Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles

by Peggy Joque Williams

Overview

"A rich journey through 17th century France in all its aspects-its bucolic countryside, the still-unmatched splendor of the court of Louis XIV, and the struggling French colony in Canada." -Margaret George, New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth I, The Autobiography of Henry VIII & The Memoirs of Cleopatra

France, 1670. On her sixteenth birthday, Sylvienne d'Aubert thinks her dream has come true. She holds in her hands an invitation from King Louis XIV to attend his royal court. However, her mother harbors a longtime secret she's kept from both her daughter and the monarch, a secret that could upend Sylvienne's life.

In Paris, Sylvienne is quickly swept up in the romance, opulence, and excitement of royal life. Assigned to serve King Louis's favorite mistress, she is absorbed into the monarch's most intimate circle. But the naïve country girl soon finds herself ill-prepared for the world of intrigue, illicit affairs, and power-mongering that takes place behind the shiny façade of Versailles.

This debut historical novel from Peggy Joque Williams captures the vibrancy and quandaries of 17th century life for a village girl seeking love and excitement during the dangerous reign of the Sun King.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781685134129
Publisher:	Black Rose Writing
Publication date:	05/09/2024
Pages:	390
Sales rank:	569,465
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Peggy Joque Williams is the co-author of two mystery novels under the pen name M. J. Williams, On the Road to Death's Door and On the Road to Where the Bells Toll. She is a recently retired elementary school teacher as well as a freelance writer and editor. An avid genealogist, she has traced her family tree back through French-speaking Canada to France of the 16th and 17th centuries. Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles is her debut solo novel. Peggy lives with her family in Madison, Wisconsin.Visit the author at www.peggywilliamsauthor.com.

Editorial Reviews

2024-04-24
A beautiful young country girl navigates the perilous corridors of the court of the Sun King in Williams’ historical novel.

In late-17th-century France, when the reign of Louis XIV is at the pinnacle of its splendor, beautiful 16-year-old country girl Sylvienne d’Aubert’s life is transformed by a totally unexpected summons to join the glittering court of the Sun King as a lady-in-waiting. Raised by a single mother and educated by nuns, Sylvienne has grown up in modest comfort, almost entirely ignorant of her own origins. Not long before the king’s invitation arrives, she’s shocked to learn that her mother was the illegitimate daughter of the king’s uncle, and that her own father had been a local lord whose estate, upon his accidental death, was seized by a scheming brother. Now living in a servant’s cottage on a modest pension and considering marriage to a kind young shoemaker, Sylvienne is suddenly uprooted and finds herself alone at the very epicenter of French politics and society. Arriving at the Palais de Tuileries, the king’s residence in Paris, Sylvienne is overwhelmed by the magnificence of her new surroundings: “My eyes were drawn to the gilded ceiling embedded with opulent paintings. Now I was gawking. Chandeliers and wall sconces illuminated portraits of royal ancestors.” But as Sylvienne serves the king’s favorite mistress, the beautiful Madame de Montespan, she must fend off a lascivious nobleman, brave the sometimes-vicious intrigues of the court, and steel herself against the glare of the popular press. Williams’ knowledge of the period is thorough, and the novel’s setting in the royal court is clearly drawn and always compelling. The author provides readers with a strong and intriguing central character whose growth toward self-realization is one of the novel’s principal strengths. While the narrative sometimes dwells too much on ambience at the expense of a fast-moving plot, readers of historical fiction will no doubt enjoy the novel’s authentic and seductive atmosphere.

An absorbing tale set in Louis XIV’s France.

Kirkus Reviews