The Two Dianas is a historical novel mostly or entirely written by Paul Meurice, a friend and collaborator Alexandre Dumas. The novel is considered to be a companion of Dumas' Valois trilogy. The "two Dianas" of the title are Diane de Poitiers (the mistress of Henry II) and her supposed daughter Diana de Castro. The story follows the life of Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, a French nobleman of Scottish extraction and captain of the Scots Guard of King Henry II of France. He became a leader of the Huguenots and he is remembered for mortally injuring Henry II in a jousting accident.

Autorentext

Paul Meurice (1818-1905) was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with Victor Hugo. Hugo made him the editor-in-chief of a journal he founded and during the twenty years of Hugo's exile, Meurice looked after his financial and literary interests. Meurice meanwhile continued his own literary career, publishing novels, some in collaboration with Alexandre Dumas, for whom he would also ghost-write. He also adapted Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Misérables and Quatre-Vingt-Treize for the stage.