The Duke of Saint-Simon (1675-1755) was a self-obsessed courtier and chronicler of court life under Louis XIV. Drawing heavily on his memoirs, historian Ladurie offers a wonderful portrait of life with Louis, focusing on issues of hierarchy and rank in this tightly controlled universe. Illustrations.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1857. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

A cat may look at a king, says an old proverb. The king is the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, whose fabled court at Versailles was the wonder of Europe; the cat is the watchful chronicler, Louis de Rouvroy, second duc de Saint-Simon, author of the famous Memoirs which are the definitive record of Louis’ reign. Auchincloss has conceived his novel as an extension of the Memoirs, in which Saint-Simon reveals his own story—as well as a great deal about the private lives of the great and near-great that did not find its way into the published record. With his inimitable gift for characterization, Auchincloss portrays Saint-Simon, the meticulous, proud aristocrat of the old school who is at once fascinated and threatened by the powerful centralized monarchy Louis is building and by the king’s plot to bolster his position by marrying off his illegitimate children to princes of the blood. Elegant, crisp, and abounding in authentic detail, The Cat and the King shows us the factions, liaisons, intrigues and dalliances that made up daily life at Versailles as they might have been seen from Saint-Simon’s highly critical perspective. Auchincloss imagines the dominant figures of this greatest period in French history—the aging Louis; his pious morganatic spouse, Madame de Maintenon; Monsieur, the king’s homosexual brother; the great warrior and ladies’ man Conti; and many others—as wholly believable individuals with peculiar tics and foibles of their own; but none is stranger, more fascinating, or more believable than Saint-Simon himself. A remarkable portrait of a quintessential man of his time, a discerning study of the use and abuse of power, and an utterly convincing recreation of a turbulent age that bears no small resemblance to our own, The Cat and the King is a many-faceted jewel that represents a new dimension of achievement in Louis Auchincloss’ distinguished career as a novelist.

Translated from the French.

""Analyzing French fashion prints and what these images represent and reveal about the fashion and culture of the seventeenth-century."--Provided by publisher"--

The arts, particularly music, are viewed in this work as an integral part of evolving royal absolutism during the reign of Louis XIV. Drawing extensively on archival documents and musical scores, the author views the historical association of music and monarchy as a continuous development beginning with the Valois and climaxing in Louis XIV’s reign. The king is pictured as a rational, calculating man whose luxurious life style was politically motivated, and who undertook the centralization of the arts to assure French artistic preeminence. Elaborate, costly musical productions were also used to distract the nobility, to demonstrate French affluence to foreign powers, and to embellish the royal image.

"Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency — Complete" by Louis de Rouvroy duc de Saint-Simon Duc de Louis de Rouvroy Saint-Simon was a French courtier during the 18th century, but today he's best known for his comprehensive multi-volume memoirs, which depict life in France and French society during the time period. This book is an amazing recounting of the life of a Duke during Louis XIV and up to the death of the regent who followed.