The Revolt

Clara Dupont-Monod

Quercus Publishing, Aug 6, 2020 - Fiction - 208 pages

It is with a soft voice, full of menace, that our mother commands us to overthrow our father . . .

Richard Lionheart tells the story of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1173, she and three of her sons instigate a rebellion to overthrow the English king, her husband Henry Plantagenet. What prompts this revolt? How does a great queen persuade her children to rise up against their father? And how does a son cope with this crushing conflict of loyalties?

Replete with poetry and cruelty, this story takes us to the heart of the relationship between a mother and her favourite son - two individuals sustained by literature, unspoken love, honour and terrible violence.

About the author

Clara Dupont-Monod studied ancient French at the Sorbonne, and began her career in journalism writing for Cosmopolitan and Marianne. Her novels often draw on medieval myths and history, and have been nominated for the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Femina, two of France's most prestigious literary awards. Her first novel to be translated into English, The Revolt, which tells the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, was published in 2020. She lives in Paris.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Revolt
• Author: Clara Dupont-Monod
• Translated by: Ruth Diver
• Publisher: Quercus Publishing, 2020
• ISBN: 1529402875, 9781529402872
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Historical / Medieval