Chronique du règne de Charles IX: Bernard de Mergy giving his father's letter to Coligny at the Hôtel de Châtillon; and Bernard de Mergy leaving Comminges dead after a duel at the Pré-aux-Clercs, Paris

These drawings are illustrations for the Chronique du règne de Charles IX by Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870). First published anonymously in 1829 as Chronique du temps de Charles IX, the novel was republished in 1832 and again in 1841. Like Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris and Alfred de Vigny's Cinq-Mars, Mérimée's novel was part of the vogue for historical fiction in France inspired by the writings of Sir Walter Scott. The events of the novel centre around two brothers Georges and Bernard de Mergy, who are separated by their conflicting religious beliefs and alligiances, one a Catholic in service of the King, the other a Protestant backing the opposing army led by L'Amiral Coligny. Both drawings are faithful to Mérimée's text, carefully depicting the particulars of costume, setting, gestures and facial expression as described by the author. The drawings were part of a series of ten watercolour illustrations for the novel, eight of which, including these two sheets, were in the Roussel Collection which was dispersed at auction in 1912.