The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon

by Veronica Buckley

Françoise d’Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon and secret wife of the Sun King, Louis XIV, was born in a bleak French prison in 1635, her father a condemned traitor and murderer, her mother the warden’s seduced daughter. A timely pardon and a hopeful Caribbean colonial venture failed to mend the family’s fortunes, and Françoise was reduced to begging in the streets. Yet, armed with beauty, intellect, and shrewd judgment, she was to make her way to the center of power at Versailles, the most opulent and ambitious court in all Europe. At fifteen, she was married off to the forty-two-year-old satirical poet Paul Scarron, a former roué now grievously deformed by rheumatism—“a sort of human Z,” as he described himself. Despite his ailments, Scarron presided over the liveliest and most scandalous literary salon in Paris, and Françoise quickly became its most prized ornament. After Scarron’s death, she enjoyed a merry widowhood in the fashionable Marais district, in the company of the courtesan Ninon de Lenclos and the King’s splendid mistress, Athénaïs de Montespan, who made the young widow governess to her brood of illegitimate children. The appointment transformed Françoise’s life, but was fatal to the temperamental Athénaïs herself, with the King soon turning his attentions to the graceful governess. Françoise was raised to the nobility as Madame de Maintenon—and, unofficially, “Madame de Maintenant,” the lady of the moment. The acclaimed biographer Veronica Buckley traces the extraordinary story of Françoise’s progress from pauper child to salonnière to the compromised position of Louis’s secret wife and uncrowned Queen. An absolute ruler, Louis turned away his many other mistresses to live with Françoise only, trusting her as his closest confidante and remaining in love with her for forty years.

Sparkling with the irresistible wit of contemporary chroniclers such as Madame de Sévigné, this exactingly researched biography is a pinnacle of the form. In vibrant colors, The Secret Wife of Louis XIV paints a portrait of Europe in an age of violent change, and the Sun King’s France in the process of becoming its modern self.

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

528 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2008

Reviews

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Francoise d'Aubigne forms the backbone of this book, it's really more a study of life at, and right before and after, the court of Louis XIV. The book is exhaustively researched, and written with wit and heart (you can almost hear Liselotte's lamentations,) but through it all, I feel that Francoise herself remains a bit of a mystery, especially during the actual years of her marriage to Louis XIV (whose appeal I still can't fathom. The Sun King established a glamorous court, but at what expense?) Her will to respectability and security are admirable, as were her general good sense and charitable impulses, but she comes across as someone who didn't do all that much once she'd bagged her man. Which isn't to say that she didn't: she established Saint-Cyr, helped promote her favorites (and kidnap her relatives to convert them,) and was involved in the whole quietism debacle. And her position, or rather the position in which Louis XIV placed her, made further public action virtually impossible. I suppose her story is made more compelling by the fact that she had such an infuriating mate to contend with, but I feel as if she could have done more had she not been saddled with him (a paradoxical stance, I know, since her relationship with him was pretty much what elevated her to fame, as well as being the impetus for this book.) It's an excellent book otherwise, but it doesn't really feel as lived in as it could be, which probably speaks more to the historical personages involved than to the author's skill.

Speaking to the technical aspect of the book, it's strange that the portrait of the Marquise de Sevigne is included twice, the second time labeled as a portrait of poor Marie-Therese.

I received this book gratis from Picador.

Edited July 1st, 2001: I was informed by the publisher that the issue with the portraits was resolved in the editions that went to general press.

[λ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much needed in-depth study of Mme de Maintenon. Buckley delves into her character beyond the pious exterior that many authors haven't broken through and really brings so much understanding to her. Examines her extraordinary role and life with sympathy but not excluding critical analysis. Really brilliant.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Francoise D'Aubigne, Madame de Maintenon and mistress and later (possibly) secret morganatic queen to the Sun King. Francoise was an admirable woman, witty and good-hearted. After an impoverished childhood (her father was gently born but flaky, perhaps even a con man), she went to Paris and befriended the crippled but clever writer Scarron. He died after only ~five years of marriage, leaving her a pretty, probably virginal widow of 24. She spent the next few years taking care of friends' children, and eventually her reputation came to the notice of Athenais de Montespan. Athenais was the King's mistress, but her husband refused to pretend to be the father of her illegitimate children. To maintain her reputation, Athenais had her infants (of which there were five) each spirited away as soon as they were born, to live with the sensible and virtuous Francoise. Eventually the King started visiting his little bastards, he took notice of Francoise, and after some time they fell in love. There were many other, prettier, younger, more nobly born mistresses throughout his affair with Francoise, but he stayed with her, and accorded her honors, until his death. After he died, she went to live (apparently quite happily) in a little convent and died peacefully thereafter.

I'd have liked this book more if it weren't so scattered. I felt like I knew all the political intrigue and how each battle went and how every single person at court felt about every single other person at court, and truthfully it got a bit uninteresting. A more focused book could have kept me glued to the page, because certainly she led a fascinating life. Still, it's pretty well-written and the author provides plenty of personage's opinions in their own words. I do appreciate that. Plus, it's a great source for bon mots popular in the French court at the time, and anecdotes to horrify your friends. Like the time the King of Spain peed into a beaver hat. Or that when the French peasants were starving because the king's army had forcibly taken all their grain, their Archbishop advised them to fast and pray for forgiveness. Hilarity!

[Rose Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francoise d’Aubigne, Madame de Maintenon has always fascinated me as a historical figure not so much for her political or cultural significance but rather as a testament to the enduring human spirit and ultimately to the serendipitous whims of fate. Her life was in many ways a fairytale. I don’t know if Disney himself could have concocted a more Cinderalla-esque story full of ‘wishes upon stars’ and ‘dreams coming true.’ Ultimately the only thing really missing from the story was a pumpkin carriage. As Maintenon herself stated it: “My life has been a miracle.”

Born in poverty and in a literal prison this fairytale starts off more like a dark comedy, and I found myself almost laughing as the absurd levels of misfortune that fell upon this poor woman in her youth. The fact that through sheer dumb luck and steadfast resilience Maintenon was able to rise to the rank of queen (albeit unofficially) and wife to possibly the most famous of Europe’s monarchs would sound ludicrous and nonsensical if not for the fact that it was true.

I found myself admiring Maintenon for her realistic and no-nonsense approach to life and the way in which she navigated the many great tragedies that seemed to stalk her. Some might call her cold and opportunistic at times, but ultimately, she was a woman trying to survive in a time with few options available to unmarried or widowed women (especially poor ones).

The only glaring mistake I found in the book was that a portrait of the Marquise de Sevigne was included twice for both the marquise herself as well as that of Queen Maria Theresa of Spain. It was obviously not a painting of the Spanish Infanta. As if the poor lady hasn’t suffered enough!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francoise de’Aubigne’ was born in a French prison in 1635, her father a condemned traitor and murderer. She grew up in her father’s prison cell. Her mother was the prison wardens daughter. They were granted a pardon and moved to the Caribbean seeking a better life but finding disappointment instead. They returned to Paris and Francois was reduced to begging in the streets. Yet, due to her intelligence and beauty she was able to move up the social ladder. She was only fifteen when she married the poet Scarron’ aged 42. His body had been twisted into a “Z” by rheumatism and it’s doubtful their marriage was ever consummated. Scarron hosted many salons, and Fracoise came to know the greatest writers of the day. After Scarron’s death, she continued to host and attend salons, putting her into the orbit of Athenais d’Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV. And this is just the beginning of her amazing story. If you enjoy history, scandal, power struggles this is your book.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense, informative, fascinating! What a cool piece of nonfiction. The last hundred pages were a little much for me so dropped to 4 stars. Would definitely recommend.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned of Madame de Maintenon two years ago from Antonia Fraser's "Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King". After all his flirtations, liaisons and children I was surprised that at the end of his life that he would have a very close relationship with a plain, older woman of substance. I looked for something more on her at the time, but found very little. I was glad to stumble on to this book.

Veronica Buckley puts it all together. She has an excellent grasp of history and gives good descriptions of the economic and political backdrop for this saga.

The power and wealth of the autocratic king permeates all of France. Louis XIV has the power to set a tax rate and chose who will pay it. While workmen may make 1000 livres a year, he accords over 200,000 livres/year to a former mistress and hands out positions, pensions and titles to the many others who curry his favor. He has no trouble ordering a religion and assumes everyone will change their beliefs by royal decree and pressure. No one questions his wars or asks, if indeed, France had won them.

Francoise, born in a prison, eventually lives among all this wealth and power. Having seen the precarious position of the courtiers she does not seek a liaison with the King. It comes as an offer that cannot be refused. Frasier, in her book, shows Francoise to be more of an advisor to the king. Veronica Buckley emphasizes her attempts to do good works.

The author shows the pleasure and pettiness in court life. Rank is very important and everyone tries to please the king. There is a lot on the role and influence of religion and the clergy. Francoise's elevation from child care to her new dubious status is fuel for gossip and she has to behave very carefully.

Francoise focuses on her charities. She tries to improve the lot of her poor non-Catholic family, and this is not easy. The king readily provided funds for Francoise's plans for a school for impoverished girls of noble blood (girls like her). Being an autocrat, the king's choice of location was followed. The book shows the problems with this location and in determining the school's role, in hiring the right teachers, developing a curriculum and setting admission criteria.

I'd like to give this book 5 stars for the research and the importance of the work. While it is very readable, it is also very wordy. There are pages describing what Francoise might have felt (although they are not written with qualifiers). There are overly long sections such as those on poisoning, the construction of Versailles and other background areas. While this material was well written, I was impatient with it because I wanted the story to move more quickly.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening and detailed focus on who I believe is one of the most fascinating women in history. The rags to riches story of Francoise D'Aubigne is far more than the "poor girl makes good" especially set within the context of the glitter and intrigue of Louis XIV's court.

Francoise's origins as a neglected, often abused child raised in bleak, uncertain circumstances punctuated by periods of grinding poverty serve to highlight the formation of her character and give a better understanding into her motivations, her actions and her opinions. Buckley does a good job building a baseline for understanding the "why" of Francoise D'Aubigne, as well as the king's fascination and love for her.

Buckley doesn't sugar-coat the relationship between Francoise and her royal husband either. It is a romance, but in the most human, realistic terms. Francoise's commentary about court life and marriage in general is revealing, not only in terms of her perception but in the place of women at almost every societal level of that day.

I very much like the romantic ideal of this couple, but in the end, I think Louis loved Francoise more than she loved him. Buckley's portrayal of Francoise and her life doesn't lessen my enjoyment of that romantic ideal. Instead, I remain as fascinated by Francoise D'Aubigne as ever.

[Nina Chachu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting, but long, and to be frank, despite the extensive family trees, I did tend to lose track of several of the key personalities, especially in the later part of the book. I suspect I had hoped for more information on the day-to-day life of Madame de Maintenon, rather than a more political view. And on top of everything, should I admit a bias that originated from my first hearing of Madame de Maintenon through the Angelique Angelique series which I read in my early teens?

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well researched book on Louis XIV's second wife, a non-royal woman named Madame Francoise Scarron. Full of delicious gossip about the Sun-King's court, plenty of little details, this was fun to read -- even with one of the photos inside being all screwed up and wrong.

For the full review, please go here:

http://www.epinions.com/review/Veroni...

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for anyone interested in the age of Louis XIV. This is the biography of Madame de Maintenon, of course, and how she went from nothing to the most powerful position in the French court at Versailles (after the Sun King himself). Well told, with enough historical background to make the "players" and their motives very compelling.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging read that often felt more like a novel than a biography, which made me wonder how factually accurate it was. Not planning to use it as a real conversation-reference book but a good train book.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent eye-opening biography, but full of errors. Can't be trusted. Too bad.

[Heather Domin · Rating 4 out of 5]

[to be reviewed for HNS Nov. 2009:]

[Chantal E. R. H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

12th book of 2010. 2nd book that has to do with Louis XIV. Madame de Maintenon is truly an extraordinary woman and Buckley does a great job of getting into her head.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was never able to get into the television show The Tudors. I tried, but I’ve read a few too many popular histories about Henry VIII and Elizabeth I (not to mention too much Philippa Gregory) and wasn’t able to enjoy the show’s version of events.

Still, I love a good costume drama, a herd of drama llamas running free across the plains, so when Versailles showed up in my Netflix feed, I dove right in. Then I had the opposite problem. I had no idea who anyone was. I think the last time I had learned anything about Louis XIV was in high school. I could bring his portrait with The Leg to my mind’s eye and little else. I tried keeping track of each character by wig, but inevitably a scene would take place in the dark or in the rain and I would be lost again.

And what does this have to do with a book? Well, it was during a desperate Wikipedia dive (while two greasy-haired men growled at each other in a dim hallway) that I learned Louis XIV had a second wife, a morganatic marriage. Sun King Legs McGee married beneath his exalted station? That seemed like too good a story to pass up.

And it was a good story. Aside from allowing me to place wigs to names, I learned about a truly remarkable woman. Not because she married herself a king. Madame Scarron was a survivor, an intelligent resourceful woman in an era that has largely been filtered down to us in mirrors and gowns and dancing. It was good to see the ground underneath everyone’s feet. Also. Louis XIV? Kind of a bad king, yeah?

The true test of this book’s power has yet to come, of course. Will I be able to watch Season Three of Versailles? If not, I think it was a decent trade-off.

[Erin Moonyeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goes into vivid detail about Francoise's early life, cultivating a picture that differs sharply from the manipulative hypocrite portrayed in Ovation's "Versailles" series. Her character offers less of the scandal and dizzying gossip found in "Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress, the Real Queen of France" by Lisa Hilton, but that is a testimony to their vastly different temperaments and natures. The unfurling of the narrative is dry and plods along. The biography - like all of these biographies - would have benefitted from family trees among the images. Not the most interesting read from the Louis XIV hemisphere.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book very much. It provided a very good description of 17th century France from both a poor commoner (when Francoise was young) and the secret wife of a King when she was older. I am particularly interested in social history and this book painted an excellent picture of the court of Louis XIV.

[Amanda D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a fascinating book. I didn’t know much about the time period or about the people, but this book had an abundance of information. At time the information was a little overwhelming and difficult to follow. When reading, I had to ensure I was paying attention otherwise I would find I had read several pages and have no idea who was being talked about it what exactly was going on.

[Heather McKay Guillemot]

An interesting book but either needed tighter editing to retain the title , or a new title. The book was about more the entire reign during his time with Françoise during the latter 2/3 of the book. They could have shaved 50-75 pages and kept this as more a true biography of her, versus one of a time frame she was part of. This made this book. for me, a bit more of a ‘slog’ than I anticipated.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting and fun read! I had never known or heard of the story of this unheralded woman of the court of Louis XIV. Francoise began her life in poverty and her fortunes were like unto a slide whistle from then on. From nothing to being an integral part of the Versailles "Scene", however not as a participant in the debauchery.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Research and great story telling. I knew nothing about this woman or the historical era Royalty can be a bit of a yawn but I really liked the pace and weaving of narrative with the political background

[Ariel Dippel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read if your interested in French history

Good read if your interested in the subject. The in-depth history of Louis XIV secret wife is interesting though at times it is a bit hard to follow.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned on page 16 of 382. Just didn’t grab my attention. It seemed very complicated with Huguenots and wars and politics but not enough interesting life.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look at French royal life before Versailles was a big deal and Marie Antoinette showed up.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I studied French history of this period at school. I was aware of Mme de Maintenon but I just couldn't cope with an entire book dedicated to her as I am not sure she was that significant a character.

[Manny Villa]

8703928

[M]

8703928

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched but not my favorite writing

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those history things that I'd probably heard before, like as an off handed thing but never read much about. Or had anything that went into much detail. It was a long book and talked a lot about what was going on in France at the time as well. Which made sense as a lot of this is about the King.

It was interesting and now I know more about Françoise d'Aubigné.