The Brethren

Consisting of 13 books written across 26 years, the adventure-filled epic Fortunes of France is one of France's best-loved historical fiction series. Never before published in English, book one, The Brethren, makes its debut in the US in the spring of 2015, followed in the fall by book two, City of Wisdom and Blood.

Two veteran soldiers retire to a castle in the wildly beautiful Périgord of sixteenth century France. But the country is descending into chaos, plagued by religious strife, famine, pestilence, bands of robbers... and, of course, the English.

In the course of their story we are introduced to a slew of vivid characters, including the fiery Isabelle, mistress of the castle, refusing to renounce her religious beliefs despite great pressure; the petty and meal-mouthed Francois, unlikely heir to the estate; the brave and loyal Jonas who lives in a cave and keeps a wolf as a pet; the swaggering soldier Cabusse; the outrageously superstitious Maligou, and Sarrazine, who once roamed as part of a wild gypsy band.

A sprawling, earthy tale of violence and lust, love and death, political intrigue and dazzling philosophical debate, The Brethren is the first step in an engrossing saga to rival Dumas, Flashmanand Game of Thrones.

Robert Merle was born in French Algeria, before moving to mainland France in 1918. A lifelong anglophile, Merle was a professor of English Literature at various universities, translating works including Jonathan Swift's Gullivers Travels into French. After the outbreak of war in 1939 he served as an interpreter with the British Expeditionary Force, and was captured by the German army at Dunkirk, the experience of which served as the basis for his post-war debut Weekend at Zuydcoote. Initially French publishers were wary of this book, put off by its foul language and sexual content, but at the urging of authors including Jean-Paul Sartre and Raymond Queneau it was snapped up by Gaston Gallimard and went on to win the Prix Goncourt. His much-loved Fortunes of France series was published over four decades, from 1977 to 2003, the final volume appearing just a year before his death of a heart attack in 2004.