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Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King

by Lady Antonia Fraser (Author), Lady Antonia Fraser (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2006

    $3.25

  • Used

    Paperback 2007

    $3.82

  • New

    Paperback 2007

    $17.04
Synopsis

The book centres around the Sun King and his relationship with numerous and fascinating women. Naturally dividing into five parts it will concentrate on the King's mother, Anne of Austria, to whom he was devoted; his first important mistress, Louise de la Valliere, who bore him several illegitimate children; Athenais Marquise de Montespan, who acted as unofficial Queen of Versailles until her involvement in the affair of poisons, and of course Marie Therese, his wife; and Madame de Maintenon, governess to the illegitimate royal children. The fifth part concentrates on his relations in old age with his daughters, granddaughters and the wife of his grandson. It will vividly bring to life the vast edifice of Louis XIV's court - the magnificence, artistic splendour, elaborate ritual and in some cases, absurdity and misery.

$3.25

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2 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 416
 Edition: First Edition, First Impression
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 24 Aug 2006
ISBN 10: 0297829971
ISBN 13: 9780297829973
Book Overview: MARIE ANTOINETTE was a Top Ten bestseller and has sold well over 100,000 paperbacks to date. THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII sold over 150,000 copies in hardback alone This is the perfect subject for Antonia Fraser 'Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here, adorned by often fascinating, at times esoteric detail' - Guardian on Marie Antoinette

Media Reviews
'bringing vividly to life the fairytale dazzle of the most splendid court in Western history... lively and wholly absorbing.' -- Matthew Dennison THE TIMES 'Antonia Fraser long ago mastered the art of writing meticulous history so that it reads like an engrossing novel, and her latest offering is no exception.' -- Virginia Rounding THE SUNDAY TIMES an impressively researched and crafted book' -- Munro Price THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'no one writes about historical women as well as she does.' -- Jennifer Selway DAILY EXPRESS 'a wonderfully rounded portrait of the philandering king... Fraser has evoked a world by exercising the gifts that make her one of the most brilliant biographers of our time: her scholarship and her great humanity. Precise details bring the past to life.' -- Ruth Scurr THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'All the scandal and brilliance and bling of Louis and his ladies is shown in context - social, dynastic, political, religious - but depicted so deftly and vividly that you're there... This is an intriguing insight into the shifting roles of aristocratic women in 17th-century France.' -- Ian Ramsey TATLER 'entralling new biography... her prose veers between the authoritative and the racey and makes excellent use of contemporary sources, creating the most enjoyable domestic biography of Louis since Nancy Mitford's The Sun King, 40 years ago.' -- Michael Arditti THE DAILY MAIL 'As she demonstrated in previous biographies of Charles II and Marie Antoniette, for esoteric detail, for marrying moments of grace and wit, no other historian is Fraser's equal.' -- Tome Dewe Matthews THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Written with a rare combination of sympathy, erudition and high literary accomplishment, this book is a delight. It leaves no doubt as to why Antonia Fraser who, in another age, might well have been a star of Louis's court, is, instead, the reigning doyenne of British historians.' -- John Adamson THE MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Fraser's narrative is balanced, wise and entertaining. This is clearly the book she was born to write.' -- Jonathan Keates LITERARY REVIEW 'Painstakingly researched and dazzling in its details, this is a definitive portrait of a king, his women and their extraordinary times.' SAINSBURYS MAGAZINE 'Her delightful book supports the contemporary observation that 'court life provides the funniest scenes imaginable', but the scintillating narrative is underpinned by a serious theme, arising from the conflict between the king's sex drive and his search for salvation.' -- Anne Somerset THE NEW STATESMAN 'this lively and compelling book... The result is a balanced, insightful and plausible exploration of the Sun King and his women.' -- Nigel Aston THE TABLET 'with warmth, humour and not a little gossipy relish, she draws us intimately into the psyche and mores of many ladies who moved, motivated and occasionially mastered the alpha male.' -- Lucy Kilfoyle THE TRIBUNE 'the result is a balance, insightful and plausible exploration of the Sun King and his women.' -- Nigel Aston THE TABLET In LOVE AND LOUIS XIV, Antonia Fraser's expertise on women in history shines through, bringing a sympathetic warmth to her depiction of the Sun King's many love affairs, his vast sexual appetite and the sheer variety of female personalities in his intimate circle.' -- Siofra Pierse IRISH TIMES
Author Bio
Since 1969, Antonia Fraser has written many acclaimed historical works which have been international bestsellers, including Marie Antoinette, Mary Queen of Scots (James Tait Black Memorial Prize), Cromwell: Our Chief of Men, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605 (St Louis Literary Award; CWA Non-Fiction Gold Dagger). Antonia Fraser was made CBE in 1999, and awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000. She is married to the playwright Harold Pinter and lives in London.