Louise de la Vallière (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Alexandre Dumas père (Author), David Coward (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192834657 | ISBN-13: 978-0192834652 | Publication Date: July 23, 1998

Louise de la Valli�re is the middle section of The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or, Ten Years After. Against a tender love story, Dumas continues the suspense which began with The Vicomte de Bragelonne and will end with The Man in the Iron Mask. Set during the reign of Louis XIV and filled with behind-the-scenes intrigue, the novel brings the aging Musketeers and d'Artagnan out of retirement to face an impending crisis within the royal court of France. This new edition of the classic English translation is richly annotated and places Dumas's invigorating tale in its historical and cultural context.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`one of the very best of the series, mixing amorous and political intrigue with an elan peculiar to Dumas ... this quasi-historical series remains remarkably readable' The Irish Times (Dublin)

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192834657
• ISBN-13: 978-0192834652
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #845,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my favorite books, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Louise de la Vallière (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This book together with the other two describes one of the French best history pieces. Louis XIV was an extraordinary person despite certain criticism. "Louise de La Valliere" shows a young king who is eager to rule and has got a character that is still vulnerable at that time. He is in love with a woman who is honest to love the king for himself and is not able to love anyone else. I find this romance fascinating and pure. The story is based on the real characters and the book brings us to the XVIIth century France which looks idyllic. Dumas practically showed us how the love, which led to the creation of Versailles, began. I researched the topic and I should say that the more I learn about that time period the more I am surprised how Dumas' imagination cuold do such a wonderful job of reviving his heros. I read many more "serious" books after and should say that in my bad and good days I would go back to the book and find it more interesting than before. I read it in English and my native language and hope that someday I will be able to learn French to read it becccause I am sure that there is no translation that could be able to come close to the culture itself...

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars See into glittering opulence, December 5, 2004

By 

Frikle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louise de la Vallière (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

After writing The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years after, Dumas wrote a third installment to the trilogy. It is probably the most controvercial book in the trilogy, as can be revealed by reading many of the reviews. For starters, it's LONG: over 200 chapters. As a result, the English-speaking world has split it into three books: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valiere and The Man in the Iron Mask (the most famous volume). The length is certainly a problem, in fact is it THE major flaw in the conclusion of the trilogy. Dumas is never terse or concise, but in this three-part book, he produces an monolith. This was largely due to him overcomitting himself and having to write this much for financial reasons. However, while this is a major setback, the three books still have elements of great, almost sublime Dumas left in them, which can be extracted if approached in the right way.

In terms of this specific volume (Louise de la Valliere), this is the one where the Four have the least role in. They basically disappear for several hundred pages, with the exception of D'Artagnan, who has a highly non-heroic role. Rather, this part is about the love triangle between our old friend Raul, Loise and Louis XIV. It is written in a style most unlike the "usual" Dumas in that it is almost a piece of realism depicting court opulence and drama. It reminded me a bit of The Dream of the Red Chamber or even Anna Karenina. The action and intrigue are left behind for a very detailed view into the life of the court. Unlike previous installments where we see the Musketeers sleep on hay and greet musket-fire, in Louise de la Valiere, we see into the lavish existence of the King.

It is in this book that we start to see Dumas' ideological concerns a bit more clearly in terms of the Musketeers trilogy. Basically, it seems he is harshly critical of Louis XIV's authoritarian and rigid opulence (which the notes to this edition suggest reminded him of his own day) and looked at the time represented by people like D'Artagnan as a more free one, and one where a chivalry code made life less restrictive. We can also see Dumas painting the hypocricy, nepotism and prejudice of the court with a brutal and at times satirical pen. The trifles of everyday existence are spun on for dozens of pages as we see that, while the former devotion of the Four to the idea of the monarchy was ideologically sound, the actual specimens (the King and his Court) aren't worth much in their behaviour and essence. This makes the book almost a sociological piece - and thus very different from the other parts of the Musketeers trilogy, but for such a long work, difference and variety are good.

If you only expect more action involving the Four, then don't bother reading this at all. However, if you persevere, you will get to see sublime glimpses of what a long way the Musketeers of old have come (for better or worse), what they think about the entire society they live in and what Dumas thinks. As well as some of the old-fashioned-style adventure. I think that the fact that this is obscured by an overly-drawn-out style, while annoying, does not detract from this being an honourable conclusion to the trilogy.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I may be the only one who does not find Louise sympathetic, July 31, 2001

By 

AvalonSilver - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louise de la Vallière (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

However, despite the fact that the title character does nothing for me (my sympathy is all with Raoul), I do recommend this book. It is part of the Musketeer Cycle, after all, and that connection in and of itself is enough to keep this book in a place of honor on my shelf. As another reviewer said, you really do have to read the series in order; and I'd like to add that, with Le Vicomte de Bragelone/Louise de la Valliere/The Man in the Iron Mask, you should be certain that your books are of the same edition and from the same publisher. Different publishers tend to break these three books (which are intended to be one book) at different chapters.

Louise de la Valiere is the least action-oriented of the Musketeer novels, but the writing is brilliant and the characters are true to themselves. Also, the translation is well-done. Queen Margot is the Dumas novel that has never been properly translated in my opinion. (And yes, I do speak French and have seen the novels in their original languages.)

Just remember that Dumas is not a fan of "Happily ever after . . ."