Louis XIV and the Zenith of the French Monarchy

By: Arthur Hassall

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Louis XIV, known as the Grand Monarch, or the Sun King, was a sovereign of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years is the longest recorded of any monarch in European history. In the age of absolutism, Louis XIV's France was the leader in the growing centralization of power.

Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means Louis XIV became one of the most powerful French monarchs of all time, consolidating a system of absolute monarchical rule that endured until the French Revolution.

Louis encouraged and benefited from the work of prominent political, military, and cultural figures such as Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, the Grand Condé, Turenne, and Vauban, as well as dazzling artists like Molière, Racine, Corneille, La Fontaine, Lully, Rameau, Couperin, Marais, Le Brun, Rigaud, Bossuet, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles and Claude Perrault, Lorrain, Poussin, Le Nôtre, and the brilliant mathematician Descartes.

During Louis' reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. There were also two lesser conflicts: the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions. Warfare defined the foreign policy of Louis XIV, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, Louis sensed that warfare was the ideal way to enhance his glory. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats that their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military. Under the leadership of Louis XIV, France reached a pinnacle of military, political, economic, and artistic superiority which was the wonder of the world.

Public Domain (P)2017 Audio Connoisseur

Very nice but before you listen…

While a rather good walk through of the life of Louie 14th. The reader will be lost without understanding the history of the time. With that knowledge acquired beforehand. It makes for a more graspable listen. Listen or read a book or two on “The Thirty Years War” before giving this one a go. As always, superbly narrated by Charlton Griffon.

Where to start

I suggest listening first to The Thirty Years War by Wegwood to gain the right background for this book.

Need more Louis XIV audio

A fascinating life, described here brilliantly and narrated wonderfully. I wish there were more audiobooks of Louis XIV on audible

Wonder if it is better to read

This book is not at all entertaining and seems like it was written as a formality. Very boring, narration is horrible.

Editing Problems?

There are quite a few places where the narrator repeats the same line. I do not know if this was an editing problem or the narrator would just read the same line twice and no one caught it.

This was more of a telling of Richileau's influence on Louis XIV in religion, war and/or diplomacy instead of a look at the monarchy and the court practices inside Versailles and the effects on the rest of France at the time -- how it influenced French culture and, in particular, literature (i.e. Moliere's plays).

It is told in a more narrative fashion, which makes the repetition more noticeable, and the timeline isn't as easy to follow in audio format as maybe it would be in paper.

I was looking for more of why this particular time in the Fench monarchy IS considered the zenith and how it shaped France and other governments going forward.