Louis XIV

by Ian Dunlop

Setting in motion events that would ultimately bring his nation to military and fiscal ruin-and his dynasty to a bloody end-Louis XIV also established France as the preeminent and, to this day, unchallenged seat of high culture in Europe. As a leader he simultaneously squandered a dominion's political capital and established a nation's spiritual hegemony. As a man he married brilliance and arrogance, shrewdness and excess.

Ian Dunlop explores the Sun King's many facets in this remarkable new biography. Understanding Louis in the context of his era, one of great strides for French artists, litterateurs, and architects, Dunlop presents the king as an inspirer, an enabler, and a patron of his country's best and brightest minds. But even as his armies of laborers built the magnificent palace at Versailles, Louis' warmongering brought the greatest power in Europe-his own-to repeated and humiliating defeats at the hands of more calculating foes. Ironically, Louis' mixed legacy developed a culture that would become the envy of the world.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, France

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louis XIV, the Sun King, King of France and master of Europe is one of the great figures of European History, yet one who is often over looked. There is very little literature (in English) about the longest reigning monarch in Europe's History (though the first 10 plus years Louis was a child and not actually ruling, that was done by his mother and Cardinal Marazin), especially given all the things that happened during this period from warfare (France fought 3 great wars, one against the Dutch, then one against the league of Augsburg which was aimed against France given it's aggressive expansion and then finally the War of Spanish Succession, where Louis aimed to put one of his grandsons on the Spanish throne), to the growth of culture and the arts giving patronage and protection to such writers as Molière, Racine and La Fontaine and artists like Charles Le Brun, Pierre Mignard, Antoine Coysevox and Hyacinthe Rigaud.

I was therefore eagerly looking forward to learning more about the great man and so dived into this book, looking to learn all that I could. I have to say though, that by the end of it, I was somewhat disappointed. The format of the book does not follow a linear, chronological path. Iy jumps around from one subject to the next, often leading you to scratch your head and wonder what is going on. As an example of this, one chapter ends with the battle outside of Paris as part of the great rebellion known as the Fonde against the king's ministers having just concluded, with the rebels withdrawing into Paris. The very next page of the next chapter opens up by telling us about Louis love of dancing and the opera. While this is gives us insight into the man, it's hardly the best of places to put it.

In the end, the information in the book is very enlightening and you do learn more about the man, but the structure of this work could have been so much more,

[Lexi V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for LIT 202

An understanding of the life of Louis XIV is essential for understanding Molière's intentions in writing Tartuffe.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attractive & well-researched. A lot of assessment of diaries & letters has gone into this book. Personal motivations & opinions are clear but analysis of state policy is weak. As a background piece on the personalities at court with fascinating architectural tangents the book is of use. If you are looking for a more conventional history this might not be for you.

[Menno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and insightful, a great companion to the 'Versailles' series!

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louis was a real king: a strong personality, brilliant, hard-working, quite sure of himself. Also because of his extravagance and wars, a disaster for France and Europe.

I thought the book did a good job (I appreciated the pictures). A minor quibble: French quotations scattered about, which I had trouble with, never having studied French.

Before you start the book you should set up a scorecard to note the names of the characters – they often have two or three names, and it’s hard to keep them straight.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have liked to have seen a more straightforward, chronological biography of the man. However, he is apparently something of an enigma despite his high profile. The author's approach was to examine Louis through the lens of the men and women he surrounded himself with. It's an interesting approach, and paints a very vivid picture of the era.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 3 out of 5]

enlightening.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly one of the top biographies of Louis XIV out there.