Adapted from a short story by Madame de La Fayette (published in 1662), La Princesse de Montpensier is a tale of the passions and tragic fate of a princess, a rich heiress of a French kingdom under threat in the wars of religion of 1562. The focal point of La Fayette’s work is the love Mlle de Mézières feels since a child for the duke de Guise and how she feels forced to marry the prince of Montpensier despite still being in love with the duke.