W. H. Lewis (1) (1895–1973)

The Splendid Century seemed to me wittily written. I had come to it expecting to be bored but was greatly entertained; and although my sympathies have never been with King Louis XIV, I found myself admiring his kingliness.
Other profiles are good. For instance, of Mme. de Maintenon, Warnie H. Lewis writes, "Charming she was, according to testimony that cannot be set aside. But, unlike her great contemporary, Mme. de Sévigné, she has not been able to communicate that volatile and evanescent show more quality to her equally voluminous correspondence. Mme. de Sévigné was a virtuous woman, but she is not constantly telling us so; Mme. de Maintenon is as obsessed with her own chastity as an Elizabethan heroine..." show less

Adorable. Some hints of Lewis's later books are visible, but I see more hints of the kinds of books he was reading then. (Very advanced, of course.)

Besides the stories that were still extant are included the original drawings and maps. They are adorable too, and surprisingly detailed. The best thing about the whole book is the obvious joy that the boys took in making up the stories and rereading them.

A great insight into Lewis's early life, and fun stories still for kids of that age!

This was really interesting to read. I feel like i've been getting to know C. S. Lewis better as i just read what was his diary after his wife's death, "A Grief Observed", and then read what he wrote with his brother as a child. It is really impressive writing and complex thinking for a child, although the subject matter is not particularly interesting to me. A lot of it is politics and war, though there is a brazen hussy featured in one story. Haha.

*Review written on December 16, 2014.*

This book presents an interesting overview of France during the reign of Louis XIV, covering the period of 1638-1715. It gives a brief bio of Louis but is not solely concerned with him or the aristocracy. Instead, the book contains chapters on such things as medicine of the time, life in a typical French town, being a country gentleman, and female education. It's all very interesting and the book is easy to read and understand. I did find the chapter on the Church a little confusing and I show more wish the author had provided more background information. The way that chapter is presented seems to assume that the reader has a basic understanding of the history of the Catholic Church. My only other complaint is that the author included a number of phrases or sentences in French without translation, which is obviously only meaningful for someone who reads French (not me). Considering the author was British (and, incidentally, the brother of C.S. Lewis) and not American, I don't know if assuming that your readers are bilingual is a valid assumption or not, but it frustrating to keep coming across things and not know what the author meant.

I should also point out that, while this book appears to be well researched, it is not a scholarly book. It does not directly reference other scholarly books, it does not contain footnotes, and it does not provide an in-depth analysis of the topics presented. That said, this book does provide a very good general overview of the time period and would be an excellent introductory book for that period of French history. show less