{"product_id":"the-last-duel-isbn-9780767914178","title":"The Last Duel","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER • “A taut page-turner with all the hallmarks of a good historical thriller.”—\u003ci\u003eOrlando Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe basis for the major motion picture starring Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, and Adam Driver, now streaming on Hulu!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe gripping true story of the duel to end all duels in medieval France as a resolute knight defends his wife’s honor against the man she accuses of a heinous crime\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn the midst of the devastating Hundred Years’ War between France and England, Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight fresh from combat in Scotland, returns home to yet another deadly threat. His wife, Marguerite, has accused squire Jacques Le Gris of rape. A deadlocked court decrees a trial by combat between the two men that will also leave Marguerite’s fate in the balance. For if her husband loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWhile enemy troops pillage the land, and rebellion and plague threaten the lives of all, Carrouges and Le Gris meet in full armor on a walled field in Paris. What follows is the final duel ever authorized by the Parlement of Paris, a fierce fight with lance, sword, and dagger before a massive crowd that includes the teenage King Charles VI, during which both combatants are wounded—but only one fatally.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBased on extensive research in Normandy and Paris, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Duel\u003c\/i\u003e brings to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge. \u003ci\u003eThe Last Duel\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a moving human drama, a captivating true crime story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue with themes that echo powerfully centuries later.“Succeeds brilliantly in combining page-turning intensity with eye-opening insights into the bizarre ritual of judicial combat in the Middle Ages.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This high-suspense, sanguinary tale ensnares readers. . . . The tension is nearly unendurable. . . . Sex, savagery, and high-level political maneuvers energize a splendid piece of popular history.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An enthralling story that reads like fiction but is based on reliable sources. A world of passion, cruelty, and mismanaged law.” \u003cb\u003e—Norman Cantor, author of\u003ci\u003e Inventing the Middle Ages\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e In the Wake of the Plague\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“If you read only one book about the Middle Ages, Eric Jager’s thriller is the one to read.” \u003cb\u003e—Steven Ozment, author of\u003ci\u003e A Mighty Fortress\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e The Burgermeister’s Daughter\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Eric Jager uses the historical record to marvelous effect when recounting the riveting story of two men locked in mortal combat. . . . Two worlds duel in this fascinating portrait of an end of an age-the feudal aristocracy and the chivalric court—and who we deem the true victor is brilliantly left open to interpretation in Jager’s engrossing tale.” \u003cb\u003e—Margaret F. Rosenthal, author of\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e The Honest Courtesan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A spectacular panorama of the late Middle Ages. . . a historical thriller that leaves us with the impression of having known and lived in another world. It combines the vivid erudition of Barbara Tuchman’s\u003ci\u003e Distant Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e with the suspense and drama of Umberto Eco’s\u003ci\u003e Name of the Rose\u003c\/i\u003e. Eric Jager has invented a genre that reminds us that human nature has not changed very much over the ages and that sometimes reality is bigger than life and more riveting than fiction.” \u003cb\u003e—R. Howard Bloch, Augustus R. Street Professor of French, Yale University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEric Jager\u003c\/b\u003e holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and has also taught at Columbia University. An award-winning professor of English at UCLA, he is the author of two previous books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Book of the Heart\u003c\/i\u003e (a study of heart imagery in medieval literature) and numerous articles for acclaimed academic journals. He lives in Los Angeles.\u003cb\u003ePrologue\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eOn a cold morning a few days after Christmas in 1386, thousands of people packed a large open space behind a monastery in Paris to watch two knights fight a duel to the death. The rectangular field of battle was enclosed by a high wooden wall, and the wall was surrounded by guards armed with spears. Charles VI, the eighteen-yearold king of France, sat with his court in colorful viewing stands along one side, while the huge throng of spectators crowded all around the field.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe two combatants, in full armor, swords and daggers at their belts, sat facing each other across the length of the field on thronelike chairs placed just outside the heavy gates at either end. Attendants held a stamping warhorse ready by each gate, as priests hurriedly cleared the field of the altar and crucifix on which the two enemies had just sworn their oaths.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the marshal’s signal, the knights would mount their horses, seize their lances, and charge onto the field. The guards would then slam the gates shut, imprisoning the two men inside the heavy stockade. There they would fight without quarter, and without any chance of escape, until one killed the other, thus proving his charges and revealing God’s verdict on their quarrel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe excited crowd was watching not only the two fierce warriors, and the youthful king amid his splendid court, but also the beautiful young woman sitting alone on a black-draped scaffold overlooking the field, dressed from head to toe in mourning, and also surrounded by guards.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeeling the eyes of the crowd upon her and bracing herself for the coming ordeal, she stared ahead at the flat, smooth field where her fate would soon be written in blood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf her champion won the judicial combat and killed his opponent, she would go free. But if he were slain, she would pay with her life for having sworn a false oath.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was the feast day of the martyred saint Thomas Becket, the crowd was in a holiday mood, and she knew that many were eager to see not only a man slain in mortal combat but also a woman put to death.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the bells of Paris tolled the hour, the king’s marshal strode onto the field and held up a hand for silence. The trial by combat was about to begin.","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304807157989,"sku":"NP9780767914178","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780767914178.jpg?v=1767740125","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-last-duel-isbn-9780767914178","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}