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[[caption-width-right:225:[[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery Nothing is as romantic as adultery.]]]]
''La Dame de Monsoreau'' (A.K.A. ''Chicot, the Jester'') is the second of ''The Last Valois'' series written in 1845 by Creator/AlexandreDumas, père. The action takes place six years after the events depicted on ''Literature/LaReineMargot''. It was followed by ''Les Quarante-Cinq''.

Henri III is now king of France but sadly he had no heir, except his brother François d'Anjou, who is believed to be the presumptive heir. In his court, his closest friends, ''les mignons'', spend a lot of the royal budget and there are people around him are plotting his fall. The people is displeased with his extravagance, by the relaxation of morals and by the tolerance towards the Huguenots. This just means that the Catholic League is putting its plans together for a new [[UsefulNotes/FrenchWarsOfReligion St. Bartholomew]].

Finally, to round off the scene, Chicot, the court jester, is the only sane man, who not only gives good advice, but is in charge of undo conspiracies while cleverly mocking his king.

Amid this chaotic atmosphere, M. Bussy is a gentleman of fierce reputation, beloved by some, feared by the rest, who, in an adventure where he is wounded, meets the woman who gives title to the work. Diane is captive in a house in the outskirts of Paris and her husband is terribly jealous.

Bussy becomes one more of the suitors of the lady, though he has the fortune of being the chosen one, Now he just has to find a way to get rid of the husband and to convince the Duke of Anjou to stop chasing her. [[SarcasmMode Piece of cake!]]

This story has been adapted to film three times, before 1950, and twice on television, first in [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224857/ 1971]] and the second in [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156509/ 2008]]
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* AbductionIsLove: It seems that certain hunter fervently believe in this trope.
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: As usual, in spades, but the character of Bussy himself is the biggest example - one of his age's biggest scumbags in history, a hero in the novel.
* BadassPreacher: Played with: Goreflont is taken by one of them, although he didn't expect to play this role given his love for wine and food.
* BalconyEscape: Performed by [[spoiler: the Duke of Anjou]] by using the same ladder and the same window as The Mole used in the previous novel.
* BestServedCold: Combined with ATasteOfTheLash.
* BlindfoldedTrip: Diane used this when she needed a surgeon.
* BodyDouble: Used to thwart one of The Guise's sibling's plan to make Henri III abdicate the throne.
* TheChampion: [[spoiler: M. de Bussy.]]
* ChekhovsGun: a certain silk rope ladder that was last seen in the room of Margot ''in the previous novel''.
* ChurchMilitant: The Catholic League.
* DamselInDistress: Diane de Meridor.
* DecadentCourt
* DeadpanSnarker: It's a prerequisite for Chicot's job.
* DirtyCoward: d'Épernon and the Duke of Anjou.
* DuelToTheDeath: The more the merrier! Especially when the duel involves ''angevins'' versus ''mignons''.
* FauxDeath: The mean by which M.de Monsoreau tried to hide Diane from her father and the Duke of Anjou.
* GoodScarsEvilScars:
** Although the Duke of Guise's face is marked by an injury and he is definitely a first-rate conspirator. The people love him.
** François d'Anjou, who contracted smallpox as a child, is marred to the extent he seems to have two noses. He is not loved by the people
** M. of Monsoreau, the chief huntsman, is also marked by smallpox.
* GiveMeASword: In the most pure epic style, the hero broke his sword and his friend gave him one at risk of his life.
* HonorBeforeReason: could be the only fault of the brave hero.
** The reason because M. de Meridor didn't fight M. de Monsoreau.
* InconvenientHippocraticOath: Caught in the dilemma of saving a life or do what could be his friend's happiness, guess what [[spoiler: Rémy]] did.
* LemonyNarrator: The scene of the conspiracy of the monastery of St. Genevieve have one who is really funny.
* LockedAwayInAMonastery: The Guises had this destine in mind for Henri III.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: [[spoiler: Rémy and Gertrude.]]
-->"I'm not so much to be pitied, after all: she is a beautiful little lass who is two inches taller than me and that would lift me with outstretched arms holding me by the collar of my coat, because she have a large muscle development of the biceps and deltoid. This gives me a reverence which flatters her, and as always I will give it, we do not argue."
* MercyKill: Sarcastically served with the phrase "Deliver him from his sufferings" by [[spoiler: the Duke of Anjou]].
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Monsoreau had one on store for his wife's lover.
* OfferedTheCrown: The Guises handed the crown of France to the next of the kin, as a cover for their own plans.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: François d'Anjou spend lot of time dealing with this.
* RasputinianDeath: Combined with HowMuchMoreCanHeTake for 10 pages.
* SiblingsInCrime: The Guises are a formidable team when comes to plotting the fall of the Valois.
* StandInPortrait: Played with since Busy was not in his sound mind and there was a portrait of Diane in the same room.
* SuccessionCrisis: Henri III had no heir, basically by lack of effort, his brother covets the throne, his brother-in-law wants the throne, and the house of Guise would be all happy to take care of France once he was properly dispatched.
* TraumaticHaircut: part of one of the Guises's plan against Henri III. The princess of Montpensier had her heart set on do it herself with some golden scissors.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: Henri de Guise fancy that he is one, since his line is as old as Charlemagne's.
* WindowPain: The same window was crashed by a rock with a message to favor another BalconyEscape, through the same balcony with the silk rope ladder.

!! The 2008 adaptation provide examples of:
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* AdaptationalBadass: Diane de Meridor was converted from a DamselInDistress to a very competent ActionGirl, fencing included.
* CatchPhrase: The duke of Anjou pick-up line: ''I thought I knew all the treasures of...''
* DeathByAdaptation:
** [[spoiler: The baron of Meridor]]
** [[spoiler: Chicot]] died before he can do something to help Henry III.
** [[spoiler: Diane's mother]] see [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Mother]] below.
** [[spoiler: The Guises]] way before their time.
** [[spoiler: The duke of Anjou]], and he was spared once, but get it in the end.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Averted, and the duke of Anjou and considered it his first victory.
* GodCreatedCanonForeigner: Joyeuse is a character depicted on Les Quarante-Cinq, but in this adaptation he plays a more prominent role than the whole band of mignons.
* InspiredBy: and the producers had the candor to put that on the title card
* StandardFemaleGrabArea: The duchesse de Guise was competent enough in intrigue and murder, until someone took her by the arm, but even there he could find a way out of the predicament.
* SweetPollyOliver: Done often by Diane as a means of escape.
* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Mother]] and my lover is the excuse for make Diane settle accounts with some prince.