The Sun King : Louis Fourteenth at Versailles

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The Sun King : Louis Fourteenth at Versailles

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 332 ratings · 36 reviews

This deservedly famous book brings a glittering century to life, taking as its subject Louis XIV at Versailles – from the moment he decided to transform his father’s hunting lodge into the greatest palace in Europe, to his death there 54 years later. Focusing on the daily life of the King, the Court and the government during the period of France’s apogee of military power...more

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published October 1st 1966 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published January 1st 1966)

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Jul 14, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1500-1700, great-and-terrible-men, history, tres-francais

After reading two of Nancy Mitford’s historical biographies, I can say that I have at the very least learned exactly who Nancy likes to invite to her parties. Ladies should be elegant, witty, memorable, beautiful if at all possible, and at the very least aware that one must dress if not. They should be wise in the ways of men, conform to religious standards only as much as necessary to not end up on the front page, and above all be disinclined to fall into the vapors. Men are required to be eleg...more After reading two of Nancy Mitford’s historical biographies, I can say that I have at the very least learned exactly who Nancy likes to invite to her parties. Ladies should be elegant, witty, memorable, beautiful if at all possible, and at the very least aware that one must dress if not. They should be wise in the ways of men, conform to religious standards only as much as necessary to not end up on the front page, and above all be disinclined to fall into the vapors. Men are required to be elegant, witty, memorable, and handsome if at all possible, or dressed in a way that falls in to some sort of amusing stereotype if not (the crusty sailor, the coarse soldier, the court jester). Morality is unnecessary for either sex, however, the ability to both command a drawing room and a country (or a lover) is highly prized. Nancy Mitford likes clever managers of people and situations. She gives the approving nod to whichever characters can carry off their part with style and make the least trouble for everyone while still doing quite well for themselves. It is possible to tell which characters she is truly attached to because she allows them to have emotion and for people around them to properly grieve at their passing, whereas unworthy characters get “quite what they deserve."

This makes her treatment of Louis somewhat ambiguous. It is easy to tell that she would like to approve of him. He is, after all, the creator of that shining world of Versailles, which Nancy clearly considers to be the closest thing the nobility have ever created to heaven. She lovingly traces its origins through to its full flowering late in his reign, sometimes indeed giving the impression that if the building had had more love affairs and fought more wars, she would have written a history of the walls of Versailles itself. But Nancy’s interest is for “personalities,” as her stand-in character in Love in a Cold Climate always said. Thus Louis “l’etat c’est moi,” is the closest thing she can come to as a subject. This leads her to make the best case for him she can. His brilliance in creating Versailles is emphasized. The system required nobles to be at court and to bankrupt themselves trying to dress appropriately and kept everyone so busy with a constant round of parties that they could never look up to realize that they were not exercising any real power at all. Those few who did look up were sold offices at exorbitant prices, offices which were still dependent on the king and centered on the court. His mastery of etiquette, amazing self-control in all situations, and his ability to love strongly in select cases are all praised and described in detail. Louis is also defended against charges that he remained terrified of his subjects all of his life because of the Fronde (though I think there is an argument to be made that that is why he wanted all his nobles where he could see them at Versailles). She likewise spends time discrediting paintings which make him look “quite Jewish” (which seems to mean a big nose and wrinkled all over), telling of busts and descriptions that make him sound rather handsome when young. There’s a long section at the end detailing the trials of the War of the Spanish Succession and Louis’ courage in fighting on when everything seemed to be against him. She clearly approves of Phillip V enough to think that it was worth fighting for his throne.

The problem is that there are just too many factors that she doesn’t like. She faults Louis for not being witty enough. She faults his choice of boring companions at many points in his life. She does not like the children he chooses to love (especially the unworthy Duc du Maine), and she hates two out of his three principal mistresses. She tells stories of his cruelty (his lack of sympathy for any kind of illness is a standout example. He made many ill people travel when they were in no condition to. This included heavily pregnant women who he made travel with the court late in their term. A few lost their babies in the process), his hardness, and his frightening demeanor (though you can tell she sort of secretly approves of that- kings are God’s representatives after all). She can’t get over how stupid he is to keep stupid King James at his court and then shelter the Old Pretender after that, or his obsession with destroying Holland. She’s endlessly bored with his ventures into religion. It's telling the only joy she seems to take in that part of the story is the bits where Louis punishes courtiers he catches laughing in church. Princely authority asserted. Always hot.

Yet despite these efforts to sketch out a Louis that can worthily hold the center, she never really focuses the camera on him for any length of time. As I mentioned, it is clear that Louis is the choice of subject by default. He is simply a pivot point and a story structure, providing beginning, middle, end, and the plot points that motivate the actions of others. Stella Tillyard (whose own work as a historian I adore), in her introduction to the book, points out that the biography is truly the story of Louis’ three principal mistresses, whose reigns separate out the stages of his life. Louise de la Valliere when he was young, Madame de Montespan in his prime, and Madame de Maintenon in his late middle age and twilight years. I think that this is true insofar as we spend much more time following these women and the atmosphere of the court that they create (Queens seem to never count in these biographies) than Louis himself. Again, though, the problem is she only likes one of them, Madame de Montespan. She addresses her by her first name, and highlights her period as the most amusing, fun-filled part of the King’s life. Yet again, though, even she disappoints her by falling from favor, consulting the dark arts, and then turning bitter and angry and, biggest crime of all, uninteresting, in the last years of her life. Louise is whiny and insipid, a stereotype of a wilting flower. Madame de Maintenon is the symbol of Louis turning to religion. You can tell Nancy sees this as the horridly boring part of his life which ruined all the fun of Versailles. (For illustration's sake, its worth pointing out that her ultimate salute of her beloved Pompadour is to declare that after her death "a great dullness" settled over Versailles.)

I agree with Tillyard that Mitford sees the women as her way into this bit of history. However, I also think that unlike with La Pompadour, she could never latch onto someone’s story for long enough to create a sense of a coherent world. She had to jump from place to place and person to person to keep the stories she liked center stage. This created a very confusing narrative that skipped back and forth in time, that zigzagged back and forth across the court amongst crowds of indistinguishable duchesses and princesses. She set up too many obligations for herself. I think that is probably what I’m trying to say. She said this book is about Louis, so she has to do him. She’s clearly made the choice to focus on the mistresses, so now she’s got to fill out their story. She likes gossip and scandal, so she wants to tell us every juicy story she knows no matter where it leads. And in the end, let us not forget her commitment to her dream castle of Versailles and describing its odyssey. This ended up in a confused place where peoples’ narratives got really and fully fleshed out in one part of the book, only to have their deaths or later doings summed up in two sentences later (even Madame de Montespan got this treatment) as an afterthought. The king appears strongly at the beginning and disappears for long stretches, only poking his head in when necessary. The mistresses give place to the courtiers they fight with, and some fascinating B plot men (the Prince de Conti, the Grand Conde) fade into the background and then pop back up again at points when the story should not be about them.

I think she would have done better to publish this as a collection of individual scandals from Versailles. The King didn't need to be here, for the most part. The supporting cast is large enough to have a story all their own, and they are clearly what fills in the background and makes Versailles the place that she loves. The King remains the constant, the story is how you revolve around him and work your way closer. But it is clear that Louis is far from her favorite thing about this time period. It is clear when we meet someone that she likes, and they are all over Versailles. But because of her obligations to the Sun King she can’t spend the time she would like to with them. I wish she’d just been honest about that and written a different book. As it is, this simply can’t compare to her biography of Pompadour. She deprived herself of the things she loved, which ruled Pompadour’s story, and gave herself a list of obligations instead. Page turning history, which is the only reason to read Mitford in preference to more scholarly efforts, is not made that way. I was by turns bored, unimpressed, all too fleetingly amused, and then confused, then the whole cycle started again. More Mitford charm in her study of Voltaire, I hope. That’s next.
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Aug 14, 2012 Sketchbook rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nancy plays the Palace -- the greatest palace in the world.
An SRO headliner, she encores the mischief, treachery,
duplicity and debauchery in this blazing complex - surely
the first of its kind - which the Sun King called "home"
and where 15,000 residents bowed to His Majesty.

Hers isn't a bio. She focuses not on the King but on
Versailles -- his most famous creation. Topping a huge cast,
Louis 14th ambles through episodes of court life that interest
Mitford : masked balls, tournaments, garden parties,...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, biography

Mitford, Nancy. THE SUN KING. (1966). ***. French history is not one of my fortes, so that I turned to this biography by Mitford hoping to learn a little more. It didn’t work for me. I was soon overwhelmed by the details of Louis XIV and his court and his mistresses and his political allies. About a third of the way through the book, I began to skim the print and concentrate on the many illustrations provided for this book. If someone with a better basic background took up this book, they would...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Natalia Ciolko is currently reading it

"...Nicolas Fouquet gave a house-warming there, 17 August 1661, and invited six thousand people to meet the King [...] such gifts as diamond tiaras and saddle-horses were distributed to the guests. Louis returned Fouquet's hospitality by clapping him in goal and we seldom hear of other people giving parties for the King."

"...a thousand orange trees found their way to the royal palaces [...] the King was passionately fond of them and had them in all his rooms, in silver tubs."

Colbert, Le Vau, Le...more

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Feb 11, 2009 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, fraudio, history, published-1966, nonfiction

quietism = a form of religious mysticism requiring withdrawal from all human effort and passive contemplation of God

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256 pages here.

I so want an orange tree in a silver pot!

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Bernini also gained royal commissions from outside Italy, for subjects such as Louis XIV, Cardinal Richelieu, Francesco I d'Este, Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria. The last two were produced in Italy from portraits made by Van Dyck (now in the royal collection), though Bernini preferred to produce portraits from...more

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Jun 03, 2013 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, english, history, nyrb, read-summer-2013

Once again, Nancy Mitford is the gossipy friend who happens to know quite a lot about 17th century France. The Sun King is a biography of both the French monarch and his home, Versailles. From the building of the palace to Louis XIV's many relationships, Mitford takes her informed but light-hearted attitude towards the different aspects of the court of the Sun King.

Instead of a comprehensive biography, Mitford focuses on the goings on and relationships within Versailles. There are, of course, m...more

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May 06, 2009 Sherwood Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reading this graceful history in conjunction with others really illustrates (I think) the different view of one raised as an aristocrat, who sees no use in looking at the world from any other point of view.

Mitford gives wonderful insight into so many of Saint-Simon's precisely reported little scenes of etiquette warfare . . . but. She falls down completely (I think) in reviling against Madame de Maintenon who (it seems here) committed her greatest sin in being born bourgeois, and then being rais...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Gina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Louis IV was one busy guy: fought wars every summer, built Versailles, kept an eye on everyone at Court, and kept several ladies busy: his Queen, who unfortunately for her was in love with him all her life; I stopped trying to keep track of how many other squeezes he had(at least 4 or 5, maybe more); and if he went to visit a mistress and she kept him waiting, he'd go off in a corner with one of her maids. He had at least two children each way: Queen, mistress, and lady-in-waiting. Then once the...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars

So far she has some interesting facts laced through the narrative, but a lot of antiquated assumptions (copyright 1966)that make my eyebrows go up. My biggest issue is the very non-linear structure of this book. Mitford is all over the place with the time line in chapters. It's nearly impossible to keep up with what events are taking place when with such a scattershot approach. If I wasn't already familiar with some of the history of Louis XIV and his morganatic wife, I'd be lost.

Updated - In th...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Kimmo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, france

Mitford's gossipy turn of phrase has been noted by other reviewers but I didn't find it too disruptive an influence on the reading experience overall. The Sun King is a fascinating little book about the life of Louis XIV and, more than that, of the enormous social, political and cultural organization that revolved around his person. I hesitate to call it a biography in doubt that the genre is suitable for a person who was so much more than an individual with a history. For King Louis was himself...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-and-biography

This is a fun book, a rather chaotic collection of anecdotes and gossip about Louis XIV and his women, centered around their lives at Versailles. The author's narrative is sarcastic and amusing with little attempt at objectivity. This edition is a softcover but it's the size of a textbook with enough illustrations to make it a nice coffee table book.

The Sun King comes across as a disagreeable person, despite the author's admiration of his kind treatment of his exiled cousin James II. Louis was i...more

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Nov 03, 2010 Caro rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

She packs a huge amount of information into a briskly told story. Her character sketches are vivid and quirky. Were they really all so odd, or is it the Mitford wit that makes them so? This really is all about the society around Louis XIV, with very little about his wars and diplomacy except as they affect the court. Buying this copy used at Shakespeare & Coo. in Paris was the icing on the cake.

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Dec 27, 2011 JodiP rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-biography

I read this just after Court Lady and Country Wife, which helped give this book some background in events. It was a fascinating look at how Louis XIV build Versailles and all the personalities at court at the time. The illustrations are incredible, too. This was published in 1966, and the writing style was also of interest; Mitford was downright chatty and witty at times. Marvelous work.

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Feb 05, 2013 Brian Berrett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm no great historian but I do love history. I wasn't overly familiar with Louis XIV so I found this book fresh. I enjoyed reading about his life and the construction of Versailles.

Mitford did a nice job telling the story and mixing in her opinion. Sometimes her opinion is blatant and sometimes subtle. I found to best enjoy the book, I had to read it and concentrate or I'd miss some of the subtleties.

At any rate, a fun and interesting book about Louis XIV's life.

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Nov 29, 2011 Sandra Strange rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-autobiography-memoir, history-and-nonfiction

This book tells it all--all the gossip and Satanism and violence of the court at Versailles. The "biography" of Louis makes much of the monarch's personal life and gives all kinds of details (with great illustrations) of his unique palace and its grounds, but very little of the economic, military, and political of his long reign.

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Aug 02, 2012 Lauren Albert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-autobiography, history-european

A fun and very opinionated picture of life at the Sun King’s court. Gossip more than history, as others have pointed out. Yet, in some ways, the limited view of the “outside” world in the book gives one a real sense of how blinded the court (and the Crown) was to it leading to later fatal consequences for the royal family.

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Nov 27, 2012 Simone rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-the-traveler, france, bios-and-memoirs, royals, 2012

I liked this book, especially the set up! It's so smart: it starts with a brief biography of Louis XIV complete with all the dates you need to fall asleep, then the rest of the book fleshes out his life, the lives of the members of the Court and the French Royal Family without that “reading a text-book” feeling. More like a collections of anecdotes – right up my alley!

My problem was just that: “all the members of the Court and the French Royal Family” - there are just TOO MANY PEOPLE!!!

Although...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Ritu Vincent rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

Fascinating subject, but I'm not a fan of the gossip rag treatment. I would have liked the book better if it told me more about the man and his achievements and less about the lascivious scandals surrounding his court, most of which seemed to be presented here as conjecture anyway.

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Aug 14, 2011 Kate Forsyth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, historical

A classic biography of Louis XIV by Nancy Mitford, most remarkable for its racy style and personal comments (for Example, she calls The Marquie de Montespan, one of the king’s mistresses, ‘a grubby woman’). Beautifully illustrated, but feels a little dated now.

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May 09, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arts-and-historical

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Jun 25, 2012 Julie added it

Have qualms but this was swiftly devoured. I wish some of the other biographies I'm reading were so generous with visuals.

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Feb 16, 2009 Princessjay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Written in an easy, conversational style, and brings 17th Century France and the court of Louis XIV to vivid life.

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Dec 27, 2012 Mo marked it as to-read

Shelves: biographical, ebooks, historical, lib-bpl, lib-nypl, lib-mcl, lib-brooklyn

Dec 27, 2012
This is the only Nancy Mitford ebook available to me.
Brooklyn has this plus Some others.

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Feb 07, 2012 Jacqueline rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

A total gossip fest. And the page about the birth of the dauphin is not to be missed.

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Dec 06, 2012 Katie Brennan rated it 5 of 5 stars

A visual and anecdotal extravaganza. Nancy Mitford is worthy of her subjects, Louis XIV and his court, which is a tall order. There are jealousies, black masses, epidemics of murderous poisonings, enemas, the hunting of wolves to extinction, the stealing of orange trees, and SO MUCH MORE. One of the most enjoyable books I have read in some time. All thanks to Branden for recommending.

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Jun 19, 2011 Sharon Stewart rated it 5 of 5 stars

A clever take on the life and times of Louis XIV, opulently illustrated.

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Jan 20, 2013 Dianne rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did not finish this one as I found it rather boring. I also was surprised to find myself uninterested in the subject. It was not for me.

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Mar 15, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century-pre-1980, nyrb-classics

Mitford's double portrait of Louis XIV and Versailles offers a fascinating look at the daily lives and loves of the King, his court, and his ministers, all in a brisk, conversational style and many, many delicious bons mots. Nevertheless, I have to agree with another reviewer that the multiple Monsieurs and Madames, Marquises and Ducs, become very hard to keep straight, and the confusion occasionally threatens to undermine the drama; a solid grounding in the period's history and personality woul...more

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Nov 22, 2009 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-historiography, biography-memoir

Read and enjoyed many, many years ago.

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Jul 09, 2009 Tammy marked it as to-read

Shelves: in-library, biography

B Louix XIV

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About Nancy Mitford

Nancy Mitford, CBE (28 November 1904, London – 30 June 1973, Versailles), styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years. She was born at 1 Graham Street (now Graham Place) in Belgravia, London, the eldest daughter of Lord Redesdale and...more

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