The Countess de Monsoreau (La Dame de Monsoreau, 1846) is one of the most important works of Alexandre Dumas. In this fascinating adventure-historical novel, the writer with remarkable skill revives the events of the second half of the XVI century - the era of religious wars and the reign of Henry III, the last king of the Valois dynasty. The novel is based on the love story of Count de Bussy to the young beauty Diana de Méridor, the will of circumstances and betrayal of the wife of the royal catcher de Monsoro, as well as the story of the painful jealousy of the crowned admirer of Diana - Prince of Anjou. The heroes of the novel are also King Henry III of France and his jester Shiko, the de Geese family eager for royal power and a lover of dangerous entertainment Henry of Navarre. The Countess de Monsoro is the second book of Dumas’ fascinating trilogy about the Huguenot wars (Queen Margot, The Countess de Monsoro, Forty-five). On the further fate of Diana de Méridor, Henry III, Henry of Navarre and Chico see . in the novel "Forty-five" . Illustrations by Maurice Leloir .