Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652-1693

Barine, Arvède, 1840-1908Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8
Word count
627K words
Chapters
63

Tags

English Originals World HistoryHistorical Figures Historical ReappraisalPortrait GalleryLegendary LivesFate and FortunePalace IntriguePower GameRoyal TurmoilSeventeenth CenturyFrench CourtFemale Perspective

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652-1693 by Arvède BarineAuthor: Barine, Arvède, 1840-1908,Language: English, Class: DC: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: France, Andorra, Monaco, Release Date: Sep 12, 2011

Editor's review

This book is Arvède Barine's historical writing on the age of Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, spanning 1652 to 1693. It interweaves court politics, family fortune, and personal circumstance, presenting the situation of a remarkable aristocratic woman within the power structure of the Sun King's era. Barine's approach balances historical narrative with character portrayal, suiting readers interested in court society under French absolute monarchy. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies in offering an early example of popular historical writing: it combines source-based exposition with narrative scene-setting. It should not be read as a scholarly monograph but rather as an introduction to court relationships in Louis XIV's time; read alongside contemporary French historical sources, it reveals the author's choices and emphases more clearly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. First clarify the basic relationships among Louis XIV, La Grande Mademoiselle, and the relevant nobles before moving into the specific chapters
  2. Use the 1652–1693 timeline as the skeleton for reading, marking key political events as you go
  3. Read alongside general histories of French absolute monarchy to discern the author's emphases and choices in the narrative
  4. When reading an old English public-domain book, note archaic expressions and keep a reference list for personal and place names

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63

FAQ

Who is La Grande Mademoiselle? La Grande Mademoiselle usually refers to Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, a cousin of Louis XIV. She took notable action during the Fronde and later had a complicated relationship with the court of Louis XIV. This book uses her as one of its threads to present court and personal fortunes from 1652 to 1693.
Is this book a scholarly work? It is closer to popular history writing and character narrative than to a strictly modern academic monograph. The author, Barine, draws on historical sources for narration and characterization, but readers should not expect full scholarly annotation or the latest research reviews. It is suitable as an introductory work; professional research requires separate academic literature.
How difficult is it to read in English? As an early public-domain English book, it has an older language style, with many long sentences and culturally and historically specific terms, making it moderately to considerably difficult. It is recommended for readers with some foundation in long-form English reading, along with background material on seventeenth-century French history. If the goal is learning English, start with an introduction or relevant Chinese materials to lower the threshold.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Barine, Arvède, 1840-1908 Author

Arvède Barine (1840–1908) was a French writer and literary critic known for her biographical and historical writing. Four of her works are held in this collection: Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693; La Grande Mademoiselle, 1627–1652; Alfred de Musset; and Bernardin de St. Pierre. These works show her interest in the seventeenth-century French court and the fate of aristocratic women, as well as her skill in portraying figures from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French literature. Her writing draws on historical and biographical sources, with a clear style that combines character study with attention to the wider context of the period. Public information about her nationality, education, and personal life is limited, and no inferences are made here. Her works remain useful for the study of French classical literature and historical figures.