St. Bartholomew’s Eve: A Tale of the Reformation Wars in France (1572)

Setting: AD 1570-72, France, the Roman Catholic / Calvinist Protestant religious wars

Setting: On August 24, 1572, more than 2000 French Huguenots – men, women, and children – were massacred for their faith. In St. Bartholomew’s Eve, Henty vividly depicts Admiral Coligny’s unflinching bravery, Queen Elizabeth’s vacillating foreign policy, Catherine de Medici’s vindictive scheming, and the Queen of Navarre’s inner strength as he recounts the adventures of Phillip Fletcher, son of an Englishman and a Frenchwoman, who journeys to France to take part in the Huguenots’ struggle for freedom. He and his band of soldiers see much combat, and Phillip’s skill as a swordsman and marksman is required innumerable times before he returns as a hero to England.