Customer Reviews

Louis XIII, the Just

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best historical biography I have ever read.

That said, my one complaint is the failure to include genealogy charts for the French and Spanish royal houses. Readers need these charts.

On the other hand, there are several excellent illustrations, and the characters that they represent are so skillfully drawn in words that they assume truly human dimensions, a rarity in historical biography!

The characters in this history include the king's widowed mother (and bitter political foe); his wife Anne, childless for over twenty years before Louis XIV was born (she often befriended outrageous schemers and troublemakers); Cardinal Richelieu, Louis's brilliant partner (he attracted deadly hostility from many directions); and Gaston, Louis's brother, who threatened to overthrow the king. Louis's illegitimate half-brothers and sisters were reared at court and created problems as well.

The king's "favourites," both male and female, are a fascinating group in their own right. They could fill a book of their own. I will use the extensive bibliography to learn more about particular characters and events in the life of Louis XIII.

The main character was a king at the age of eight, following his father's assassination. Violence and insurrection threatened the king through much of his life. The story of his public triumph against political opposition, often at immense personal cost, is a gripping one. Military, political, and diplomatic events are described extremely well, while the court and its characters can almost be seen and felt. Professor Moote tells the life story of a complex and very human individual who occupied an extraordinary position. It is a moving story.

I hope that Professor Moote will write more about the history of France. Please!

This proves to be an excellent biography on Louis XIII who usually don't get too much attention by historians since he was often totally overshadowed by Cardinal Richelieu or by his heir, Louis XIV. But this well written and easy to read biography, the author showed the Louis XIII was an equal if not a controlling element of a partnership that grew between him and Cardinal Richelieu. Through both men, France grew and became the next European super power. People of France suffered for that growth and men like Richelieu were often damned by later history as villians and monsters (Three Musketeers book for example). What was so interesting about this biography was the author make it so clear how politically and personally acute Louis XIII was in the first place. His support of Richelieu, during good times and bad, revealed a highly focus and mature mind. While his personality wasn't anything to bragged about, his quirks and eccentic behavior can be overlooked as long as he had his eye on the ball and kept on going. A book written with great insight, understanding and nicely researched, I am sure it will be a bit before this book will be surpassed.

This 1989 biography, the first to appear in English, is the finest work on Louis XIII which I have read in twenty years' study. It studies the king's life in detail, examining the innate character, principles and environment which shaped him, and the ways in which he in turn shaped the political and social future of France. Moote demonstrates clearly that, far from being the caricature created by Tallemant and Dumas, Louis was an intelligent and effective king who developed his own ruling style and chose the best of servants - the great Richelieu, of course - to support him in his task. The work follows his life chronologically, departing from this in the final section to study thematically his legacy, looking at the warfare state, culture and his intimate life (an achingly sad part of the book for anyone who cares about him).
This is an insightful and sympathetic study, clearly written and a very easy read. My only regret is that it is not several hundred pages longer. It has an interesting selection of illustrations - pamphlets and medallions as well as the standard de Champaigne portrait of Louis from the Prado (which, incidentally, was done many years after his death). I highly - no, completely - recommend this book to anyone.

From his boyhood until he became king at the age of 14, we have the explanation to his moods, that reflected on his growing personality.
Within a few years after he set the crown of France on his head, slowly but with determination he started to implement his views, dispite all oposition from his mother and the old feudal nobility, who didn't appreciate a slash on it's privileges.
Louis XIII and his chief-minister Richelieu formed a terrible but effective pair aimed at constructing a solid country out of several kingdoms.
What a diference from the week Louis XIII depicted on the classic "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas.
If it wasn't so exhaustive, particulary in the king's younger years, it would be quicly read.

This is the best historical biography I have ever read.

That said, my one complaint is the failure to include genealogy charts for the French and Spanish royal houses. Readers need these charts.

On the other hand, there are several excellent illustrations, and the characters that they represent are so skillfully drawn in words that they assume truly human dimensions, a rarity in historical biography!

The characters in this history include the king's widowed mother (and bitter political foe); his wife Anne, childless for over twenty years before Louis XIV was born (she often befriended outrageous schemers and troublemakers); Cardinal Richelieu, Louis's brilliant partner (he attracted deadly hostility from many directions); and Gaston, Louis's brother, who threatened to overthrow the king. Louis's illegitimate half-brothers and sisters were reared at court and created problems as well.

The king's "favourites," both male and female, are a fascinating group in their own right. They could fill a book of their own. I will use the extensive bibliography to learn more about particular characters and events in the life of Louis XIII.

The main character was a king at the age of eight, following his father's assassination. Violence and insurrection threatened the king through much of his life. The story of his public triumph against political opposition, often at immense personal cost, is a gripping one. Military, political, and diplomatic events are described extremely well, while the court and its characters can almost be seen and felt. Professor Moote tells the life story of a complex and very human individual who occupied an extraordinary position. It is a moving story.

I hope that Professor Moote will write more about the history of France. Please!

This book is a great biography. A. Lloyd Moote does a very good job of describing Louis XIII's life. He sets out to methodically and objectively analyze the sources pertaining to Louis XIII and his rule. Moote clearly states at the beginning of the book how he will analyze the sources, and what he hopes to achieve by doing so. Basically, his goal is to shed light on a king who has been alternatively portrayed as either incompetent or cruel, and sometimes both.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is Moote's description of Louis' relationships. He does a great job describing Louis's relationships with his father, mother, advisors, court favorites, and wife. He illustrates how those people influenced him. But at the same time, the author points out that Louis was not the puppet of other individuals, but rather the creation of his environment, of which the relationships were one part of. In my opinion, this is the strongest aspect of this book, and alone makes it a valuable read.

The book also did a very good job of making sense out of the early modern French court and society, clearly illustrating how it influenced Louis XIII and how Louis influenced them in return. Even though I found the book dry at times, it is extremely well written. It flows well, and I enjoyed reading it. The book also includes very helpful maps and a good selection of portraits of the main people discussed in the book.

One downside that I found with the book was its lack of discussion regarding European affairs and the political situation in France. This is more of a personal preference of mine, rather than a serious lacking in the book. The author does mention other countries and how France interacted with them, but I would have liked to see more. I also would have liked to see more written about the political situation in France. The estates general convened for the last time before the French revolution early in Louis XIII's monarchy. It would have been interesting to see more about how that affected France, the make up of the estates general and other political discussions. With the text of this book under 300 pages, these things could have easily been added without making the book too long.

Despite my few qualms with this book, the good parts far outweigh the bad. I recommend the book if you are interested in French history or early modern European history.