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. Vincent Cronin has also written "Louis and Antoinette" and "Catherine, Empress of All the Russias".
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Back Cover:
Louis XIV came to the throne at the age of four, and by 1715, the year of his death, he had made France into the most powerful and civilized nation in Europe. Treating accepted views with proper scepticism, Vincent Cronin has gone back to contemporary sources to discover the true nature of Louis XIV. From this classic biography emerges not only a masterful portrait of a vigorous and cultivated monarch but also an overview of an entire civilization inspiring and reflecting the glory of the Sun King.
About the Author:
Vincent Cronin was educated at Ampleforth College, Harvard University, and Trinity College, Oxford, from which he graduated with honours in 1947. In addition to being a recipient of a W.H. Heinemann Award (1955) and a Rockefeller Foundation Award (1958), Cronin is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His works have been widely translated into European languages. He died in January 2011, aged 86.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHarvill Press
- Publication date1990
- ISBN 10 1860460925
- ISBN 13 9781860460920
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages398
-
Rating