10

The coup d’état on April 24, 1617 saw the invention of a new literary character: the favorite. Beginning in 1617, narrative fiction transposed, disguised as allegory, the fatal destiny of Concini and legitimized, through its pathetic discourse and eschatological aims, the actions of the king. However, as the reverberations of the event faded into the past, novels took a more critical turn and eschewed the mechanisms found in official historiographical discourse and interpretation. By bringing together the different temporal strata, intertwining fiction and historical reference, they forged new political concepts and plotted out significant historical relationships.