The French monarchy during an epoch of upheaval is brought brilliantly to life in this novel by Goncourt Prize-winning author, Jean-Christophe Rufin. Based on the true story of the modern world’s first “man of finance,” The Dream Maker recounts the life and times of Jacques Cœur, innovator, explorer, visionary, banker and merchant extraordinaire. Born to a modest fur trader, Cœur rose to become the French King’s trusted First Banker. His tours of the Far East, his criticism of the Crusades, and his efforts to develop trade routes contributed to bringing France out of darkness toward the Renaissance and modernity. Cœur was, at one time, the wealthiest man in France, but at the height of his success, disgrace and imprisonment at the hands of his enemies threatened. His ill-considered infatuation with Agnès Sorel, King Charles VII’s favorite mistress, and her mysterious and premature death, ultimately gave his detractors all they needed to bring him down.

In Rufin’s delicious prose this remarkable true story becomes a gripping tale of adventure, a novel of ideas, and a moving love story.