THE WHITE COMPANY (0000), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"The best historical novel since Ivanhoe": such was the critical reception of this book (1890) upon its release, which Conan Doyle considered - along with Sir Nigel, which follows it in its own way - to be his most inspired work, regretting only that the success of the "Sherlock Holmes" series somewhat overshadowed it. What a treat, moreover, for French readers, to hear the Hundred Years' War narrated by an Englishman! And by an Englishman duly steeped in Chaucer and Shakespeare. Following Sir Nigel and the three hundred archers of the legendary Company through Rouergue, Quercy, Guyenne, and Gascony - then English lands - it is another Middle Ages that we discover: treated in an Anglo-Saxon manner, that is to say with that blend of erudition, chivalrous passion, and adventurous freedom that our neighbours across the Channel, following Walter Scott and Stevenson, have miraculously managed to preserve. War is there, of course, but also romantic passion, jousts between knights - in the lists of Bordeaux -, hearty feasts... Historical figures cross paths with our spirited heroes. They are named Edward III Plantagenet, the Black Prince, Peter the Cruel, Bertrand Du Guesclin, or Tiphane Raguenel. We witness the Jacquerie in Auvergne, a naval battle in the Channel, pitched battles, duels, archery competitions... All carried along by a verve and sparring dialogues that lend this fresco a highly exhilarating vividness, freshness, and "life".