HENRI IV FRANCE

This page presents a list of books relevant to Henri IV of France. The list contains both works of fact and fiction, though most of the fiction books are strongly fact based.

As well as the printed books listed below, you may be able to find free eBooks about Henri IV at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg is systematically digitising books which are out of copyright, or whose copyright owners have given permission. You can often find them in several formats at www.gutenberg.net

As I find them, I will also make them available for download in one format, from this section. Click on the book title to download it:-

Title	Author	Format	Size
Life of Marie de Medicis - Vol 1	Julia Pardoe	.txt	783KB
Life of Marie de Medicis - Vol 2	Julia Pardoe	.txt	748KB
Life of Marie de Medicis - Vol 3	Julia Pardoe	.txt	724KB
Memoirs of Marguerite Valois	Marguerite Valois	.txt	426KB

You can read .txt files in nearly all word processing applications, including MS Word. Alternatively Notepad or Wordpad, which come bundled as part of the Windows operating system, can also display .txt files.

The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre - Although not directly related to Henri IV, I mention this book because it is attributed to his Grandmother (mother's mother) and because Henri's first wife Marguerite Valois is sometimes referred to Marguerite, Queen of Navarre. Of course Margaret is simply the Anglicized form of Marguerite which was used in English Translations of the Heptameron. Margaret of Angouleme, Duchess of Alencon, Queen of Navarre (1492-1549) to whom the Heptameron is attributed was the sister of King Francis I of France. Francis I succeeded Louis XII and his son was Henri II, father of Marguerite Valois. English Translation by Walter K. Kelly, published in 1855 by Henry G. Bohn, London. (the frontispiece on the left below appeared in the original translation, the less flattering one on the right appeared in later copies).

Marguerite of Navarre - Samuel Putnam - 2nd printing January 1936 Grosset & Dunlap, NY. - 391 pages about Marguerite of Angouleme.

Histoire de Jeanne D'Albret, Reine de Navarre - Mlle Vauvilliers - Tome Premier, Imprimerie de Richomme, Rue Saint-Jacques, No 67, Paris - 1818. Three volumes about the life of Jeanne D'Albret in French language, includes a frontispiece engraving of Jeanne in Volume I.

Queen of Navarre - Jean d'Albret (1528 - 1572) - Nancy Lyman Roelker - The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press - 1968 - 503 pages, 15 illustrations plus 3 maps.

The Madcap Queen, The story of Marguerite of Navarre - Paul Rival - This book is about Marguerite Valois (not the same Marguerite as Margaret of Angouleme, of Heptameron fame). The book describes her unhappy relationships with her mother, her brothers (Charles XI & Henri III of France) and her husband (Henri III of Navarre / Henri IV of France). At times she took refuge in remote strongholds while in fear of her life. The book also goes into some detail about her lengthy list of lovers and the violent ends, which many of them met with.

Marguerite of Navarre - Eric Russell Chamberlin - Dial Press NY. - 1974 - 296 pages starting with the death of Marguerite's father Henri II of France and effectively finishing with the death of her ex husband Henri III of Navarre / Henri IV of France. Her own death is mentioned but the five years in between the deaths of Henri IV and of Marguerite are not really covered.

Queen of Hearts - Charlotte Haldane - Contable and Company Ltd.. 10-12 Orange street, London WC2. - 1968 - 307 pages - 10 pictures - Life of Marguerite de Valois.

The life of Marguerite d'Algouleme - Queen of Navarre - Martha Walker Freer - Second Edition - Two volumes, published by Hurst & Blackett, London (1856). Biography of Margaret of Heptameron fame, sister of King Francois I of France, maternal grandmother of King Henri IV of France.

The Life of Jeanne D'Albret - Queen of Navarre - Martha Walker Freer - Published by Hurst & Blackett, London - Biography of the mother of Henri IV of France.

Memoirs Of Maximiliam De Bethune, Duke Of Sully, Prime Minister To Henry the Great, Containing the History of the Life and Reign of That Monarch, and His Own Administration under Him... to Which is Added, the Tryal of Ravaillac for the Murder of Henry the Great. First translated from French in 1755 by Charlotte Lennox - London - A. Millar, R. & J. Dodsley, And W. Shropshire - 1763 - Fourth Edition 6 volumes, 2 portraits. There should be a map of France in Volume 1, but most of it has been torn out, so I'd be grateful to anyone who can email me a good quality scan of the map from another copy.

The History of the Reign of Henry IV - King of France and Navarre - Martha Walker Freer - published by Hurst & Blackett, London - Consisting of Part 1 (1860) in two volumes entitled "Henry IV and the League", Part 2 in 2 (1861) volumes entitled "Henry IV and Marie de Medici", and Part 3 (1863) in two volumes entitled "The last decade of a glorious reign".

The Married Life of Anne of Austria - Martha Walker Freer - Revised Edition 1912 - Eveleigh Nash. Included here since Anne married Henri's son and heir, Louis XIII.

Henry of Navarre - The King who dared - Hesketh Pearson (1963) - An account of Henri IVs reign, with a good amount of information about his mistresses. Pearson's bibliography includes "The last of the Valois" by Catherine Challotte (1888), "The First of the bourbons" by Catherine Chalotte (1890), Henry of Navarre by George Slocombe (1931), Henry of Navarre by Quentin Hurst (1937), "The favourites of Henry of Navarre" by Le Petit Homme Rouge (1910). He also mentions that the most intimate portrait of Henri can be found in the memoirs of the Duke of Sully.

Memoirs of Henri IV. King of France and Navarre, by the Court historian of Louis XIV. Translated into English by J.D. - This account appears to have been published as one or more special editions by The Grolier Society (Paris - Boston). There is definitely a limited edition of 1,000 copies entitled "Historic Court Memoirs - Memoirs of Henri IV - Edition de Luxe" with a green fabric cover. There may have been another edition of 500 copies with maroon covers.

History of Henry The Great (from the series "Courtiers and Favourites of Royalty") - Leon Vallee - Societe des Bibliophiles, Paris - English version, Merrill & Baker, New York, 1903. The Connoisseurs Edition Deluxe (500 individually numbered copies). 359 pages, 6 illustrations.

Encylcopedie par L'image - Henri IV - Librarie Hachette - Paris, France - 1935 - 64 pages, many black & white photos.

Henry of Navarre: Henry IV of France - Lord Russell of Liverpool. - Published in US in 1970 by Praeger Publishers Inc., 111 Fourth Avenue, NY. 206 pages including Index, plus 24 photo pictures. Covers the life of Henri from his birth until the investigation into his assassination.

Royal Cousin - The life of Henri IV of France - Irene Mahoney. First Edition 1970 - Doubleday & Company Inc. NY. 450 information packed pages.

Henry of Navarre -. Henry Dwight Sedgwick. The Bobbs~Merrill Company, Indianapolis - 1930. A factual account of the life of Henri IV, including some interesting photographs of relevant portraits, engravings and the death mask of Henri IV.

Henri IV - Sa Vie et son Oeuvre - H. de Font-Réaulx - Librarie National D'Éducation & Récréation. French language - undated, but looks early 20th century, with its embossed flower design cover in the art nouveau style. 222 large pages (11" X 8¼"), including 29 illustrations.

Assassination of Henry IV: The Tyrannicide Problem and the Consolidation of the French Absolute Monarchy in the Early Seventeenth Century - Roland Mousnier - French with English translation published in 1973.

Henry the Fourth - by John S.C. Abbott - Makers of History - published by Harper & Brothers New York, 1884. Also an undated version published by the Werner Company of Akron Ohio.

Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots in France - P. F. Willert - 1893 - G. P. Putnam's sons - The Knickerbocker Press - London and New York. 478 pages, 15 pictures. It is part of a series 'The Heroes of the Nations'.

The Favourites of Henry of Navarre - Le Petit Home Rouge - 1910 - Chatto and Windus, London - 319 pages plus 6 photographs of B&W portraits. Perhaps the most comprehensive coverage of Henri's lady friends ever written. Le Petit Homme Rouge was a pseudonym used by the author Ernest Alfred Vizetelly, 1853-1922.

Queen Margot - H. Noel Williams - Published by Charles Scribner's Sons in New York in 1907 - 409 pages - 16 pictures.

Lady of France - Paul Lewis - published by Funk & Wagnells in 1963. A 306 page biography of the life of Gabrielle d'Estrees (Mistress of Henri IV).

The Life of Marie De Medicis - Julia Pardoe - First published in 1852. It was also published in 3 volumes by Richard Bentley and Son 1890, and then Samuel Bagster & Sons Limited (London) / James Pott & Co. (New York) in 1902. These volumes can be downloaded as free ebooks from www.gutenberg.net or from the downloads section at the top of this page.

Henri IV - Louis XIII and Richelieu - Alexandre Dumas. The copy I have is in 2 volumes, in French language, published by Michel Levy Freres, Paris in 1866. it seems to be part of a series representing the complete works of Dumas.

Marguerite de Valois - Alexandre Dumas. Much the same plot as the movie "La Reine Margot", although the demise of Madame de Sauve is handled somewhat differently.

The Helmet of Navarre - Bertha Runkle - published US 1900-1901, novel set in the times of Henri IV.

The Helmet of Navarre - Burke Wilkinson - Published in US in 1965. Based on fact, aimed at teenage readers.

Young Henry of Navarre - Heinrich Mann - Originally entitled "Die Jugend Des Königs Henri Quatre" (1935). Translated into English and published in the US in 1937. Based on fact, but containing a lot of imagined colour to make the read more interesting.

Henri Quatre : King of France - Heinrich Mann - Originally entitled "Die Vollendung des Königs Henri Quatre" (1936).Translated from the German by Eric Sutton - Secker & Warburg 1938 - 435 pages, As "Henry King of France", Alfred A. Knopf (New York) 1939 - 786 pages. Contains Book One - Luck of War, Book Two - Vicissitudes of Love, Book Three - The Death Leap, Book Four - Joyful Service, Book Five - The Conqueror, Book Six - Greatness and Possession, Book Seven - With Face Averted, Book Eight - The Great Plan.

Henry of Navarre - May Wynne - (1908) A romance, based on the play "Henry of Navarre" by William Devereux.

The White Plumes of Navarre - S. R. Crockett - (1906) A romance about the wars of religion.

Castles & Chateaux of Old Navarre and the Basque Provinces - Francis Miltoun - with pictures by Blanche McManus - (First Edition 1907, L. C. Page & Company, Boston) - 456 pages describing mainly the regions to the north of the Pyrenees, encompassing Navarre, Bearn, Languedoc & Roussillon. Packed with over 50 illustrations including maps. Also authored "Castles and Chateaux of Old Touraine and the Loire Country", First Edition 1906 - 347 pages, "Castles and Chateaux of Old Burgundy and the Border Provinces", First Edition 1909 - 333 pages, as well as "Rambles in Brittany" & "Rambles on the Riviera".