Customer Reviews

Louis XIV

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This is an intelligent, elegantly written book which draws fluently on the political, cultural, economic and military tales of the time. My wife and I read this to ourselves before going to bed and there is nothing dry, scholarly or pedantic about it. It is what general history should be like. I might be tempted to give it ***** but I think that should be reserved for something quite exceptional. Nonetheless this is a balanced,informed and well-written book about a key figure in the history of western civilization. Clearly the man was a strutting vainglorious fop but still today when his military achievements seem thin and his judgement in political and religious matters extremely questionable the reign of Louis XIV can still be seen be one where a civilization was in full flower.

I can't recall when or if I've ever read anything historically factual that was this captivating. Here's a history book that reads better than a novel. Truly, the life of Louis XIV is described in such vivid details that I couldn't help being totally absorbed by this book. There is a section dedicated to practically every imaginable aspect of Louis' life.

Not only are the King's numerous and lucrative achievements clearly explained throughout; the specifics of his attitude, beliefs, mannerisms, thought processes, creativity and more, unfold with such eloquence and sequence, it's impossible to put this book down. Your curiosity passes from one topic to the other. Before you know it, you've read the whole book.

Louis was a King who was completely in his element as ruler of his country. His total and absolute regality was totally natural for him; yet, he had the keenest of abilities for understanding people of all levels.

There are sections dedicated to the important women in his life, filled with the most interesting personal particularities that were an absolute delight for me to read. There is also a section that goes into the minute specifics of a typical day in his life. I was surprised to learn of Louis' unbelievably huge appetite (there's a whole section on this too) as well as the whole ordeal of getting the meal to him. Here's a passage on this:

`To reach the royal table the King's dinner had to cross the Rue de la Surintendance, enter the south wing, mount a staircase, pass through several corridors, cross the upper vestibule of the staircase of the princes, the salon of the shopkeepers (Versailles had its own shopping center), the Grand Hall of the guards, the upper vestibule of the marble case and finally the Hall of the King's Guards.'

Louis was also the brains behind much of the Versailles creation- he was a patron of the arts and was responsible for much of France's grandeur. There was also a domestic side to Louis as well as a profound devotion to Catholicism; both of these aspects being more prominent towards the latter days of his life.

I learned so much from this fact-filled book! I highly recommend Louis XIV to anyone who is interested in learning more about this great King, his Court, his Ladies, and all that he influenced throughout history. This historical read surpassed all expectations. Excellent!

Louis XIV was a fact-filled book that I used as a reference site in order to complete a research paper. The book worked perfectly for my purposes, and didn't really take me all that long to finish. However, as a whole, for someone wanting to read this book for fun, I'd advise against it. While it was not bad, I was taking notes every other line, so I can't imagine the reason for anyone else to read it. Looking for fun? Buy a comic book.