Customer Reviews

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

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

She not only writes beautifully, engagingly, enthralling, and I really didn't want to put it down, the time and the situation for a young girl so very interesting, but this woman really did meticulous research. While she was still an unwanted burden, the first person to take an interest in her, a gentleman gambler was also a friend of Pascal. And on it goes. Maintenon said her life was a miracle. You decide.

Although I knew a little about Louis IV - the most powerful European king in his generation - the author of this book skillfully drew me into the details of the social and political history of France during his reign. Through the story of Louis's secret wife, the author acquaints us with the era's social history. The political history is related through her depiction of Louis and his court. Some knowledgeable reviewers quarrel with some details. They may be correct. But I doubt they could suggest as readable an overview of the era.

Although I knew Louis IV had a secret wife, Madam de Maintenon, I knew nothing about her. She was a remarkable person. With a disastrous childhood, she amazingly achieved a life that could never have been predicted. Some of her success was due to luck and good looks. Most of it was due to her personality.

Louis emerges as powerful but imperfect. His court is mired in excess. He often relies on men, who are flawed. In Madame de Maintenon he had a treasure. Because his was a sexist age, Louis did not rely on her judgement enough but did so more than I would expect most powerful men of the time to have done.

This is probably not a book for historians of the period. But for interested, intellectually curious people, it is a treasure.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not because everything written was the definitive and most accurate word on a woman who is an enigma to history, but because Ms. Buckley's interpretation of Maintenon's motives and personality was human and refreshing. I've read other books that either treat her as a calculating, insincere whore or a deeply religious, saintly woman. She was neither, of course (and quite possibly a little bit of both), but Ms. Buckley manages to deal with all this mystery and confusion quite well. Upon finishing the book I honestly couldn't say whether or not I would have liked Maintenon, but I can tell you I was fascinated by her. I also liked Ms. Buckley's writing style. I found it an easy, fluid read. There was a minimum of the politics that I feel often weighs down personal biographies and tends to serve as filler for books that might otherwise be too short. This makes total sense since Louis was completely against his women involving themselves in political affairs (although he often could be manipulated into appointing men and women to powerful posts on their recommendations). This was a true biography of a personality that continues to intrigue many a history buff. Well done Ms. Buckley.

Gracefully and elegantly written, this offers a sympathetic but clear-eyed portrait of a woman who seems to have received a lot of bad press in her time. I enjoyed the diversions into explanations on the Affaire Des Poisons and the building of Versailles, as they offered useful context for Madame's life. Highly recommended, and I will be checking into Ms. Buckley's future work.

This was a gift and I have not read it yet, but the book is beautiful. I look forward to reading it soon.