Awful. I know this is very well rated, and it is from vintage books, but this is simply tripe. I am reading the ebook version and hopefully it is a case of bad conversion from print. Having stated that, this version has terrible and nonsensical sentences, bad structure, the tenses do not even agree - and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I am left wondering about Ms. Mitford's education (or more likely lack thereof) and if she was a native English speaker. Yes it is that bad.

Sadly I have several other novels from her here in my tbr, and now am very reluctant to even consider opening them.

1 star. would give this a negative rating if possible. A real shame as the topic is interesting. ( )

A fascinating portrayal of Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford, giving her character and zest. Interspersed with Mitford's opinions, it can be a pretty interesting read. ( )

This is a very humanistic portrayal of Madame Pompadour. I didn't know much about her except her name so now I have a much better understanding as to why people refer to Pompadour as a kind of excess. She was definitely a product of her time and circumstance and yielded much more influence than most women of her time. ( )

Is there any greater last line than the one in this book? “After this a great dullness fell upon the Château of Versailles.” Absolute perfection. ( )

too many people. I'm sure they weren't all necessary. I had never heard of them. I bought it because it was Nancy Mitford. ( )