subject matter and the stories surrounding the Dukes of Orleans, Specifically that of Charles and his long imprisonment in England following Agincourt,
The fact that it is a DutchtoEnglish translation is remarkable, Kudos to Katherine Kellgren for her superb narration and for bringing this book to life, It is probably not for everyone, but I truly enjoyed the experience once I had a bit more context, It opened my eyes to a different perspective, and I look forward to reading more about Charles's descendants, Suggestions/book recommendations are welcome, .
Explore In A Dark Wood Wandering: A Novel Of The Middle Ages Conceived By Hella S. Haasse Formatted As Visual Format
Hella S. Haasse