The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon [Hardcover]

Veronica Buckley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Françoise d’Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon and secret wife of the Sun King, Louis XIV, was born in a bleak French prison in 1635, her father a condemned traitor and murderer, her mother the warden’s seduced daughter. A timely pardon and a hopeful Caribbean colonial venture failed to mend the family’s fortunes, and Françoise was reduced to begging in the streets. Yet, armed with beauty, intellect, and shrewd judgment, she was to make her way to the center of power at Versailles, the most opulent and ambitious court in all Europe.

At fifteen, she was married off to the forty-two-year-old satirical poet Paul Scarron, a former roué now grievously deformed by rheumatism—“a sort of human Z,” as he described himself. Despite his ailments, Scarron presided over the liveliest and most scandalous literary salon in Paris, and Françoise quickly became its most prized ornament.

After Scarron’s death, she enjoyed a merry widowhood in the fashionable Marais district, in the company of the courtesan Ninon de Lenclos and the King’s splendid mistress, Athénaïs de Montespan, who made the young widow governess to her brood of illegitimate children. The appointment transformed Françoise’s life, but was fatal to the temperamental Athénaïs herself, with the King soon turning his attentions to the graceful governess. Françoise was raised to the nobility as Madame de Maintenon—and, unofficially, “Madame de Maintenant,” the lady of the moment.

The acclaimed biographer Veronica Buckley traces the extraordinary story of Françoise’s progress from pauper child to salonnière to the compromised position of Louis’s secret wife and uncrowned Queen. An absolute ruler, Louis turned away his many other mistresses to live with Françoise only, trusting her as his closest confidante and remaining in love with her for forty years.

Sparkling with the irresistible wit of contemporary chroniclers such as Madame de Sévigné, this exactingly researched biography is a pinnacle of the form. In vibrant colors, The Secret Wife of Louis XIV paints a portrait of Europe in an age of violent change, and the Sun King’s France in the process of becoming its modern self.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Buckley (Christina, Queen of Sweden) serves up a superior biography of a remarkable woman who, most improbably, became the Sun King's second wife. Françoise d'Aubigné (1635–1719) was born in a grim prison, the daughter of a disinherited nobleman and traitor and a mother incapable of loving her. These facts, and a financially uncertain childhood, including a three-year sojourn in the Caribbean, contributed to the intelligent Françoise's resilience but also to a deep emotional insecurity. A marriage of convenience to a renowned but crippled scholar brought her new social connections, which she, a lovely, popular young woman, exploited when she was widowed, becoming the governess of the secret illegitimate children of Louis XIV and Athenais de Montespan. Françoise, aged 39, succumbed to being Louis's mistress after resisting for a year, ambitiously supplanted Athenais, who was implicated in the infamous poisons affair, and after the queen died in 1683, Françoise married Louis, although the marriage remained secret. Buckley trains her intent gaze on 17th-century France—from the civil and religious wars that plagued the Bourbons to lively Parisian salons— offering a graceful, vivid portrait of a woman of intelligence and dignity. 16 pages of color illus. (Sept.)
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Review

Praise for The Secret Wife of Louis XIV

“Lively . . . Buckley has written an admirably balanced life with a wealth of biographical detail and great sympathy for her subject . . . An extraordinary adventure.” —The Economist

“Veronica Buckley writes extremely well, and her narrative never fails to grip. She succeeds in her main aim—to show how an intelligent woman in a deeply traditional age used her personal gifts to rise from near the bottom to the summit of the social and political ladder . . . [The Secret Wife of Louis XIV] is convincing and ultimately moving, a perceptive appreciation of a remarkable woman.” —Munro Price, The Sunday Telegraph

Praise for Christina, Queen of Sweden

“A stunning debut and an absorbing page-turner. Veronica Buckley writes with immense style, vitality, and great humanity. The fascinating tale she weaves is as compelling as the most riveting of novels.” —Alison Weir, author of The Six Wives of Henry VII

“An impressive first biography, Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric not only justifies its subtitle in fascinating biographical detail but also provides an interesting commentary on gender and rule.” —Antonia Fraser, author of Love and Louis XIV

“Vividly persuasive . . . [Shifts] capably between the hilarious and the deeply touching . . . [Christina] rises from the pages of this richly evocative book . . . as a complex, thoroughly believable human being.” —Bruce Bawer, The New York Times Book Review

“Buckley’s witty and highly coloured prose is eminently suited to such a bizarre and self-dramatised life . . . Her book is much less a debut than the highly polished work of a writer who has been thinking about and loving her subject for years, and her enjoyment in the writing of Queen Christina’s life is wonderfully translated into our pleasure in reading it.” —The Sunday Times (London)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374158304
• ISBN-13: 978-0374158309
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but inaccuracies are worrying, October 27, 2010

By 

bon francais "bon francais" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon (Paperback)

Veronica Buckley's biography of Francoise d'Aubigne is readable and engaging, but has some flaws which make me hesitant about giving it a wholehearted recommendation. These relate to complete misunderstandings of French history. The recurring one is that the author seems to think that the French Parlements were the equivalent of the English Parliament. This occurs mostly during the chapters covering the Fronde, and again when she speaks of Louis XIV's contempt for Charles II being bound by his Parliament's control of supply, contrasted with Louis's "toothless Parliament". This is nonsense. The French Parlements were courts of justice; they were in no way representative bodies, and their attempts to influence royal policy came from royal edicts having to be registered with them to be passed as law. Remonstrations or discussions of the edicts were used to try to change or prevent their passing. That the writer seems oblivious to this (a major historical fact of the time, if not of Mme de Maintenon's life) doesn't inspire confidence in the rest of the book. Nor does her apparent belief (it may be bad wording) that the doctrine of predestination originated with Jansenim - one would have to ask whether she is aware of Calvinism's century-long history - nor the claim that Tallemant des Reaux is an accurate source. His Historiettes are gossip, salacious scandal-mongering and demonstrably false in many places, and major historians of the period have agreed that they should be treated with great caution (see A. Lloyd Moote, "Louis XIII, the Just" end note).

Despite this, I am enjoying the book (although it won't sound like it, after that!) but I do suggest reading it with caution. There is also one plate that needs further investigation: the picture claimed to be of Louise la Valliere is of a young girl from the 1680s or 90s, so if it represents La Valliere (1644-1710) it is an imaginary portrait. Read the book for an overall view, or an introduction, but don't take it as gospel, is my opinion.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literally from rags to riches in the court of the Sun King, October 7, 2009

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon (Hardcover)

In her youth Francois d'Aubigne was probably the least likely person you would ever have selected as potential wife to King Louis XIV of France but hers is a true life story of rags to riches on a grand scale in 17th century France. It's also proof that real history can be stranger than fiction.

Born in a prison to the daughter of a prison warder and her father who was imprisoned at the time (he was a real scoundrel) she was partly bought up by loving Huguenot relatives - which is rather ironic as the worst part of her legacy has been the shouldering of the blame for the later persecution of the Huguenots - Francois lead a very unstable and varied childhood which took her part way around the world and resulted in dire poverty despite her minor noble status. She managed to escape the extremes of her family life through marriage to an unlikely poet and eventually gained a court post after his death through the influence of friends....and from thereon the rest is history.

I found this a very enjoyable biography. Buckley has a fluid way of writing and while not everything in Madame de Maintenon's life can be included in this book I still felt that I was fortunate to have picked up a book on her life that was so readable and informative and I had a great feeling that this was a woman who should only have commanded respect in life (though not everyone did like her) - if you are looking for a good biography of Madame de Maintenon this is highly recommended. Previously I had only read fiction on Madame de Maintenon The King's Way and it was good to read the facts to back it up.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinary Woman, March 31, 2010

By 

Loves the View "Louise" (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon (Hardcover)

I learned of Madame de Maintenon two years ago from Antonia Fraser's Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King. After all his flirtations, liaisons and children I was surprised that at the end of his life that he would have a very close relationship with a plain, older woman of substance. I looked for something more on her at the time, but found very little. I was glad to stumble on to this book.

Veronica Buckley puts it all together. She has an excellent grasp of history and gives good descriptions of the economic and political backdrop for this saga.

The power and wealth of the autocratic king permeates all of France. Louis XIV has the power to set a tax rate and chose who will pay it. While workmen may make 1000 livres a year, he accords over 200,000 livres/year to a former mistress and hands out positions, pensions and titles to the many others who curry his favor. He has no trouble ordering a religion and assumes everyone will change their beliefs by royal decree and pressure. No one questions his wars or asks, if indeed, France had won them.

Francoise, born in a prison, eventually lives among all this wealth and power. Having seen the precarious position of the courtiers she does not seek a liaison with the King. It comes as an offer that cannot be refused. Frasier, in her book, shows Francoise to be more of an advisor to the king. Veronica Buckley emphasizes her attempts to do good works.

The author shows the pleasure and pettiness in court life. Rank is very important and everyone tries to please the king. There is a lot on the role and influence of religion and the clergy. Francoise's elevation from child care to her new dubious status is fuel for gossip and she has to behave very carefully.

Francoise focuses on her charities. She tries to improve the lot of her poor non-Catholic family, and this is not easy. The king readily provided funds for Francoise's plans for a school for impoverished girls of noble blood (girls like her). Being an autocrat, the king's choice of location was followed. The book shows the problems with this location and in determining the school's role, in hiring the right teachers, developing a curriculum and setting admission criteria.

I'd like to give this book 5 stars for the research and the importance of the work. While it is very readable, it is also very wordy. There are pages describing what Francoise might have felt (although they are not written with qualifiers). There are overly long sections such as those on poisoning, the construction of Versailles and other background areas. While this material was well written, I was impatient with it because I wanted the story to move more quickly.