First published in 1828, "A Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX" is the earliest major 19th-century attempt to deal with the events of St. Bartholomew's Eve (which Dumas addresses in "La Reine Margot"). Nowadays Merimee is best known as the author of the novel the opera "Carmen" was based upon. His novel is an engaging and mobile little tale that serves as an excellent introduction to the whole period. We see Paris and the court of Charles IX through the eyes of a younger son of the nobility, fresh from the provinces and out to prove himself worthy of the family name.
