Madame De Maintenon : The Secret Wife of King Louis XIV
Author(s): Veronica Buckley
Francoise d'Aubigne, born in a bleak provincial prison, her father a condemned murderer and traitor to the state, rose from the depths of poverty to life at the vortex of power at Versailles. Married at fifteen to a tragically disfigured and scandalously popular poet, in his salon Francoise encountered all the brilliant characters of the seventeenth century's glitterati. After her husband's death, she led the life of a merry widow in the colourful Marais quarter of Paris, before becoming governess to the King's growing brood of royal batards. This is the extraordinary story of one woman's daring journey from beggar-girl, West Indian colonist and salonniere to royal mistress and thence, in secret, to the compromised position of Louis' uncrowned Queen. Through the rags-to-riches tale of the Marquise de Maintenon, Veronica Buckley reveals every layer of the vibrant and shocking world that was France in the age of Louis XIV.
Product Information
Christina, Queen of Sweden sold in Holland, Sweden, Italy, Denmark and Germany amongst others and received stunning reviews For fans of Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette, Stella Tillyard's Aristocrats, Amanda Foreman's Georgiana and Paula Byrne's Perdita There has been no biography of Madame de Maintenon in English since the 1970s
'Riveting and beautifully written' Daily Telegraph 'Buckley has written an admirably balanced life with a wealth of biographical detail and great sympathy for her subject' Economist 'Compelling ... Veronica Buckley writes extremely well, and her narrative never fails to grip ... Madame de Maintenon is convincing and ultimately moving, a perceptive appreciation of a remarkable woman' Sunday Telegraph 'A colourful tale' Financial Times
Veronica Buckley was born in New Zealand. Wide-ranging studies in several countries led to her work in diverse fields from music to the computing industry. After doctoral research in history at Oxford, she turned to full-time writing. She lives in Vienna with her husband, writer Philipp Blom.
General Fields
- :
- : 55652
- : 55652
- : 04 May 2009
- : 198mm X 129mm X 30mm
- : United Kingdom
- : books
Special Fields
- : Veronica Buckley
- : Paperback
- : 1
- : 944.033092
- : 480
- : Illustrations, map, ports., geneal. tables