German writer Heinrich Mann's dilogy about the French King Henry IV is deservedly considered a masterpiece of historical fiction, comparable to the best novels of Alexandre Dumas and Henryk Sienkiewicz. The action takes place in Europe, in the sixteenth century, one of the bloodiest and darkest: civil wars, religious fanaticism, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, a deadly struggle for power... Europe needed a ruler capable not only of extinguishing the flames of war by establishing a long-awaited peace, but also of changing the entire course of history, which was pushing nations into the bottomless abyss of death. Such a ruler turned out to be King Henry IV of the Bourbon dynasty. Many writers have addressed the life of this great monarch, from Voltaire to Alexandre Dumas, but it is Heinrich Mann who has created the most fascinating, historically accurate, and detailed biography of one of France's most popular kings.

This edition includes the first part of the Henry IV dilogy, which tells the story of the future monarch's maturation and spiritual development, and the adventures and dangers he was destined to endure on his way to the throne.