SOLVED: YA Historical Fiction set at the court of Louis XIV from the perspective of a young girl at court

[Alex]

Possible spoilers ahead. May have been part of a YA series. Written from the perspective of a young girl (possibly a governess) at the court of Louis XIV who worked alongside a fictional version of real-life governess Madame de Ventadour. The following plot point appeared near the end of the book:

The sickness, however, had not yet run its course: both the Duke of Brittany (now Dauphin) and the Duke of Anjou became ill with measles. The Dauphin was ministered to by the royal doctors, who bled him in the belief that it would help him to recover; instead, it merely weakened the young boy, who swiftly died, leaving the Duke of Anjou as Dauphin. Deciding that she would not allow the same treatment to be applied to the Duke of Anjou, Madame de Ventadour locked herself up with three nursery maids and refused to allow the doctors near the boy.

The main character had grown attached to the children throughout the book, and the most distinct part I recall is her recounting their deaths as the end of an era. I likely read this in the early 2000s.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Was this ever Unsolved, or did you create a Solved thread?

[Alex]

It was unsolved, and then I ended up finding it by accident! :)