PONSON DU TERRAIL'S COMPLETE ROCAMBOLE SAGA
IN NEW, UNABRIDGED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
ROCAMBOLE 2 – KNAVES OF HEARTS (Le Club des Valets-de-coeur)
A secret society called the Knaves of Hearts Club is behind a crime wave in Paris.
At the same time, a mysterious man is working behind the scenes with Rocambole’s help to ensure that all the “happy endings” from the previous series unravel into anger, suspicion and murder.
Is there a connection between the two?
Punishment in the end will be merciless and gruesome; even Rocambole is left for dead…
This volume includes new unabridged English translations of the original French texts:
“Le Club des Valets-de-coeur - Tome I”
“Le Club des Valets-de-coeur - Tome II”
Text translation and layout, artwork, introductory notes, author’s biography , synopses and chronology:
© 2023 Roland Radaelli and IP Rights Ltd
THE COMPLETE SAGA IN NEW
UNABRIDGED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
The Rocambole Saga
The Rocambole adventures were first published in instalments in various French feuilletons, as supplements to newspapers.
This was an extremely popular format in 19th Century France as well as in other countries.
Novels such as Dumas’ “The Count of Montecristo”, Sue’s “The Mysteries of Paris” and Feval’s “Le Bossu” (“The Hunchback”) were first published in instalments and later reprinted as books.
From 1857 to 1870, the year before the author’s death, Ponson du Terrail wrote thousands of pages chronicling Rocambole’s adventures, first as a master criminal, then as a defender of justice.
The novels also offer an eye-opening account on how society was structured in 19th century France with stark divisions between nobility, rich businessmen and the working classes.
Far from being outdated, these novels feel as fresh today as when they were written over 150 years ago.
About the Author
Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail was born in France in 1829.
From 1850 he started writing serials for several newspapers and in 20 years will write over 200 novels! In 1857 he created the character of Rocambole, which will go on to achieve great success all over the world. The word “rocambolesque” is still used nowadays in many languages to describe fantastic, incredible adventures and scheming plots.
With Germany’s invasion of France in 1870, Ponson du Terrail joins the resistance but a sudden illness strikes him and he dies in January 1871.
The ROCAMBOLE SAGA in our catalogue
includes the following ebooks:
Series 1 - Legacy of Blood
Series 2 - Knaves of Hearts
Series 3 - Adventures of Rocambole
Series 4 - Rocambole's Redemption
Series 5 - Rocambole's Resurrection
Series 6 - Rocambole's Last Word
Series 7 - Rocambole in London
Series 8 - Rocambole in Prison
Series 9 - Rocambole and the Hangman's Rope