Customer Reviews

Louis XIV and His Court Paper Dolls

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

 

 

Tom Tierney's tribute to the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV and his court, is a superb piece of graphic art. The glamour of the era is revived in all its splendour.
Most of the costumes worn by Louis XIV in portraits are faithfully recreated by Mr Tierney.
My reason for not giving this work 5 stars is that some details of this work were "not quite right". For example, one of the dolls is the Duchesse de Ventadour, when other figures played far greater roles in the Sun King's court but have not been included (eg the King's brother, Philippe, Duc d'Orleans and his second wife, Elisabeth von der Pfalz). Another reason is that some costumes don't seem to have been based on actual portraits, but were invented by Tom Tierney (eg the green and yellow dress of the Duchesse de Fontanges).
Finally, in the text the ladies of the court are referred to by their titles not their full names. I think that names are essential when including short biographies of the people included in the book.
Visually, this book is splendid, but it would not please historians who expect complete accuracy.

Beautiful costumes, lush in colour, many different female characters at the court of King Louis XIV. A beautiful production, worth the money.