The reader is invited to the action-packed historical novel by A. Dumas “The Red Sphinx” (“Le sphinx rouge”, 1866), one of the main characters of which is Cardinal Richelieu, portrayed here by the author in completely different colors than in “The Three Musketeers”. This novel, which also has another name - “The Comte de Moret”, remained unknown for many years not only in Russia, but also in France: written in 1866, it was first published in Paris in 1947. In the center of the plot is the brilliant Antoine de Bourbon, Comte de Moret, the illegitimate son of King Henry IV, a handsome man, a gallant gentleman and a brave warrior. The novel takes place in 1628–1630.