The man who would be King: the life of Philippe D'Orleans, Regent of France

by Christine Pevitt

When Louis XIV died in 1715 after 72 years on the throne, very few regretted hispassing. The great king had becaome a testy and ill-humoured bore, depending more and more on his wife Mme de Maintenon. He knew that his succession was fragile as it depended upon his five year old child and, to support him, the man who became regent, Philippe d' Orleans, who represented everything the king feared and detested. He was a hard drinking in 1715 he went on trial accused of poisoning the heirs to the throne, committing incest with his daughter and engaging in treasonable activities in spain. Philippe was 41 when he became Regent and despite his sure ability to shock he possessed another side to his character. He was a cultivated and artist prince, a kind hearted father and curious about the arts,science, history and above all human nature.

Genres: History, France, Biography, Nonfiction, 18th Century, Royalty, 17th Century

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine Pevitt has written a marvelously entertaining biography that removes Philippe from the vast shadow cast by his uncle Louis XIV. All the intrigue one would expect from the period between a king's death and the ascension of his minor heir is on full display. Multiple mistresses? Check. Behind-the-scenes machinations of domestic rivals and foreign governments? Check. Love of administration equal to passion for the opera and dinner parties? Check. Pevitt presents Philippe warts and all, leaving the reader to form his or her own opinion as to his legacy. My only minor quibble with the book is its level of detail; as a history buff, I am all for details, but there are so many figures coming, going, and intermarrying here that at times I had to reread passages in an attempt to keep everyone straight. But this, as I said, is minor. Take the plunge and be entertained.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally fine biography of a much neglected figure - the Regent who ruled France between the death of Louis XIV and the majority (at 13!) of Louis XV - I should say neglected in English as there have, apparently, been fine biographies of him in French and other languages - but being monolingual (to my great regret) I must rely on writers such as Ms. Pevitt to bring to life the wonderful world that was France of the ancien regime. Please understand that the use of the word wonderful does not reflect either approval of or any sort of nostalgia for that world - but the court of France as created by Louis XIV is fascinating and even if all the architectural delights of Versailles were to vanish that world would still be there in the wonderful memoirs, letters and diaries of the courtiers who filled its halls. I find the period fascinating and any historian who brings it to life as brilliantly as Ms. Pevitt deserves both to be praised and read. If you have an interest in this period then I strongly recommend this book - it is way more substantial then the works of Nancy Mitford but are completely readable. If you really don't know the period but enjoy history I still recommend you give this book a go - honestly the court life of France under the last three Bourbon kings before the revolution is so extraordinary that it is beyond a quick summary or easy description. Try this book - I am sure you will enjoy it.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at a man who has largely been forgotten by history. Philippe certainly made a better ruler than some. He was unlike many of the French royal family a brave and astute soldier, intelligent , witty, charming, urbane and very much into tolerating all religions. France beset on all sides never seemed to fully appreciate his capabilities. Ms Pevitt brings this forgotten man and his times to vivid life. Terrific read.

[Shane Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not a badly written history, the author perhaps overuses French phrases and terms, yet offers little to no context and mostly avoids defining them, so that the book itself offers little education to someone who does not speak French, and is incomplete without the reader consulting a separate reference.

[Claire Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read into the life of Philippe d'Orleans as a regent for his nephew and cousin, insight into his triumphs and disasters and his sad death at the end

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

A just okay book on an interesting historical figure. The writer is good at documenting the events of Philippe’s life and what his motivations were, less so in making it all sound interesting. Shame because the guy lived a fascinating life, even by the standards of a royal. Still worth a go if you’re curious about the subject.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philippe was the grandson of Louis XIII and nephew to Louis XIV. Although one of the royal family, there were so many other royals, and the king and his mistress (Mme de Maintenon) had taken such a dislike to him, that it seemed that Philippe would never be given any power or responsibility. Eventually he was given a military command and proved himself quite able, but alas, he intrigued to take the Spanish throne (which had been given to his cousin, Philip V of Spain) and was called back to France. There he lived as a useless courtier, plagued by rumors of intrigues, murders by poison (probably false), and incest with his daughters (also probably false). In rapid succession, Louis XIV's direct family members died, leaving behind just his great grandgrandson to inherit the throne.

Upon Louis XIV's death, Philippe took control of the Regency council and became the main power throughout Louis XV's youth. He attempted to reform the banking and tax system of France, but relied upon speculation on the success of the Louisiana colonies to do so, and this led to a terrible market crash. Philippe was more successful in the arena of diplomacy--he managed to avoid war and better diplomatic relations with England and Russia--and created a free library in the hotel de Nevers (a predecessor of the Bibliotheque Nationale?). At no point did he try to seize the throne from his little third cousin, and in fact trained him to handle diplomacy and administration like a king. Shortly after Louis XV took the throne at age thirteen, Philippe abruptly died in his chair. He was little mourned, and mostly remembered through scurrilous ditties and legends of his debauched lifestyle.

The author liked Philippe far better than I did: she saw virtues where I saw none, called him attractive when any portrait proves that a lie, and mourns that he never got a chance to rule (even though he actually had a huge amount of power during his eight year period as Regent). Worse than her partisanship, however, is how poorly she explains his life and milieu. She introduces people, doesn't mention them for a hundred pages, and when they pop again, she uses a completely different title or nickname for them. I read these biographies carefully and I've read other books set in this period, yet I still had to refer to the family tree as a cheatsheet, even as I finished the book. Philippe's mistresses appear only briefly, given barely a sentence each, even if they were by his side for years. I was never clear on why the court and Parisians singled out Philippe as so very morally corrupt when, from Pevitt's summary, it seems that the worst he did was have mistresses and late night dinner parties, which every other courtier was doing. Surely there was some reason Philippe was noted so often as a libertine, why it was so easy for everyone to believe that he seduced his daughters and killed his relatives?

Too, Pevitt spends an oddly large amount of time talking about Watteau. Five of the twenty-three illustrations are by or of Watteau, and there are numerous detailed descriptions of each of his paintings scattered in the text itself, to boot. WHY? Pevitt gives no indication that Philippe even particularly noticed or cared about Watteau, so I've no idea why she expended so much time on him. And it's not that she talks about all Rococo artists--Boucher isn't even mentioned, and Voltaire gets a quarter of the space she lavishes upon some painter whose colors are muddy and whose anatomy is laughable.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long and detailed biography, interesting enough but had to skip bits of it, the machinations of power under Louis XIV and Louis XV lulled me to sleep on occasion, not to mention the wars.....but on the whole glad to have read it. Well written and well researched.

[Jennifer]

History

[Mick Maye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book on a topic I didn't think I would like. The book was a present and surprisingly was a very good read.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book focuses on a minor part of French history, Pevitt manages to fill the book with interesting details without it getting too heavy or prosaic.

[Vicki Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Challenge: a book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you