The Iron Kingby Maurice Druon is the story that inspired George R. R. Martin's epic work,Game of Thrones, and is the first book in the acclaimed historical novel seriesThe Accursed Kings. In what George R.R. Martin calls, "The original Game of Thrones,"The Iron Kingfeatures Philip the Fair. While he governs his realm with an iron hand, he cannot rule his own family. His sons are weak and their wives adulterous, and his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men. A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King, but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Druon, who died in 2009 at the age of 90, was not only a passionate Anglophile but also a French resistance hero, a Knight of the British Empire, and a holder of the Grand Croix de la Légion d'Honneur. He was also a member of the Académie française and a celebrated novelist, best known for his series of seven historical novels which were twice adapted for television.
