Naira Roland Matevosyan

Diane and Diana: Favorites of Henry the Second Naira Roland Matevosyan

A fictionalization of Guerre's story, an expository depiction of the battle of Saint-Quentin and the reconquest of the British Calais, the two Dianas refer to women near and dear to Henry the Second: the king's mistress Diane de Portier, and the illegitimate daughter Diana de Castro. The first volume shapes the romance between Diana de Castro and the Count Gabriel Montgommery - with trials and tribulations. The second volume focuses on the Catholic/Protestant conflicts under the reigns of Francis II (married to Mary of Scots) and Charles IX. This effort converts Dumas Pere's novel (The Two Dianas) into 17 epics and illustrations of the terrifying meetings between the Viscount d'Exemès (Montgommery) and Henry II, the identity trial between Arnold du Thill and Martin Guerre, and introduces notable historical figures, such as Catherine de Medicis, Mary Stuart, Cardinal de Lorraine, and of course, Ambroise Paré-the famous French surgeon with his audacious techniques and inventions. Transforming the 424-page prose into a 218-page stanza, the plot remains unaltered.