Love and Louis XIV

The author brilliantly explores the rich dynamic between Louis XIV and the many fascinating women who graced his personal life. This includes not only the king's mistresses, such as Louise de La Vallière, Athénaïs de Montespan, and the puritanical Madame de Maintenon, but all the women who were important to him: his mother, his two sisters-in-law, his illegitimate daughters, and, finally, Adelaide, the beloved child who married his grandson. Antonia Fraser portrays the idiosyncrasies of each relationship, the transition from friendship to love, the subtle art of courtship, the most frivolous and dangerous attempts at flirtation, and the debauchery of the court.