Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy (generally shortened to Richelieu) is an 1839 historical play by the British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It portrays the life of the Seventeenth Century French statesman Cardinal Richelieu. The play premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 7 March 1839, and has become best known for its line "The pen is mightier than the sword", spoken by the Cardinal in Act II, Scene II. (Adapted from Wikipedia) Richelieu was a French statesman and clergyman who rose to power in the French government and catholic church the early 1600s. As Chief Minister of King Louis XIII from 1624 he aimed to centralize power in France and challenge the Habsburg dynasty. He tried to suppress the feudal nobility and levied taxes on commoners, making him unpopular with nobles and peasants alike. During the Thirty Years’ War, Richelieu shifted the conflict from a religious to a nationalistic one, and set the stage for King Louis XIV to establish an absolute monarchy, further consolidate power, and secure French dominance in Europe. (Summarized from Boundless World History, thanks to Lumen Learning (CC-BY-SA)