Gaston Phœbus: a Dark Medieval Legend of Power, Fate, and the Supernatural — a Modern English Translation of Alexandre Dumas

A medieval legend of power, obsession, and supernatural reckoning—by the author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo.In Gaston Phœbus, Alexandre Dumas turns his dramatic genius to the dark heart of medieval France. Drawing on historical chronicles, folklore, and legend, this haunting tale follows Gaston III, Count of Foix—a brilliant hunter, warrior, and ruler whose pride and violence set him on a path toward inevitable judgment.What begins as a tale of noble hunting and feudal power unfolds into something far more unsettling. Enchanted beasts roam the forests. Omens are ignored. The dead return. As Gaston pursues glory, control, and mastery over both men and nature, the supernatural forces of the medieval world rise to answer him—relentless, moral, and inescapable.Dumas blends historical fact with gothic atmosphere, medieval superstition, and moral consequence, creating a narrative where fate cannot be outrun and authority offers no protection from guilt. The result is a powerful meditation on obsession, repentance, and divine justice—told with the vivid pacing and dramatic intensity that made Dumas one of the most celebrated storytellers in world literature.This edition presents a faithful modern English translation, preserving Dumas’s voice, structure, and moral vision while making the text accessible to contemporary readers. The translation does not soften violence, rationalize the supernatural, or reinterpret the author’s worldview. It offers the novel as Dumas intended: stark, symbolic, and inexorable.