Louis XVIII

by Philip Mansel

Louis XVIII was the most European of the kings of France. A grandson of Louis XV, born in Versailles in 1755, he escaped from Paris in 1791, disguised as an Englishman. He spent the following twenty-three years in exile, in Germany, Italy, Russia, Poland and finally, for seven years, in England, before he was restored to the throne in 1814. As King he renounced French conquests and followed a policy of union with his fellow monarchs in what he called 'the European system'. The interests of France and Britain, in particular, he considered as one.

Based on research throughout Europe, Louis XVIII describes not only the public figure, but also the private man who compensated for a loveless and childless marriage by lavishing affection on male and female favourites. It is the only English biography of this critical protagonist of the French Revolution and empire, the last French monarch to die on the throne.

Genres: France, History, Biography, Royalty

498 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1983

About the author

Philip Mansel is a historian of courts and cities, and of France and the Ottoman Empire. He was born in London in 1951 and educated at Eton College, where he was a King’s Scholar, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Modern History and Modern Languages. Following four years’ research into the French court of the period 1814-1830, he was awarded his doctorate at University College, London in 1978.

His first book, Louis XVIII, was published in 1981 and this - together with subsequent works such as The Court of France 1789-1830 (1989), Paris Between Empires 1814-1852 (2001) - established him as an authority on the later French monarchy. Six of his books have been translated into French.

Altogether Philip Mansel has published eleven books of history and biography, mainly relating either to France or the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East: Sultans in Splendour was published in 1988, Constantinople: City of the World’s Desire 1453-1924 in 1995 and Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean in 2010.

Over the past 30 years he has contributed reviews and articles to a wide range of newspapers and journals, including History Today, The English Historical Review, The International Herald Tribune, Books and Bookmen, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Apollo. Currently he writes reviews for The Spectator, Cornucopia, The Art Newspaper and The Times Literary Supplement.

In 1995 Philip Mansel was a founder with David Starkey, Robert Oresko and Simon Thurley of the Society for Court Studies, designed to promote research in the field of court history, and he is the editor of the Society’s journal. The Society has a branch in Munich and is linked to similar societies in Versailles, Madrid, Ferrara and Turin.

He has travelled widely, lecturing in many countries - including the United States, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey - and has made a number of appearances on radio and television, including in the two-part Channel 4 documentary “Harem” and in two BBC2 documentaries on Versailles in 2012. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Literature, the Institute of Historical Research (University of London) and the Royal Asiatic Society, and is a member of the Conseil Scientifique of the Centre de Recherche du Chateau de Versailles. In 2010 Philip Mansel was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2012 was the recipient of the annual London Library Life in Literature Award.

Philip Mansel wrote the introduction to the 2012 re-issue of Nancy Mitford’s The Sun King and is currently working on his own biography of Louis XIV. His short history of Aleppo: Rise and Fall of a World City is scheduled for publication in April 2016. His book on Napoleon and his court, The Eagle in Splendour, was republished by I. B. Tauris in June 2015.

In 1995 Philip Mansel started a campaign to save Clavell Tower, a ruined folly of 1831 which threatened to fall over the cliff above Kimmeridge Bay. This led, in 2007-8, to the Tower’s deconstruction, relocation, reconstruction, restoration and modernisation by the Landmark Trust. Clavell Tower is now the Trust’s most popular property.

Philip Mansel lives in London, travelling to Paris, Istanbul and elsewhere for research, conferences and lectures. He also runs the family estate at Smedmore, near Wareham in Dorset. For more information on this historic house, visit the web site and read the recent articles published in The World of Interiors and Country Life.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this biography twenty years ago - it was and remains magnificent - there is no biography in English to rival it and Mansel is the perfect historian to do justice to the last French monarch to die in office rather than exile. But no matter what case he makes for Louis XVIII it remains that you can read extensively in the history of France, its Revolution and the Napoleonic era without encountering this monarch as anything more than a footnote. Unfortunately the letters confirming his sexual interest in men came after this book was published - but, seriously, look at his portraits - a man of that size is interested in food not sex - no matter the gender he fancied.

Louis XVIII is a more interesting character then I expected but nothing in this marvellous biography convinces me that I am wrong in thinking Louis XVIII missed an opportunity when Napoleon returned to Paris for the hundred days. Instead of fleeing the Tuileries Palace he should have stayed put and dared Napoleon do his worst. It wouldn't have prevented Napoleon from taking back his throne but it might have won Louis some respect.

A great biography by a great historian and writer but there won't be another for a very long time.

[Alexander Polsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philip Mansel is a model biographer, so deeply conversant with the period that he's able to identify subtle lies, for example.

A small stylistic quibble: on a few occasions there are seemingly random parallels drawn with [then] contemporary issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is a mistake -- the biography, written in the 1980s is still very current, but the parallels no longer make sense.

[David Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, if extremely sympathetic, portrait of an important man now either forgotten or remembered as a punchline. Mansel traces the life of Louis XVI's younger brother, from his youth as a prince with pseudo-intellectual pretensions, to an emigré fleeing the revolution, to the twice-restored king of France. Certainly Louis XVIII — cold, cynical, and extraordinarily fat — is easy to dismiss because of how his reign began, and ended. It began with a disastrous year in office that enabled Napoleon's Hundred Days, and ended with his brother inheriting (Louis never produced an heir) and ending the dynasty in the fires of revolution through misrule.

Mansel paints a portrait of Louis as, eventually, exactly the man France needed in 1815: conservative in ideals but moderate in temperament, he tried to instill a constitutional monarchy in a country that had never really had one, despite attacks from the both the left and right. Louis's constitution would essentially endure for more than three decades, even if the dynasty at the top of the constitutional monarchy changed. And his brother's later bungling only serves to burnish how impressive Louis's rule was — especially after such a rough start.

Despite its effusive praise and defense of Louis, Mansel's book does acknowledge Louis's flaws (coldness, a lack of mercy, a tendency to dote on favorites) but minimizes them or subordinates them to his virtues, chiefly his unshakable conviction in the French monarchy (which kept Louis his throne after being driven into exile a second time) and his moderation (which arguably kept a disunited France together after the Second Restoration).

Stylistically, the book is a bit over-long and repeats itself a few times; I was reading it in part for research and didn't mind the extra details Mansel put in, but more casual readers might find themselves skimming. I also appreciated Mansel's decision to include many of the quotes in both the original French and English translation.

Recommended if you have an interest in the period. Casual readers would be better served looking elsewhere.

[Jacques Clouseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mansel's Louis XVIII is the only modern English-language biography of the frequently forgotten King who had a lasting impact on 19th century France. He goes over all aspects of his life and reign, starting from childhood, his long but politically influential exile, to his eventual two-time restoration and death. Mansel's style and prose are both captivating and keep the reader interested in, at some points, rather mundane subjects. I agree with the reviver discussing Mansel's outdated contemporary comparisons, but the book is still convincing and coherent. This is also a sympathetic take on Louis XVIII but a fair one in comparison to his absolutist brother, Charles X. After all, if Louis suppressed his brother's reactionary impulses, there likely would not have been an 1830 Revolution.

[Benjamin Réti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very complete and detailed biography of a forgotten French king. I found some bits a bit repetitive and some chapters like the one on the king's relations with his ministers too detailed. Also some comparisons that came out of nowhere between 1810s events and modern day Israel or De Gaulle's policy are inadequate. It feels like the book's a draft that lacks organisation where lots of random facts about the chapter's theme are thrown in, some long and detailed and others very short with no structure that makes it enjoyable to follow. Nonetheless it's a great read if you need to learn a lot about that era for research or academic work but by far not the best biography to read for fun.