Louis XIV

London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1973 Great Lives Series. Louis XIV was the most royal of French kings: the very incarnation of monarchy. Born in 1638, the son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, he was baptised Louis the God-given. Never was a king so schooled in absolute authority. Since he succeeded at the age of four, his powers were at first theoretical. His mother became regent, with the help of the selection Nazanin Only after Mazarin's death in 1661 was Louis king in fact as well as name. He had learned the art of politics from the Cardinal; he had also learned that no one minister must ever wield such influence again. Henceforward he ruled France with despotic power. The friend of Molière and Racine, he was also the patron of Le Vau, the architect, and Le Nôtre, the great designer of gardens. His most lasting monument was Versailles. But in his long reign (and he lived on until 1715) he was led ever further astray by his love of glory. He lived in a world of his own creation, he showed complete disdain for the common people, and he plunged the country into a series of long, unnecessary, debilitating wars. No-one did more to prepare the way for the French Revolution. Joanna Richardson draws a portrait of this man who was so much larger than life. She presents his wives Maria-Teresa and Mme de Maintenon, his mistresses (among them the scandalous Mme de Montespan), his Ministers, his Court, his capital city (which he constantly escaped), and his country (which came to be weary of him). She discusses the Great Century in literature, and she devotes a chapter to Versailles. This is a rich and lively account of a man who gave his name to an age. ---------------------------------------- 232 pages, many illustations and photographs ---------- Orders of $100.00 or more are shipped using tracked courier delivery services.