''La Dormition des amants'' is a Belgian

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by

Jacqueline Harpman Jacqueline Harpman (5 July 1929 – 24 May 2012) was a Belgian writer who wrote in French. She was born on 5 July 1929, in Etterbeek, Belgium, and was later well known for her books written in French. Her father being a Dutch-born Jew, Harpman ...

. It was first published through

Éditions Grasset The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955). History Founder In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of ''À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'', ...

in 2002. It won the Prix triennal du roman of the

French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (french: Communauté française; ) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (french: Fédé ...

in 2003.

Plot

This is an historical novel set in the seventeenth-century. Maria Concepcion (queen presumptive) is the daughter of King Carlos of Spain. While she is trained for ascendency, Maria treats her small castrated slave, Girolamo, with great compassion and he gradually becomes her playmate and confidant. Together, they learn reading, writing, and science. In 1610,

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

was assassinated by Ravaillac. Édouard (a fictional king invented by the author) ascends the throne. Maria is to marry Édouard and become the queen of France. Girolamo comes with Maria to France and are inseparable; he even sleeps in a room next to that of the Queen. But their love is only platonic and can never become carnal. Here we find a little myth of Tristan and Isolde.

Plot

References

Further reading