Louis XIV

By Olivier Bernier,

Book cover of Louis XIV: A Royal Life

Book description

Traces the long, intrigue-filled, and opulent life of the Sun King, during whose seventy-three year reign France became the leading power of Europe and celebrated a golden age of culture

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Why read it?

1 author picked Louis XIV as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Most of the works I have read on Louis XIV have been written by Anglophone historians who are writing history from a British or an American perspective.

This was the first time I had read a book on Louis XIV by a leading French historian. He deeply understands his subject and immerses himself in the attitudes of France during the Ancien Regime. It is a profoundly insightful account that challenges common perceptions of absolutism.

He brings Louis XIV to life in such exquisite detail, showing Louis XIV's intelligence and compassion towards others, which is at odds with the absolutist monarch…

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