The Cat and the King

This book has been read, minor wear to covers and dust cover, some markings and stamps inner pages as former library book. First inner page missing, all other story pages intact. Spine intact, no creases. "The king in Louis Auchincloss' glittering novel is the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, whose fabled court at Versailles was the wonder of Europe; the cat is Louis' watchful chronicler, Louis de Rouvroy, second duc de Saint-Simon, author of the famous 'Memoirs' which are the definitive record of Louis' reign. Auchincloss has conceived his novel as an extension of the 'Memoirs,' in which Saint-Simon reveals his own story -- as well as a great deal about the private lives of the great and near-great that did not find its way into the published record." Good Reads "Louis Stanton Auchincloss was an American novelist, historian, and essayist. Among Auchincloss's best-known books are the multi-generational sagas The House of Five Talents, Portrait in Brownstone, and East Side Story. Other well-known novels include The Rector of Justin, the tale of a renowned headmaster of a school like Groton trying to deal with changing times, and The Embezzler, a look at white-collar crime. Auchincloss is known for his closely observed portraits of old New York and New England society." Good Reads