The French “Game of Thrones” exists, and it has already been adapted into a TV series twice!

When it comes to Game of Thrones, the many sources of inspiration are obvious. To represent the fantasy world of his novels, writer George A.R. Martin was inspired by the writings of JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and other major fantasy authors, as well as authentic facts and historical figures.

But not many people know that the American author was also inspired by French writers! If he places Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers) in his personal pantheon of the greatest writers of historical fiction, George A.R. Martin also cites Maurice Druon’s The Cursed Kings as a major inspiration for the Game of Thrones novels.

What are kings cursed for?

A veritable mainstay of French popular literature, The Cursed Kings is a seven-volume saga published between 1955 and 1977. The story is inspired by the true story of the descendants of the supposedly cursed Capets. The novels begin in the final years of the reign of Philippe Le Bel, nicknamed the Iron King, then his successors.

No less than seven kings succeeded each other on the throne of France in forty years. Many contenders also stood out for the crown, including Edward III, King of England and grandson of Philip the Fair. We better understand how this “war for the throne” inspired George A.R. Martin wrote his own Game of Thrones!

The novels have many characters and the narrative is divided into chapters that focus on the points of view of these different characters. But there is no doubt that the most emblematic character of the Cursed Kings is Robert of Artois, a lord described as an invincible colossus but also a brilliant strategist who serves his own personal ambitions.

A true bestseller since its publication, Les Rois Maudit has been an unprecedented success with French readers, but also in many foreign countries. Sales of the seven novels in the saga have so far surpassed millions of copies sold worldwide.

TV series adaptation from 1972

But Kings of the Damned also owes much to the success of its television adaptations, most notably the success of the first series broadcast in 1972. This version, which adopts the codes of the filmed theater, was a great success with the audience and combines each. Its six episodes to millions of viewers. Since then, the series has been the subject of frequent broadcasts on television.

Directed by the legendary Claude Barma, this program features Jean Piatt as Robert d’Artois, Hélène Duque as Auntie as Mahaut d’Artois, Georges Marshall as Philippe Le Belle and Genevieve Casile as Isabelle of France. The program was narrated by Jean Desailles.

Thirty years later, another legend of the small screen – in this case Jose Dayan – began creating a second adaptation of The Cursed Kings. With the support of a bigger budget, this version notably brought together Philippe Torreton, Jeanne Moreau, Cheki Kariou and Julie Gayet in its cast.

The second series was also successful!

Although less popular than the first series, this new adaptation of The Cursed Kings was also a success when it aired on France 2 in autumn 2005. In this way, both contributed to sustaining the collective imagination of Maurice Drouin’s work.

Among the Kings of the Damned fans is a certain George RR Martin! is turned on his blog, the latter dedicated several articles to the glory of the French writer. And in particular, a text written on the occasion of his death (in 2009), where the creator of Game of Thrones described himself as a huge fan of the late Maurice Drew.

Author of the foreword to the English edition of The Iron King (Volume 1 of The Cursed Kings), George A.R. Martin went so far as to describe Drouin’s novel as “The Original Game of Thrones” (The quote is also on the cover of the book). Therefore, we cannot blame the American writer for not citing the sources of his inspiration.

The two series adapted from The Cursed Kings are available in DVD box sets or on video-on-demand platforms.