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Love and Louis XIV (CD) | 
 enlarge | Author: Antonia Fraser
Creator: Patricia Hodge
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £10.12
You Save: £6.87 (40%)
New (12) Used (2) from £6.45
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 49815
Format: Audiobook, Cd
Media: Audio CD
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0752875140
EAN: 9780752875149
ASIN: 0752875140
Publication Date: August 24, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new and in stock - usually dispatched within 48 hours and delivered 1st Class by Royal Mail from the UK. International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews:
 More Light On The Sun King August 25, 2007
Moon Cheese
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
Another historical masterpiece from the author of `Mary Queen Of Scots', `Marie Antoinette The Journey' et al.
The book has at its centre the life of Louis XIV and the women who found themselves in his orbit.
Despite the allusions to romantic love in the title, there is a platonic element to the numerous biographies that Fraser intertwines with Louis', such as his mother and daughter-in-law.
The light shone on the Sun King is painted in delicate colours and there is little allusion to `goings on' outside his immediate court, such as the Edict of Nantes (a very significant event of his reign) and the wars with the Dutch and the `Grand Alliance' under Marlborough and Eugene. This is because it is a biography devoted to the emotional - dare we say it - human side of Louis.
One really can find little fault in any of Antonia Fraser's scholarly works, of which this is an elegant and insightful example.
Does what it says on the cover July 2, 2007
MarkE (Oxford, UK)
8 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is not a biography of Louis XIV; it is rather a study of his relationships with the women in his life and it includes biographies of those women. Fraser does not confine herself to his Queen (Marie-Therese of Austria) and the royal mistresses, but investigates Louis' relationship with his mother and, at the other end of his life, his platonic relationships with various favourites. The queen and mistresses do however play a large part in the book, as they played a large part in Louis' life.
It is refereshing to note the attempt to understand the importance of Louis' Catholicism and how this coloured his relationships, especially with la Maintenant but also with Louise de la Valliere and, indeed, with Marie-Therese.
Hugely entertaining March 30, 2007
Mrs. S. L. Emmott (wales uk)
11 out of 19 found this review helpful
I love Antonia Fraser's writing. This book was absorbing from start to finish, I'm rather sorry to have read it so fast! It gives the reader an idea of a woman's life - and the choices open to her - in the 17th century. Whilst the main theme was Louis XIV and the women in his life, Ms Fraser also gave us relevant snapshots of the lives of other monarchs in Europe - not least on the English throne. It was entertaining to read of the way the later generations of women pushed the boundaries of court etiquette, although only as far as Louis XIV was prepared to indulge! Overall, I would really recommend this book and I know I shall be able to read it more than once.
Another triumph for Fraser! January 14, 2007
Liam (Dublin)
18 out of 27 found this review helpful
This book, a study of King Louis XIV of France and the women in his life, including his mother, Anne of Austria, his wife Marie-Therese of Spain, his two sisters-in-law, Henriette-Anne of England and Liselotte of the Palatinate, his granddaughter-in-law Adelaide of Savoy, and of course his mistresses, Louise de La Valliere, Francoise-Athenais de Montpesan, Angelique de Fontagues and Francoise d'Aubigne, Madame de Maintenon. Then there's the mistress who never was, Marie Mancini.
As ever, Fraser tells a wonderful story - this is history at it's best. One of her best skills as an author, in my opinion, is the way she treats her characters as human beings; she is sympathetic to Louis being biased. She doesn't overlook his faults, but she isn't pessimistic about him. The characters come alive spectacularly, even though it's a non-fiction book - by the end, we feel as though we know Louis, Liselotte, Adelaide and the others. The Sun King has always been a compelling characters - I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out more not only about him, but about the women in his life!
Entertaining but not shallow - a better understanding of Louis XIV and his relationships September 30, 2006
Klaus Meyer (Berlin, Germany)
52 out of 74 found this review helpful
Antonia Fraser is one of the best writers of (popular) history and this book just proves why.
So many books have been written about Louis XIV and it seems nearly impossible to shed a new light on this most famous of all French kings. So it was a very pleasant surprise that Antonia Fraser did this.
She follows the relationships of the Louis XIV with females from birth to death: from the long-for heir to the French throne, boy king at the age of 4 years and 8 months, through the period when the Sun King dominated Europe to the period when France and his king were nearly going down under and the reign ended on a sad notion. Each period had a distinct female symbolizing that very period: Anne of Austria, the King's mother and regent, Maria Theresia, his Queen, Madame de La Valliere and Madame de Montespan, his most famous mistresses and la Marquise de Maintenon, his morganatique wife. Of course, there are more like la Princesse Palatine, the Duchess of Burgundy or the first Duchess of Orleans. It seems that the Sun King did a full circle - Anne of Austria and Madame la Marquise had much in common and might be described as the same kind of personality. It is very much appreciated that Antonia Fraser restores Louis XIV's Queen Consort to her rightful place. The Queen is often neglected as the king did and she was properly the most remote person in terms of personal affection, but her role was vital for his gloire. The Infanta of Spain was the most valuable princess and none other would have done for the King and she was the mother of the rightful heirs to the throne.
Antonia Fraser commands the rare gift of writing in an entertaining manner without becoming shallow or superficial. All in all a book one can only recommend. I enjoyed it immensely.
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