Secrets d'État by Tristan Bernard
"Secrets d'État" by Tristan Bernard is a novel written in the early 20th century. It appears to be a witty, observant court-intrigue tale set in a fictional Central European principality, where a young Frenchman is drawn into royal service and navigates power plays around a reclusive king and his formidable first minister. Expect polished satire and psychological nuance rather than melodrama, with key figures including a frank young diplomat, a calculating premier,
and a king whose charm masks a disciplined mind. The opening of the novel frames the story with a pushy visitor who pressures the narrator to turn some clandestine notes into a book, prompting him to begin his account. A struggling Parisian tutor, recruited through a petty German tailor, is whisked to Schoenburg to take a discreet post that will keep him close to the king and the premier, Baron de Herner. On the journey he befriends the candid Comte de Tolberg, who sketches the political landscape—an invisible, almost legendary king; a powerful first minister with loyal lieutenants; and a fraught love interest named Bertha that pits Tolberg against Herner. Arriving at court, the narrator endures the bungling preceptor Bölmöller, secures Herner’s confidence, surveys the palace set, and samples city life (including a brief liaison with a Belgian orchestra leader). Early audiences reveal King Charles XVI as genial yet intellectually rigorous: he photographs, debates literature, and then—troubled by an execution he authorized under pressure—delivers fervent reflections against the death penalty and war, while his reserved friend, the Comte de Herrenstein, provides a somber musical counterpoint. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Bernard, Tristan, 1866-1947 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 09000859 |
| Title | Secrets d'État |
| Original Publication | Paris :Édition du Monde Illustré, 1908. |
| Credits | Laurent Vogel (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.) |
| Language | French |
| LoC Class | PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Subject | Thrillers (Fiction) |
| Subject | French -- Foreign countries -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78141 |
| Release Date | Mar 8, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 195 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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