Philippe, Duc D'Orleans: Regent of France
When he became Regent to France's 5-year-old King Louis XV in 1715, the Duc d'Orleans was considered dangerously irreligious, shockingly promiscuous, and too irreverent to make a good statesman despite his evident intelligence. Yet as Christine Pevitt demonstrates in a gracefully written text, Philippe tried to modernize and reform the government, keeping France at peace and prosperous until his death in 1723. Aided by caches of deliciously gossipy contemporary letters, Pevitt recreates the luxurious, licentious society of 18th-century France and rehabilitates the reputation of its most notorious ruler.