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All My Sins
Ninon de Lenclos was taught by her dashing father to fully savor the sensual pleasures of love. Young, impressionable and in the first blush of her awakening sexuality, she meets Charles de Beaumonts, an infamous charmer, an irresistible rogue who is compelled to conquer women only to desert them. Ninon piques his desire as no woman before...but even she cannot tame him.
Though her heart is torn asunder, Ninon resolves that never again will she be thwarted in love, or denied in desires. And so, in 17th century Paris, the flamboyant, voluptuous Paris of Louis XIV, Molière, Scarron and the infamous Cardinal Richelieu, the exploits, the lovers, the extravagances of Ninon de Lenclos become the most imitated of all sensations.
Still craving the profound fulfillment and sensual abandon of her first love, Ninon meets dashing, sensitive Charles de Villiers...the man she has been searching for...the one man she can never have....
Though her heart is torn asunder, Ninon resolves that never again will she be thwarted in love, or denied in desires. And so, in 17th century Paris, the flamboyant, voluptuous Paris of Louis XIV, Molière, Scarron and the infamous Cardinal Richelieu, the exploits, the lovers, the extravagances of Ninon de Lenclos become the most imitated of all sensations.
Still craving the profound fulfillment and sensual abandon of her first love, Ninon meets dashing, sensitive Charles de Villiers...the man she has been searching for...the one man she can never have....
467 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 2, 2016
I'm not sure what to make of this one.
The cover is somewhat misleading. Because this is an older novel (1950s) repackaged for 1970s bodice-ripper shelves, I expected that the 'gory details' of sex & anatomy would be somewhat less than the blurb's purple promises...& that was indeed the case, though what little there was of the salaciousness & goofy WTF (including incest & a strangely high ratio of predatory lesbian nuns) was enjoyable. But the overload of philosophy & religious debate, complete with a steady flow of 17th-c meet-n-greet celebrity scenes, was extremely tedious, while the glaring time gaps (truly MASSIVE, as in 20+ years at a time) made me want to scream. Summarizing & glossing over exciting things that happened is one of my pet peeves. By right of content, this book should be 800 pgs of memorable experience; instead it's a rather tepid 450 pgs of watered down Ye Olde Historical Fic that looooves to expound on philosophical discourse & religious dichotomies of the Louis XIV period...with a few vaguely OTT scenes sprinkled in for maiden aunt shock value. And that ending is just plain bizarre.
But... *frown* It's not poorly written, & the bits about her major love affairs were entertaining (albeit grossly abbreviated -- for 2/3rds of the book she's still 17 yrs old). Also, the last section re: Charles de Villiers made a valiant effort to regain my flagging interest, so 3 stars it shall be.
The cover is somewhat misleading. Because this is an older novel (1950s) repackaged for 1970s bodice-ripper shelves, I expected that the 'gory details' of sex & anatomy would be somewhat less than the blurb's purple promises...& that was indeed the case, though what little there was of the salaciousness & goofy WTF (including incest & a strangely high ratio of predatory lesbian nuns) was enjoyable. But the overload of philosophy & religious debate, complete with a steady flow of 17th-c meet-n-greet celebrity scenes, was extremely tedious, while the glaring time gaps (truly MASSIVE, as in 20+ years at a time) made me want to scream. Summarizing & glossing over exciting things that happened is one of my pet peeves. By right of content, this book should be 800 pgs of memorable experience; instead it's a rather tepid 450 pgs of watered down Ye Olde Historical Fic that looooves to expound on philosophical discourse & religious dichotomies of the Louis XIV period...with a few vaguely OTT scenes sprinkled in for maiden aunt shock value. And that ending is just plain bizarre.
But... *frown* It's not poorly written, & the bits about her major love affairs were entertaining (albeit grossly abbreviated -- for 2/3rds of the book she's still 17 yrs old). Also, the last section re: Charles de Villiers made a valiant effort to regain my flagging interest, so 3 stars it shall be.
February 19, 2023
I have searched the internet over and over and still have been unable to dig up any information about Norbert Estey, author or the rollicking “All My Sins.” This was orginally published in 1954, and then republished as bodice-rippy looking saga by Ace (the publishers of Natasha Peters’ great works) in 1978.
All My Sins begins with one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read: "Nicholas Gedouin was my lover when, according to the calendar, I was eighty years old, and I firmly resolved that this time would be the last."
DAMN! An 80-year-old woman and she still has it in her to seduce a 20-year-old who’s about to enter the priesthood but is willing to throw it all away because she’s that good and he begs her for more!
There is no man who can resist the beauty of Ninon: adolescent and mature Princes, dashing Chevaliers, poets, artists, Cardinal Richelieu, the young King Louis XIV…as well as her father and her own son! Heck, even women cannot deny the allure of Ninon (Queen Christina of Sweden is one of her champions), as she is among the most intelligent, loveliest of ladies in the early Enlightenment.
Although this novel appears like a bodice ripper, and indeed is full of sexual romps and escapades, it’s really just the life story of a woman of such dichotomous nature that she is hailed as the Patron Saint of Whores. Ninon struggles all her life with the question of good and evil, of the existence and nature of being and of God.
There is such beautiful philosophy espoused at times: "To live life to the fullest one must be both Stoic and Epicurean." Ninon is an unabashedly a sinner, but that is what a human must be to live. To quote one of my favorite songs by Depeche Mode, “One Caress:” "I have to believe that sin can make a better man..."
Yet Ninon is no evil woman bent on destruction. She revels in both decadence and in abstinence, always searching for that enlightenment that can come only from experience. St. Augsutine's statement, "Oh Lord, give me chastity and continence...but not yet," certainly applies to Ninon's outlook on life. She is a true Renaissance woman, pursuing knowledge in the arts, sciences and philosophy as well as being a philanthropist.
There is so much drama in this book, that it left me wanting to get further into Ninon’s adventures. I was both enthralled and unsatisfied by this great book. I really liked it, but I would have LOVED it if there was more! Ninon’s life story was worthy of 1,000 pages and this book felt both sumptuous and incomplete.
Who was this Norbert Estey anyway? What a pity that I can't find anymore information other than this one book!
4 ½ stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
All My Sins begins with one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read: "Nicholas Gedouin was my lover when, according to the calendar, I was eighty years old, and I firmly resolved that this time would be the last."
DAMN! An 80-year-old woman and she still has it in her to seduce a 20-year-old who’s about to enter the priesthood but is willing to throw it all away because she’s that good and he begs her for more!
There is no man who can resist the beauty of Ninon: adolescent and mature Princes, dashing Chevaliers, poets, artists, Cardinal Richelieu, the young King Louis XIV…as well as her father and her own son! Heck, even women cannot deny the allure of Ninon (Queen Christina of Sweden is one of her champions), as she is among the most intelligent, loveliest of ladies in the early Enlightenment.
Although this novel appears like a bodice ripper, and indeed is full of sexual romps and escapades, it’s really just the life story of a woman of such dichotomous nature that she is hailed as the Patron Saint of Whores. Ninon struggles all her life with the question of good and evil, of the existence and nature of being and of God.
There is such beautiful philosophy espoused at times: "To live life to the fullest one must be both Stoic and Epicurean." Ninon is an unabashedly a sinner, but that is what a human must be to live. To quote one of my favorite songs by Depeche Mode, “One Caress:” "I have to believe that sin can make a better man..."
Yet Ninon is no evil woman bent on destruction. She revels in both decadence and in abstinence, always searching for that enlightenment that can come only from experience. St. Augsutine's statement, "Oh Lord, give me chastity and continence...but not yet," certainly applies to Ninon's outlook on life. She is a true Renaissance woman, pursuing knowledge in the arts, sciences and philosophy as well as being a philanthropist.
There is so much drama in this book, that it left me wanting to get further into Ninon’s adventures. I was both enthralled and unsatisfied by this great book. I really liked it, but I would have LOVED it if there was more! Ninon’s life story was worthy of 1,000 pages and this book felt both sumptuous and incomplete.
Who was this Norbert Estey anyway? What a pity that I can't find anymore information other than this one book!
4 ½ stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
December 20, 2025
Genuinely enjoyed this book way more than I thought I was going to, I got it from a random Asda maybe two years ago on a charity bookshelf. She so crazy girl I lurv her
February 25, 2017
An enjoyable 'bodice ripper'. The subject is Ninon de Lenclos, who was one of the most interesting women in the Sun King's reign, in France. The subject alone made me want to read it, and it was well written. I have not checked out the historical accuracy of it, but simply had a good read. One of those books that are great for transporting the reader into the seventeenth century. Good descriptions of clothes and Paris, at the time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews