The Negotiator

It is 1570, and France has been torn apart by religious wars
between Catholics and Huguenots. The formidable Queen Mother, Catherine de
Medicis, calls on Henri de Malassise to negotiate a peace treaty with the
Huguenots.


The wily nobleman needs all his experience and psychological
insight to navigate through the tactics, manoeuvres and compromises of the
discussions. He sees some division in the Huguenot ranks: is it a weakness, or
a clever ploy by his adversaries? Is it by chance or design that his Huguenot
cousin, the enigmatic Eleonore, appears on the scene at a critical moment?


The negotiation at Saint-Germain really did take place, and
Malassise played a key role. The author Francis Walder draws on his own
military and diplomatic experience to illustrate, through this Prix
Goncourt-winning novel, the skills of negotiation much needed in diplomacy and
business today.