Description
Book SynopsisThis gossipy account of Louis XIV is a clear and fascinating historical biography from Nancy Mitford.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY STELLA TILLYARD
During his reign Louis XIV was the most powerful king in Europe. He presided over a golden age of military and artistic achievement in France, and deployed his charm and talents for spin and intrigue to hold his court and country within his absolute control. The Sun King''s universe centred on Versailles, a glittering palace from where Louis conducted his government and complex love affairs. Nancy Mitford describes the daily life of this splendid court in sumptuous detail, recreating the past in vivid colour.
Trade ReviewBeautifully 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 *
