About the book: 1979 / The novel “Forty-five” (“Les Quarante-Cinq”, 1847) is the final part of the trilogy, which includes the novels “Queen Margot” and "The Countess de Monsoreau". The plot of the novel is the story of the struggle of Henry of Navarre for the French throne and Diana de Monsoreau's revenge on the Duke of Anjou. The events depicted in the novel date back to 1585, when France was devastated by religious and civil wars and a real threat of collapse hung over the French monarchy as a result of noble conspiracies, peasant riots and urban uprisings. During that period, escalating contradictions led to a new period of bloody wars, called by historians the “war of the three Henrys,” namely: Henry III (the last French king from the Valois dynasty), Henry I of Lorraine, the Duke of Guise (hungry to ascend the French throne) and Henry Navarre (future King of France Henry IV). Forty-five reliable bodyguards, forty-five loyal Gascon hearts, ready to protect their overlord from any danger. Is this a lot or a little, considering that the Gizas, striving for power, maintain an entire army of hired killers, and the king is hated and despised by his own subjects... But for now these modest forces, inconspicuously directed by the royal jester named Chicot, are enough to keep Valois staggering under him throne.