This monument to 17th-century French literature, despite its vast volume, is destined to become a bestseller. They will be read by both lovers of historical novels and lovers of memoir literature. The “Memoirs of de Retz have everything: parliamentary debates, the Civil War, psychological portraits of contemporaries (Richelieu, Mazarin, Anne of Austria, La Rochefoucauld and many others), philosophical and political reflections, poured into aphorisms, love adventures, court intrigues, adventurous pages. It is not for nothing that these memoirs served as one of the sources for Alexandre Dumas’s novels about the 17th century. Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz, is a brilliant personality. A descendant of Italians who settled in France back in the 16th century, Paul de Gondi, as the youngest son in the family, was destined for the Church. A man of earthly passions, an ambitious man and a lover of women, he made every effort to avoid the cassock. When his attempts failed, he decided to make a career in the spiritual field. Having become a coadjutor (i.e., deputy of the Parisian archbishop), he gained enormous popularity among the people. It came in handy when the course of history brought him back to worldly affairs. During the era of Retz, events developed rapidly: Richelieu died, followed by Louis XIII. The young Louis XIV became the king of France, and his mother Anna of Austria became the regent. But the real ruler of the country was the Italian Mazarin, unpopular with the French, against whom and the omnipotence of royal power first the Parliament, then the large feudal lords, rose up. A civil war began in the country, the famous Fronde. An active participant, Retz proved himself to be a diplomat and intriguer, politician and adventurer, demagogue and daredevil, which is fully reflected in his memoirs. How Retz's political career ended and how his turbulent life ended, which led him to the Vatican and plunged him into the struggle for the election of the Pope, the reader will find out by reading this book. After many years of exile, Retz was allowed to return to France, but he had to live away from the yard. It was in disgrace and solitude that Retz created his Memoirs. And if this man was defeated in politics, then he forever wrote his name in literature. The fate of the Memoirs is not simple: they were published many years after the author’s death and, moreover, abroad. In subsequent decades and centuries, the Memoirs went through many editions in France. In Russia, their incomplete text was published only once, during the reign of Catherine the Great. A complete translation into Russian of this most interesting literary monument appears for the first time.