Louis XIV

by Max Gallo

Le Roi-Soleil est encore, 300 ans après sa mort, l'une des figures mythiques de l'histoire. Avec un règne de plus de 72 ans peuplé de guerres, d'intrigues, de maîtresses, de fêtes et d'art, il est inscrit à jamais au patrimoine culturel français. Accompagné d'une riche iconographie, le style inimitable de Max Gallo fait briller les fastes de la cour et met en lumière les sombres heures de Louis XIV.

Genres: History

311 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Max Gallo was a French writer, historian and politician.

The son of Italian immigrants, Max Gallo's early career was in journalism. At the time he was a Communist (until 1956). In 1974, he joined the Socialist Party. On April 26, 2007, the French Academy recorded his candidacy for its Seat 24, formerly held by the late Jean-François Revel. He was elected to the French Academy on 31 May 2007.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis XIV, or should I say Louis The Great, is my most beloved historical figure.. I love how he aspired to be great and be regarded as such, but until I read this book I didn’t realize what monstrous difficulties he had to face to achieve that, especially in the second part of his life/reign. He loved his country with his whole heart and he wanted good for all his people. But he had to live with so much pain to achieve it. Not only physical pain, which was horrible, but also mental pain. I never cried so much while reading a novel or some romance book like I did with this biography of Louis. For almost 200 last pages I had waterworks going nonstop. I’m sure it was also because of the way the book was written. It isn’t boring, there are not only just dry facts and dates.. In this book you learn the whole story around those, how the life in Versailles (and before it) looked like, how Louis acted in situations and what he liked.. you get to know his whole story. And the very moving ending is a cherry on top. Five well-deserved stars! Bravo!

[Cécile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce livre démontre combien Louis XIV était un homme courageux et fort jusqu'à la fin de sa vie, qui malgré les douleurs et la maladie a continué à gouverner pour son royaume.