The Women's War: A Play in Five Acts

This forgotten masterpiece, based on the Dumas novel of the same name, is set during the period following The Three Musketeers. The author skillfully depicts the confusion and brutality of the burgeoning civil war between the French Court, represented by Cardinal Mazarin (the Prime Minister) and Queen Anne of Austria (the Regent) on one side, and the wives of the princes revolting against the Queen and her Prime Minister on the other. People change sides with bewildering speed. We see Cauvignac, brave but unscrupulous; Baron Canolles, a man of conscience; Nanon Lartigues, courtesan sister of Cauvignac and mistress of the Duke d'Epernon; and the cross-dressing Vicomtess, devoted supporter and agent of the Princess de Conde. No one depicts political intrigue better than Alexandre Dumas