---
product_id: 59921120
title: "City of Wisdom and Blood: Fortunes of France 2"
price: "€ 768.67"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/59921120-city-of-wisdom-and-blood-fortunes-of-france-2
store_origin: HR
region: Croatia
---

# City of Wisdom and Blood: Fortunes of France 2

**Price:** € 768.67
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** City of Wisdom and Blood: Fortunes of France 2
- **How much does it cost?** € 768.67 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/59921120-city-of-wisdom-and-blood-fortunes-of-france-2)

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## Description

Montpellier in 1566-only fools walk the streets at night unarmed, while a profession of faith in the wrong company can lead to a knife in the back. Not even this proud city of philosophers is safe from the menaces that endanger the peace of France. The city militia are struggling to contend with the lawlessness and religious hatred that threaten to tear the whole country in two. Now an adult, Pierre de Siorac must travel south on dangerous roads to the great university town, accompanied by his strapping but naive brother Samson and the crafty Miroul. Well-armoured, with swords and pistols at their belts, the trio are confident of repelling any bandits who cross their path, but their new life away from the safety of their Perigord home will bring with it many new dangers and delights. Continuing the colourful story that began The Brethren, City of Wisdom and Blood is the second book in the sweeping saga, Fortunes of France . The Brethren is the first volume in the epic historical drama Fortunes of France-a lusty, exhilarating blend of adventure and romance set against the backdrop of a critical period in European history. 'Swashbuckling historical fiction... For all its philosophical depth [The Brethren] is a hugely entertaining romp... The comparisons with Dumas seem both natural and deserved and the next 12 instalments [are] a thrilling prospect' Christobel Kent, Guardian 'A vivid novel by France's modern Dumas... [there is] plenty of evidence in the rich characterisation and vivid historical detail that a reader's long-term commitment will be amply rewarded' Sunday Times 'The mainstay of the novel is swashbuckling action... What stands out is Merle's eye for detail' Spectator 'We're swept away by triumph, tragedy, action and adventure... It's a novel like this that makes reviewing one of the best jobs in the world.' Bookbag, Five Star Review 'Cleverly depicts France's epic religious wars through the intimate prism of one family's experience. It's beautifully written too. Metro . 'Historical fiction at its very best... This fast paced and heady brew is colourfully leavened with love and sex and a great deal of humour and wit. The second instalment cannot be published too soon' We Love This Book 'This is old-fashioned story-telling. It has swagger and, vibrancy with big characters... A gripping story with humour and strength and real attention to historical detail" Mature Times This enjoyable story has some of the wit of George MacDonald Fraser's 'Flashman' ... Alexandre Dumas comes to mind too... [the remaining volumes] of this moving panorama are eagerly awaited' The Tablet 'A lively adventures anyone keen on historical fiction [should] look forward to the next instalment' Telegraph 'A master of the historical novel' Guardian 'The spectacular 13-volume evocation of 16th-17th-century France' Independent 'Merle's novel offers a sympathetic and highly imaginative view of a fraught time in French history... filled with originality, humanity, and insight' New Welsh Review 'The Brethren very quickly wins one over' Glasgow Herald 'The Dumas of the twentieth century' Neues Deutschland 'A wonderful, colourful, breathlessly narrated historical panorama' Zeitpunkt

Review: A great swashbuckler ! - A great swashbuckler , as has been said - The Three Musketeers meet The Game of Thrones - and come off best
Review: very good follow up, though not quite as strong a narrative - This is the second in a series of 13 historical novels about the lives of a family of minor Huguenot nobles, the de Sioracs, in 16th and 17th century France. The series was written by French author Robert Merle over a period of 26 years, though I understand that only the first four books in the series have thus far been translated into English. The action picks up where the first book ended, with young Pierre de Siorac and his half brother Samson setting out on their journey of life, with Pierre enrolling as a medical student in Montpellier. While this is very well written, I thought this mostly lacked the narrative drive of the first novel, and had throughout much of it a more comic feel, with Pierre getting into a series of sexual entanglements with almost every lady he meets, and into scrapes such as disinterring a body from the graveyard to provide an extra corpse for dissection in anatomy lessons, while at the same time engaging in sexual relations with a self-proclaimed witch in the selfsame graveyard. All this said, the threat of bitter and bloody civil war between Catholic and Huguenot is never far away, with Pierre disgusted by the reprisals of his fellow Huguenots when they take power in Nimes, butchering Catholic priests, monks and ordinary citizens ("What kind of a new world is this, that begins with the massacre of people who, when all is said and done, have the same God that we do but worship Him in a different way?”). He pleads for toleration in the face of extremists on both sides of the religious divide: "how can we possibly argue for the freedom of conscience for ourselves, which the papists have denied us, if we refuse it to those who have ideas that differ from ours?” Parts of this novel also felt like a brain dump of information on medicinal herbs, or early modern age ideas of medicine and anatomy - interesting but distracted sometimes from the narrative. These criticisms apart, this was still a very rich and well written novel and I will certainly be reading the following novels.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 1,236,533 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 29,376 in Adventure Stories & Action 46,193 in Historical Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.0 out of 5 stars 116 Reviews |

## Images

![City of Wisdom and Blood: Fortunes of France 2 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71bjPWs-XzL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great swashbuckler !
*by A***R on 18 May 2017*

A great swashbuckler , as has been said - The Three Musketeers meet The Game of Thrones - and come off best

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ very good follow up, though not quite as strong a narrative
*by J***R on 7 January 2019*

This is the second in a series of 13 historical novels about the lives of a family of minor Huguenot nobles, the de Sioracs, in 16th and 17th century France. The series was written by French author Robert Merle over a period of 26 years, though I understand that only the first four books in the series have thus far been translated into English. The action picks up where the first book ended, with young Pierre de Siorac and his half brother Samson setting out on their journey of life, with Pierre enrolling as a medical student in Montpellier. While this is very well written, I thought this mostly lacked the narrative drive of the first novel, and had throughout much of it a more comic feel, with Pierre getting into a series of sexual entanglements with almost every lady he meets, and into scrapes such as disinterring a body from the graveyard to provide an extra corpse for dissection in anatomy lessons, while at the same time engaging in sexual relations with a self-proclaimed witch in the selfsame graveyard. All this said, the threat of bitter and bloody civil war between Catholic and Huguenot is never far away, with Pierre disgusted by the reprisals of his fellow Huguenots when they take power in Nimes, butchering Catholic priests, monks and ordinary citizens ("What kind of a new world is this, that begins with the massacre of people who, when all is said and done, have the same God that we do but worship Him in a different way?”). He pleads for toleration in the face of extremists on both sides of the religious divide: "how can we possibly argue for the freedom of conscience for ourselves, which the papists have denied us, if we refuse it to those who have ideas that differ from ours?” Parts of this novel also felt like a brain dump of information on medicinal herbs, or early modern age ideas of medicine and anatomy - interesting but distracted sometimes from the narrative. These criticisms apart, this was still a very rich and well written novel and I will certainly be reading the following novels.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five Stars
*by B***N on 14 November 2015*

What a gret follow on book to the Brethren, I look forward to the next book in this series.

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*Product available on Desertcart Croatia*
*Store origin: HR*
*Last updated: 2026-08-15*