The Chevalier d DEGREESHarmental, better known among English readers by The Conspirators, is a happy example of fiction blended with history, or history blended with fiction, as one may prefer. Louis XIV, dying at an advanced age, had left upon the throne of France, as fifteenth of his name, a great grandson five years old. Philippe, Due d'Orleans, a nephew of the Grand Monarch, obtained control through parliament, and by unseating the weak Duo du Maine, a natural son of Louis, who had been favored for the position in the royal will. Thenceforth for several years a bitter rivalry ensued between the Maine and Orleans factions, fostered largely by the activities of the talented Duchesse du Maine, the actual head of the movement. Alexandre Dumas was a French writer whose works have been translated into nearly 100 languages. His historical novels include The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Corsican Brothers, and The Man in the Iron