num_pages: 416
description: The book centres around the Sun King and his relationship with numerous and fascinating women. Naturally dividing into five parts it will concentrate on the King's mother, Anne of Austria to whom he was devoted; his first important mistress, Louise de la Valliere who bore him several illegitimate children; Athenais Marquise de Montespan who acted as unofficial Queen of Versailles until her involvement in the affair of poisons and of course Marie Therese, his wife; and Madame de Maintenon, governess to the illegitimate royal children. The fifth part concentrates on his relations in old age with his daughters, granddaughters and the wife of his grandson. It will vividly bring to life the vast edifice of Louis XIV's court - the magnificence, artistic splendour, elaborate ritual and in some cases, absurdity and misery.
language: English
title: Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King
titlecomplete: Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King
characters: Louis XIV of France
genres: Historical, Audiobook, History, Biography, 17th Century, France, Biography Memoir, 18th Century, European History, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 7801
places: Versailles
publisher: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday