Love and Louis XIV

The Women in the Life of the Sun King

By: Antonia Fraser

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

The superb historian and biographer Antonia Fraser, author of Marie Antoinette, casts new light on the splendor and the scandals of the reign of Louis XIV in this dramatic, illuminating look at the women in his life.

The self-proclaimed Sun King, Louis XIV ruled over the most glorious and extravagant court in 17th-century Europe. Now, Antonia Fraser goes behind the well-known tales of Louis' accomplishments and follies, exploring in riveting detail his intimate relationships with women.

The king's mother, Anne of Austria, had been in a childless marriage for 22 years before she gave birth to Louis XIV. A devout Catholic, she instilled in her son a strong sense of piety and fought successfully for his right to absolute power. In 1660, Louis married his first cousin, Marie-Thérèse, in a political arrangement. While unfailingly kind to the official Queen of Versailles, Louis sought others to satisfy his romantic and sexual desires. After a flirtation with his sister-in-law, his first important mistress was Louise de La Vallière, who bore him several children before being replaced by the tempestuous and brilliant Athénaïs, the Marquise de Montespan. Later, when Athénaïs' reputation was tarnished, the King continued to support her publicly as Athénaïs left court for a life of repentance. Meanwhile, her children's governess, the intelligent and seemingly puritanical Françoise de Maintenon, had already won the King's affections; in a relationship in complete contrast to his physical obsession with Athénaïs, Louis XIV lived happily with Madame de Maintenon for the rest of his life, very probably marrying her in secret. When his grandson’s child bride, the enchanting Adelaide of Savoy, came to Versaille she lightened the King’s last years - until tragedy struck. With consummate skill, Antonia Fraser weaves insights into the nature of women’s religious lives - as well as such practical matters as contraception - into her magnificent, sweeping portrait of the king, his court, and his ladies.

©2006 Antonia Fraser (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“Excellent...a pleasure to read throughout.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Highly readable....with vivid wit, Fraser demonstrates that within the edifice of the monarchy there were deep crannies of ordinary affection.” (The New Yorker)

“Entertaining and instructive...we must still be grateful to Antonia Fraser for devising so excellent a companion with which to lie back and think of France.” (The New York Times)

“Engaging...the sumptuously illustrated Love and Louis XIV focuses on the diverse array of women who ‘lit up the court of the Sun King.’” (The Washington Post)

Engrossing Biography of an Engrossing Man

This book does a very good job of capturing life at the court of the Sun King. It not only focuses on the brilliance of the court and the king but also his disappointments, his failures and his losses. And he lost a great deal, especially in his later years.

An incredibly important historical figure, the Sun King was so much larger than life it would be easy to create a caricature of him. Ms. Fraser avoids the easy road and makes us realize that someone, who in his time was revered and reviled on the same level as God and the Devil, was also a human and his life was shaped by very human tragedies.

Sometimes the authors biographies read almost like fiction. She can glamorize and idolize a person to the point that you know it cannot be accurate. She doesn't do that in this book. Perhaps because it would be hard to conceive of Louis being portrayed as more glamorous and more idolized than he actually was in real life.

My first & worthy audiobook

Extremely well narrated. Good pace & a lovely enjoyable narrator to listen to. Yes, I found myself rewinding sections as the multiple persons became muddled- however this is to be expected, much as if one was reading the book, given the interwoven lives at court.

Bright illumination of the Sun King

prior to this Audible presentation, I knew very little about Louis X1V.
Now I feel like an illegitimate Duke whose bloodline has lapsed into the twenty first century.

ok

What made the experience of listening to Love and Louis XIV the most enjoyable?

interesting but after about 8 hours I was getting bored and frustrated with all the names I could not keep track of. I quit at 3/4 of the way through thinking that I know he was a womanizer and had lots of mistresses but what more can this book tell me. not much.

Great book

Love the story and narration! Highly recommend! Entertaining way to learn history of Europe. 5 stars!

Excellent!

I was really surprised to find that Louis was a great husband and a very decent human being. I became fascinated by other characters in the book such as his young granddaughter-in-law. This is a wonderful book for people who appreciate excellent research and strong characters who really lived. Just loved it!

Obsessed with Versailles?

This is a good poultice for that affliction. I have always been a big ballet fan, I had no idea that I would be treated to its origin story...the court of Louis the Great was fascinating to me but I am glad I watched the tv show first to help keep names straight :)

The Life of the Sun King via the Women he Loved

Louis the XIV was a fascinating character surrounded by interesting, brillant women that really defined his life. This book examines his life through his relationship with all these women: his mother, his in-laws, his granddaughter, his queen, and his mistresses. It really brings the fascinating drama of Versailles and the court of Louis XIV to life.
Rosalyn Landor did a wonderful job narrating this book and keeping the tone enjoyable. After listening to this book, I would happily listen to something else she narrated. Antonia Fraser wrote a wonderful book and I look forward to listening to other works of hers.

Informative and fair-minded

I did not know much about this part of Louis XIV's life, though I had some vague ideas. I'd read Fraser's 'Marie Antoinette,' so I knew this book would be scholarly and humane. It lived up to expectations. I am glad to know more about this king's life and times, and to understand better what court life consisted of (in terms of the royal interrelationships).

On a side note, it is interesting to see the truism that real princesses don't have to behave like princesses (because everyone knows their heredity), whereas non-nobles must behave more royally than royalty if they hope to be tolerated at court.

Fraser does a good job also of identifying shifts in the attitudes of succeeding generations. She does not let us assume that cultural attitudes within or without the court remained static from 1638 through 1715 or beyond. Sometimes these shifts may be subtle, and I appreciate that Fraser drew attention to this.

Beautiful

As always, Antonia offers a beautifully written book. She displays a wonderful mastery of language and expression, which she uses to justly present the figure of the Sun King and the women who surrounded him. She gives the reader a humanized image of a monarch who has been too often represented as authoritarian and capriciously tyrannical. More importantly, the author presents the king through the lens of the women in his life, and their roles in the history of the monarch’s reign. This book does not disappoint.