THE THRILLING STORY OF A GREAT CONSPIRACY AND A GREAT LOVE IN THE COURT OF KING CHARLES VII His name was Jacques Coeur In the fashionable court of France's Charles VII he was the King's "moneyman." He was also a powerfully rich and jealously feared merchant prince. He exerted enormous influence over King Charles, partially because of his great wealth which enabled him to help support the war against England and partially through his friendship with and influence over the King's mistress, the ailing Agnes Sorel. When it became obvious that Agnes Sorel would have to be replaced, it was Jacques Coeur who chose her successor—the astonishingly beautiful sixteen-year-old Valerie. What Jacques Coeur couldn't have known was that his choice of this lovely girl was to weave the first strands in a fatal net of love and intrigue.