Louis XIV - Softcover

Cronin, Vincent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846555582 ISBN 13: 9781846555589

Publisher: Harvill Press, 2011

Synopsis

First published 25 years ago, this biography of the Sun King uses contemporary sources to examine what sort of monarch Louis XIV really was. The author's researches reveal a portrait of the man and an account of the principal events of his long reign (1642-1715). The book provides an overview of the entire civilization inspired by and reflecting the glory of the Sun King. Thus, while Louis occupies the foreground, artists like Racine, Moliere, Lully and Mansart, the architect of Versailles, share the middleground with politicians such as Cardinal Mazarin and Nicolas Fouquet and courtiers such as the king's mistress, Louise de La Valliere.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Louis XIV was the greatest of all French monarchs. Coming to the throne at the age of five, he ruled for 72 years and presided over the finest flourishing of French culture and one of its greatest periods of expansionist and military glory. This biography uses contemporary sources to examine the sort of monarch Louis XIV really was. The book provides an overview of the entire civilization inspired by and reflecting the glory of the Sun King and so, while the character of Louis himself remains in the foreground, artists like Racine, Moliere, Lully and Mansart (the architect of Versailles) share the middle-ground with politicians such as Cardinal Mazarin and courtiers such as the King?s mistress, Louise de la Valliere. Vincent Cronin?s gracefully written biography of Le Roi Soleil, founded on Cronin?s deep knowledge of this period of French history, provides an illuminating portrait of the king and his court.

About the Author:

Vincent Cronin published his first book, The Golden Honeycomb, an exploration of Sicily as a mythological land, in 1954. He has since built a reputation -- over a series of scholarly, elegantly written works of history and biography -- as one of the finest popular historians of his generation. He divides his time between France and Spain.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvill Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1846555582
• ISBN 13: 9781846555589
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 398