
In the glittering salons of pre‑Revolutionary France, the seasoned Marshal de Richelieu prepares for an evening that promises more than a simple supper. He summons his loyal maître‑d’hôtel, a veteran of royal courts, to arrange a dinner for nine distinguished guests. Their conversation, laced with witty repartee, hints at the delicate etiquette that governs the aristocracy, while the marshal’s stubborn insistence on a four‑o’clock meal foreshadows a clash of wills.
Among the invited is the enigmatic Count Haga, a man whose true identity is deliberately concealed. Rumors whisper that he may, in fact, be a foreign monarch traveling under an assumed name, and the marshal’s determination to treat him as a king could set off a chain of intrigue. As the night approaches, tensions rise, and listeners are drawn into a world of courtly deception, political maneuvering, and the ever‑present danger of a secret that could alter the course of history.
Language
en
Duration
~12 hours (701K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2006-12-16
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1802–1870
Best known for The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, this wildly popular French storyteller helped define the adventure novel. His life was dramatic too, shaped by family history that reached from France to Saint-Domingue, now Haiti.
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1813–1888
Best known as Alexandre Dumas’s behind-the-scenes collaborator, he helped shape some of the most famous adventure novels of the 19th century. A historian, dramatist, and novelist in his own right, he spent much of his life balancing literary success with a long fight for proper credit.
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