The Chaplet of Pearls

This is one of my all-time favorites, one of the books that would go with me to a desert island (or, more relevantly, one of the ones in the small box in the back seat of my van when I moved last!). The young hero is married in childhood to a French heiress. He goes back in early manhood, mostly convinced that he will divorce her to marry an English girl, since she has been in the French court and he has not seen her for years. When he meets her again, however, he falls in love...much to the dismay of the villain of the story! He must overcome incredible obstacles to find her again, after a tragedy brought on by the villain on St. Bartholomew's Day during the famous massacre. Though it is long, I could not put it down, and read it in just three days.