The Sun King

Nancy Mitford gives an inspired and vivid description of Luis XIV, the life at the court at Versailles among his relatives and courtiers during his long reign until his death in 1715. The book is richly illustrated and comes with an index, a genealogical table (very necessary) and bibliography of her sources. She writes with passion, a bit gossipy relating intrigues, little about politics but a joie to read as her own voice comes through; attention is needed though, keeping track of names can be difficult as first names are often similar and persons are referred to also by their title or titles. We don’t hear anything about the miserable lives of the common people except that the king hated to be reminded of their plight. (III-18)

This is a colourful, engaging and gossipy book about the life of Louis XIV, as its title suggests centred around his famous court at Versailles. As such, there is little analysis of his domestic or foreign policy, and those looking for a scholarly analysis must look elsewhere. The main events of the last 40-50 years of the reign are covered, though, albeit from the point of view of Louis and his relatives more specifically; that said, as the leading autocrat of his day ("L'Etat c'est moi" was not said without good reason), there is a very close identity between the man and his country. The author's style is occasionally a little cruel in terms of her physical descriptions of some of the individuals and her own aristocratic prejudices show more show through in places. Nevertheless, this is a very engaging read with a large number of (sometimes confusing) names. It reads like a novel, with bizarre events such as the Affair of the Poisons, affairs galore, and tragedy with the deaths of three generations of Louis's own heirs towards the end of his life. Finally, this original 1966 hardback edition (picked up in a charity shop ten years ago) is lavishly illustrated with colour and black and white pictures. There is a list of sources, but not footnotes/endnotes. Finally, a genealogical table would have been helpful. show less

A bit disjointed for a biography (especially in the first quarter as it keeps jumping timeframes), but man oh man is there some juicy history in here!

Reading this history of the Sun King, Louis XIV, was sort of like strolling through Versailles with a very knowledgeable friend who gives you some history, some gossip, and some personal bias. Mitford wrote this book in the 1960s and I sort of viewed this as an early form of narrative nonfiction. Overall, I liked it, but I think I would have been annoyed if this was the only biography of Louis XIV I had read since it isn't particularly thorough or focused. Part of me liked having Mitford's voice so present in the book and sometimes I found it annoying, especially when some of her racial and cultural biases came through.

I'm not sure who I'd recommend this for - probably only people who want an addition to other Louis XIV reading they've show more done or people who like a strong authorial voice with a 60s vibe. show less

Nancy Mitford's biography of Louis XIV reveals her, perhaps unsurprisingly, to be anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic, snobbish and superficial. In many ways this makes her an ideal chronicler of the Sun King's court, which largely embodied the same values (with the exception of the homophobia - nobody seemed too concerned about the exploits of "Monsieur", the King's brother).

Mitford, and the court at Versailles, place a great premium on wit, frivolity and personal attractiveness. Madame de Montespan is forgiven almost everything for the vivacity of her conversation, while better-natured mistresses like Louise la Valliere are dismissed for vacuity.

Nonetheless the study is written with verve and energy, and the protagonists spring to vivid show more life. The illustrations are excellent too...

If you are an aficionado of the period this is worth a read, even if you have to hold your nose at times; if your interest is more casual there are much better places to start. show less

Nancy Mitford's biography of Louis XIV is rather gossipy in tone; you can almost imagine that she's writing about people she's actually met, but very readable (probably because of the gossipyness). Unlike other biographies I've read there were no references although there was a list of sources used at the back of the book. This, taken together with the way Nancy Mitford writes, makes it very difficult for the reader to tell which bits (if any) are speculation on the author's part or disputed by other biographers.

Having said that, I think this makes a very good introduction to the court of Louis XIV. Throughout the book there are illustrations in both black and white and colour of the Royal family, courtiers and, of course, Versailles. show more There's also a fairly detailed family tree which is an absolute must when it comes to keeping track of who's who because of the similarities of name and title. It was a very engrossing read and it certainly helped this reader get her head round the different Louis' of the time. show less

Mitford's gossipy, sarcastic tone invigorates the already fascinating tale of King Louis XIV of France.