Louis XIV

by Josephine Wilkinson

Overview

This stylish and incisive narrative presents readers with a fresh perspective on one of the most fascinating kings in European history. Louis XIV’s story has all the ingredients of a Dumas classic: legendary beginnings, beguiling women, court intrigue, a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask, lavish court entertainments, the scandal of a mistress who was immersed in the dark arts, and a central character who is handsome and romantic, but with a frighteningly dark side to his character.Louis believed himself to be semi-divine. His self-identification as the Sun King, which was reflected in iconography by the sun god, Apollo, influenced every aspect of Louis’s life: his political philosophy, his wars, and his relationships with courtiers and subjects.As a military strategist, Louis’s capacity was ambiguous, but he was an astute politician who led his country to the heights of sophistication and power—and then had the misfortune to live long enough to see it all crumble away. As the sun began to set upon this most glorious of reigns, it brought a gathering darkness filled with the anguish of dead heirs, threatened borders, and a populace that was dangerously dependent upon—but greatly distanced from—its king.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643131054
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Josephine Wilkinson, a noted authority on French history, is the author of Louis XIV: The Power and the Glory. She received her PhD in History from the University of Newcastle and has been scholar-in-residence at St Denial’s Library. She now lives in York—Richard III’s favorite city.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2019

Before the French Revolution and the terror that followed, before Marie Antoinette and Napoleon, there was Louis XIV (1638–1715), the Sun King. Arguably, no monarch before or after him exemplified absolutism so lavishly. During Louis's more than seven decades leading France, the country became the political and cultural center of Europe. These were the years of dramatists Molière and Jean Racine and the expansion of Versailles, along with near continual warfare, religious conflicts, and the subjugation of an unruly nobility. It was also a time of courtiers and masked balls, palace intrigue and gossip, and extravagance beyond belief. Relying on the king's memoirs, as well as an array of secondary sources, Wilkinson (The Princes in the Tower) focuses more on the skirmishes among the aristocracy, glorious military campaigns, and romantic liaisons of Louis's reign than the administrative or economic functions of state. What is lacking in academic tone and research, however, is more than made up for by a historical account that is both entertaining and informative. VERDICT An enjoyable read for armchair history fans, especially those with an interest in the golden age of monarchy.—Linda Frederiksen, formerly with Washington State Univ. Lib., Vancouver

Library Journal

Wilkinson bravely tackles the question head on: what really happened to Richard’s nephews, the Princes in the Tower? The writing is incisive, rigorous and academic whilst also being accessible and engaging. Wilkinson will certainly get you thinking.

Huffington Post [praise for Josephine Wilkinson]

An impressive revisionist biography.

The Times (London) [praise for Josephine Wilkinson]