Gardener to the King : A Novel [Hardcover]

Frederic Richaud (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2001

It is August 1674. Louis XIV celebrates his armies' victory over Holland. Meanwhile, the head gardener at Versailles wages his own war to make its orchards and kitchen gardens works of art. Every day Louis XIV is encircled by a stately collection of courtiers, servants, politicians, seekers, complainers, and above all flatterers and self-servers. Excepted from this company is the man who feeds them, Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie, the King's gardener. Admired and envied by all, for he is very much his own man, the gardener works to the rhythms of the seasons-and with ironic detachment observes the royal court along with his asparagus and peas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A refreshing departure from the sweeping historical novel, Richaud's slight but charming tale depicts the swirling world of Louis XIV's court as seen through the eyes of Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, the king's detached and philosophical gardener. La Quintinie, a little man with a mysterious past he abandoned a promising law career to become a horticulturist is an odd figure at the palace of Versailles, where flatterers and courtesans bask in the glow of the Sun King. Only La Quintinie seems able to escape the decadence of palace life, taking refuge in the beauty of his gardens and the changing of the seasons. Despite his reluctance to enter court, the little gardener strikes up a respectful friendship with the king, who takes genuine delight in his flourishing gardens. But La Quintinie much prefers his rustic routine to the fickle falseness of the city. When summoned to Paris at the behest of the king, he attends a masquerade ball where guests don outlandish disguises and gossip cattily about each other. Horrified, La Quintinie returns to the countryside and begins to involve himself in the lives of the impoverished workmen and peasants who live near Versailles, teaching them to garden and delivering seeds and manure to their homes. When he strikes up a correspondence with political radical Philippe de Neuville, La Quintinie must confront the injustice of the king's attitudes to the poor and his own complicity with the king's regime. Constructed of anecdotes, snatches of conversation and excerpts of the letters written by La Quintinie and Neuville, this novel is a contemplative read. Readers desiring a brief, elegant immersion into 17th-century France will find it to their liking.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Readers--and publishers--take note. Successful historical novels don't always have to be massive accumulations of detail. The sheer, elegant approach can work just as well, as this lovely, little first novel attests. Richaud's focus may be narrow, but his story has the resonance of a beautiful piece of music. He evokes the France of King Louis XIV by training a beam of light on the man who was in charge of the gardens of Versailles, the opulent palace outside Paris where the Sun King centered his highly ceremonial court. As events in the outside world-- particularly the wars Louis waged to establish hegemony in Europe--swirled around Versailles, the dedicated gardener waged his own battles and won victories over bugs and the elements. He went to Paris once, at the invitation of the King, but he couldn't wait to return to his garden at Versailles, where, in time, returning dust to dust, he was to die a natural death. A moving look at an individual life lived in the center of history. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 116 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing (April 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559705833
• ISBN-13: 978-1559705837
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creation versus Consumption, November 26, 2001

By 

lvkleydorff - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardener to the King : A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a very slight book, both in size and in content. The Gardener creates the food that the King and his followers thoughtlessly consume. One works outside with nature. The other feasts inside his glorious castles. Only one of the two can ultimately survive. The book is more of a collection of anecdotes about Gardener and King than a straightforward novella. It lacks depth.

Mystery: The original French version has 191 pages. This English translation has only 116 pages. What happened? Somebody should 'fess up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Novella, May 29, 2001

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gardener to the King : A Novel (Hardcover)

Mr. Frederic Richaud delivers a surprisingly insightful look in the Court of Louis XIV in a remarkably brief piece. "Gardener To The King", proves that quantity has no relation to the quality of the specific information shared, or the talented pen that created the whole.

If you like gardening imagine being able to supply the food for 1,000 guests for a single event! Imagine that the number you can feed grows to a multiple of the originally astronomic figure. The Gardens At Versailles serves as a wonderful metaphor for the time and the excess of this Monarch's reign. The tale also shows the unbridgeable gap that can exist between those that create as opposed to those who just admire the whole or consume its parts.

Jean Baptiste de La Quintinie may be the gardener to the King, however that is a factor that is eventually proved meaningless to this gifted man. Jean has his beliefs as to why his work is important and should be valued, yet when there are events at the King's Table he is known for disappearing if he arrives at all. He eventually comes to sit at the King's right hand for an evening that showcases his work for the unmatched triumph that it is. His skills are confirmed yet again as having no parallel.

So why an ending that will surprise? One man's art in the end is a meal or side dish to thousands. That he is celebrated across Europe may or may not sustain him. Mr. Richaud delivers a wonderful historically based piece with value in every sentence.