This work takes as its subject Louis XIV at Versailles - from the moment he decided to transform his father's hunting lodge into the greatest palace in Europe to his death there 54 years later. It covers the daily life of the king, the court and the government during the period of France's apogee in military power and artistic achievement. The book discusses the plans for and the building of the palace, and the creation of remarkable elaborate works of art with which it was filled. The book reconstructs the course of Louis's love affairs, culminating in his secret marriage to Madame de Maintenon, episodes such as the affair of the poisons, the creation of the School for Girls at Saint-Cyr, Lord Portland's embassy and the marriage of the Duchess of Bourgogne.
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Review
"Beautifully evokes the period" Independent on Sunday "Delightfully gossipy...irreverently lifts the skirts of the dolls of Versailles and rummages about underneath, exposing one gem of irresistible detail after another...A glorious tribute to a glorious age" Irish Times "La Mitford plonks the reader amid the seething snobbery and maniacal struggle for High Life that was the Sun King's regime... brilliantly acerbic" Observer "Her style is skilfully succinct; and her wit proceeds from uncommon shrewdness...readers will wish her her book were twice as long" Sunday Times "Highly entertaining...written with her accustomed dash and gaiety, in a manner which frequently suggests one of her delightful novels... Because Miss Mitford is so at home in Versailles, she confers the same feeling of being at home upon a sympathetic modern reader" Sunday Telegraph
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Nancy Mitford was born in London on November 28 1904, daughter of the second Baron Redesdale, and the eldest of six girls. Her sisters included Lady Diana Mosley; Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire and Jessica, who immortalised the Mitford family in her autobiography Hons and Rebels. The Mitford sisters came of age during the Roaring Twenties and wartime in London, and were well known for their beauty, upper-class bohemianism or political allegiances. Nancy contributed columns to The Lady and the Sunday Times, as well as writing a series of popular novels including The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, which detailed the high-society affairs of the six Radlett sisters. While working in London during the Blitz, Nancy met and fell in love with Gaston Palewski, General de Gaulle's chief of staff, and eventually moved to Paris to be near him. In the 1950s she began writing historical biographies - her life of Louis XIV, The Sun King, became an international bestseller. Nancy completed her last book, Frederick the Great, before she died of Hodgkin's disease on 30 June 1973.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By P A Brown
Format:Paperback
Nancy Mitford is not so much a historian as a gossip. She loves using words like delicious or delightful that more scholarly types would eschew. But her histories are delicious, full of little details of dress and deportment, disapproving profiles of people who weren't much fun. She forgives the extravagant Sun King for and his heirs for bankrupting France because they did it with exquisite style and taste. Although I want to disapprove of Nancy's chats on the basis of their casualness and fawning over the rich and lovely, I just cannot help loving them. As she so often said, "Oh, admit!" I do.
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Cas
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Here's "Lifestyles of the Obscenely Wealthy and Powerful"! I admit I'd never read much about this period of history (I'm fond of joking that my in-depth knowledge of politics and history more or less ends with Elizabeth I's death), but the bit I read at the bookstore made this book irresistible. I passed up an Alison Weir for this, but I don't regret the choice at all. It is both charming and knowledgable, with a witty, personable, almost gossipy tone.
There's a lot of information here, packaged with lots of pictures and glossy pages. It is a lovely book to look at purely on an aesthetic level. But do take the time to actually read it! Though sparse in areas, it is a rich look at the life of Louis, and at the lifestyle of a courtier of his day. The creation of Versailles is gone into in much detail, as are sexual politics and wartime attitudes. Mostly this focuses on Louis' personal life and that of his court and how Versailles came about, so there isn't much here about actual wars or about international politics. But what there is is just stupendous. I'd call this a must-have for a beginner in French history. I'm very glad I got it.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Nobody understood the nuances of aristocratic society better than the Mitford sisters. No aristocratic society ever had more nuances than Louis XIV's.
That background and Nancy Mitford's witty prose make her study of Louis and her court so readable that her exhaustive research and genuine scholarship may be overshadowed.
To the unitiated, Louis is a gilt and ormalu figure rather than one of the most interesting personalities in European history. Anyone new to the Louis fascination will be infected, but Mitford's biography is also deep enough for readers who know much more.
Most biographers of Louis understand how interesting, funny, and complex his personality and long life were. Mitford explains this phenonomen well, and illustrates his personality by examining Louis's family, court, and surroundings.
Mitford lived near Versailles for many years and draws from hundreds of original French documents.
That background and Nancy Mitford's witty prose make her study of Louis and her court so readable that her exhaustive research and genuine scholarship may be overshadowed.
To the unitiated, Louis is a gilt and ormalu figure rather than one of the most interesting personalities in European history. Anyone new to the Louis fascination will be infected, but Mitford's biography is also deep enough for readers who know much more.
Most biographers of Louis understand how interesting, funny, and complex his personality and long life were. Mitford explains this phenonomen well, and illustrates his personality by examining Louis's family, court, and surroundings.
Mitford lived near Versailles for many years and draws from hundreds of original French documents.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good read but ultimately disappointing
I bought this book hoping to learn more about Louis XIV. I cannot deny, I learned a lot. The colors and dresses and nuances of Versailles are beautifully rendered, the daily life... Read more
Published on February 27, 2010 by Christian Kober
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very satisfying book.
I greatly enjoyed this book. To start with, it is a nice size and has many many color reproductions of paintings of the people and places... Read more
Published on October 18, 2009 by J. Kara Russell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reads like a novel
I don't normally read biographies because they always seem so "dry" to me but this one is different. Reads like a novel and is thoroughly enjoyable. Read more
Published on December 16, 2008 by Connie C
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Copy
If you are remotely interested in the social dealings of France in the seventeenth century, then this a great book to buy. Read more
Published on June 8, 2007 by James Singer
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Sun King
The Sun King is a magnificent re-creation of the century of Louis XIV, and of the hunting lodge at Versailles which he transformed into the greatest palace in Europe. Read more
Published on April 27, 2007 by cortezhill
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favorite Book, Perfection!
This book is an absolutely amazing piece of work. I was introduced to it while looking for audiobooks on ITunes. Read more
Published on October 27, 2006 by T. A. Boland
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly enjoyable book--
Ok, I will freely admit that this may not be considered by some to be a scholarly historical assessment. Read more
Published on July 19, 2006 by Mr. Burke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elegantly Entertaining
Nancy Mitford is best known as an author of witty, elegant novels like The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. Read more
Published on October 24, 2004 by John D. Cofield
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Sun King
Nancy Mitford came to me by way of this book and, ignorant of the incredible talents that lie with her, her sisters and the aristocratic family into which she was born. Read more
Published on August 20, 2001 by Kenneth Gunnar Ramonet
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, good info, but needs more on political/wars side
A very good book on Louis XIV and the court life during the Age of the Sun King, but it would have been even better with more general, easy to understand events and political... Read more
Published on November 1, 1998
