The French executioner : a novel

Format:

Book

Title:

The French executioner : a novel

Author:

Humphreys, C. C. (Chris C.), author.

ISBN:

9781402272349

Publication:

Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Landmark, [2014]

Physical Description:

391 pages ; 23 cm

General Note:

"Originally published in 2002 in the United Kingdom by Orion Books Litd."--Title page verso.

Summary:

In this historical adventure, the executioner who later beheaded Anne Boleyn swears an oath to her that he will bury her six-fingered hand at a crossroads in France.

Personal Subject:

Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536-Fiction.

Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536-Death and burial-Fiction.

Henry VIII, King of England, 1491-1547-Fiction.

Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536

Henry VIII, King of England, 1491-1547

Subject(s):

Executions and executioners -- Fiction.

French fiction -- England.

Relics -- Fiction.

Great Britain -- History -- Henry VIII, 1509-1547 -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Great Britain -- History -- Henry VIII, 1509-1547 -- Fiction.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	Humphreys, C.	Searching... Unknown

"If you like Bernard Conwell's Grail Quest series, you'll love The French Executionerand The Curse of Anne Boleyn. To my mind Cornwell is good, but Humphreys is better."--Sally Zigmund, Historical Novels Review (UK)

The last thing Jean Rombaud expects upon being summoned to behead Anne Boleyn is to dedicate his life to her. But the ill-fated queen has a mysterious request for her executioner: that after taking her life he also take her infamous six-fingered hand and bury it at a sacred crossroads in France. His oath will set Jean on the most dangerous journey of his life.

In The French Executioner, C.C. Humphreys once again brings the past to life in all its glory and peril. This thrilling novel captures the breathtaking story of how courage, love, and loyalty bound Anne Boleyn to the man who ended her life--and saved her legacy.

"Humphreys has fashioned a rollicking good yarn that keeps the pages turning from start to finish."--Irish Examiner
"A wonderful saga of magic and heroism. If you can find a first impression, hoard it and wait till it rises in value like a first edition of Lord of the Rings. This is as good."--Crime Time, UK
"A brilliant, brutal, and absorbing historical thriller on the real-life figure of Jean Rombaud, the man who beheaded Anne Boleyn."--Northern Echo
"An entertaining read--a charming page turner."--Edmonton Journal
"Lightning paced."--Publishing News

Author Notes

Chris (C.C.) Humphreys is an actor, playwright, fight choreographer and novelist. He has written nine historical fiction novels including The French Executioner, runner up for the CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers; Vlad , The Last Confession, the epic novel of the real Dracula; and A Place Called Armageddon. His latest YA novel is The Hunt of the Unicorn. His work has been translated into thirteen languages. Find out more about him on his website: http://cchumphreys.com
"

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Humphreys (Jack Absolute) breathes life into 16th century Europe with this fascinating tale of adventure and mystery as Anne Boleyn's executioner must fulfill his promise to the queen who has been marked for death. Executioner Jean Rombaud didn't expect Anne Boleyn to have ask for aything from him when he was summoned to England to execute her, but when Anne requests that he bury her six-fingered hand at a sacred crossroads in France, he agrees. There are others who believe in the magical powers of that hand and will do everything in their power to keep Rombaud from getting the hand. As he journeys to the destination, he becoems a prisoner on a ship, where he makes the acquaintance of two friends who assist him in his task. Humphreys has creatively combined historical fact with mystical fiction: the severed hand seems to have a life of its own and causes irrational behavior in those seeking it. Humphreys's characters are well drawn and deeply empathetic, and Rombaud's mission remains entertaining throughout. Agent: Jessica Purdue, Orion Publishing Group. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

This unusual tale conjures visions of an Errol Flynn-type Hollywood swashbuckler. Jean Rombaud has a rather distasteful job by today's standards: He presides over formal executions by cutting off the heads of those condemned to die, providing they are rich enough to pay for his services. Jean is a French executioner and uses a flathead sword rather than an axe to sever the head from the body, which is faster and more accurate. This time he has been retained to preside over the May 1536 beheading of Henry VIII's wife, Anne Boleyn, the queen of England. In a meeting before her execution, she asks Jean to also sever her famous six-fingered hand (an attribute not all historians believe she possessed) and bury it in France. He agrees, and when the hand is stolen, he sets out to recover it. Along the way, Jean's journey becomes complicated by both camaraderie and love. Among the companions he acquires as he crosses the European continent are two fellow mercenariesa Norseman and his part-wolf dog and a Muslim who has crossed some very bad peoplea member of a famous German banking family and his pet raven; a young boy who may not be what he appears; and the boy's alchemist father, a captive of Jean's sworn enemy, the thief who took the hand for his own nefarious purposes. Humphreys, whose background includes choreographing sword fights for movies and television, tends to overdo the details involved in the many fights in which the band of adventurers engage. But while he takes a few small liberties with history, the tale's well-told, engagingly written, and includes a colorful immersion into a time when life was cheap and danger or death literally waited around every corner. A gory but fascinating, albeit overly long, look at the world in the early 16th century. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

The author of eight historical novels (Vlad; Shakespeare's Rebel; Jack Absolute) reimagines the life of Jean Rombaud, the eminent French executioner who beheaded Anne Bolyen in 1536. Having been summoned by King Henry VIII to execute his queen, Rombaud meets with his client/victim to discuss the details of the execution and identifies a compatriot. Resigned to her fate, Anne asks him to sever her six-fingered hand, along with her head, and bury the hand in the soil of their shared land. His vow to do so becomes a harrowing quest. As Rombaud makes his way to France, he acquires a retinue of misfits and honorable mercenaries who help him battle a debauched archbishop, hell-bent on obtaining the hand for his own nefarious purposes. VERDICT Published for the first time in the United States, this title was Humphreys's first novel and earned him a nomination for a CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers Award in 2002. Set against the backdrop of the Protestant Reformation, his superbloody Princess Bride-like adventure is, at its heart, a tale of redemption, well earned and hard-won.-Laura Cifelli, Fort Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FL (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.