Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency — Volume 10

Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de, 1675-1755Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.1
Word count
153K words
Chapters
16

Tags

English Originals World History Historical ReappraisalPalace IntriguePortrait GalleryLegendary LivesPower GameComplex HumanityPower OppressionMemoir StyleSocial ObservationFrench Court

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.Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency — Volume 10 by Saint-SimonAuthor: Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de, 1675-1755,Language: English, Class: DC: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: France, Andorra, Monaco, Release Date: Dec 3, 2004

Editor's review

The Duke of Saint-Simon's memoirs are among the most vivid primary sources for the late court of Louis XIV and the Regency. This is Volume 10 of the English edition, best read as part of the continuous series rather than as a standalone introduction. Its value lies not in a catalogue of events but in the author's sharp observations, as a firsthand witness, of court figures, the workings of etiquette, and the jostling for power; the prose carries strong personal judgments and a satirical edge. Readers gain both details of institutions and daily life and a sense of the narrative style of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century aristocratic memoirs. As a public-domain ebook, the edition information is brief, and readers must orient themselves within the volume sequence. Suited to history enthusiasts reading closely on a specific topic, and to writers or researchers using it for source retrieval and stylistic reference after mastering the basic historical facts.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read earlier volumes of the same author's memoirs or a general history of the period first to establish the framework of people and events before entering this volume.
  2. Keep notes on recurring names and offices as you read, to help clarify court factions and the author's approving or disapproving stance.
  3. Read this volume alongside other sources on the Regency, taking care to distinguish firsthand observation from the author's subjective judgments.
  4. Do not try to finish it in one sitting; read in sections by theme or figure, which suits the dense court detail better.

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

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FAQ

Can this Volume 10 be read on its own? It can be read, but it is not recommended as an introduction. It is a continuous volume in the series, and many figures and events carry over from earlier text. If read alone, it is best to first understand the basic outline of the late Louis XIV and Regency periods and to accept that some relationships will need to be filled in independently.
Where does the source value of this book mainly lie? Mainly in the author's detailed observations, as a court insider, of personalities, the workings of etiquette, and power relations, and in a narrative tone marked by strong praise and blame. It is well suited to conveying the atmosphere of the court and an aristocratic perspective, but specific facts should still be checked against other sources.
What reading barriers does the English edition pose for Chinese readers? The barriers lie mainly in the dense occurrence of proper names and court titles and in the memoir's jumpy narration. It is advisable to prepare a list of figures or take notes as you read; mark unfamiliar names first rather than checking every one word by word, so as not to interrupt the reading rhythm.

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About the author

Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de, 1675-1755 Author

Saint-Simon (Louis de Rouvroy, duc de, 1675–1755) was a French nobleman and memoirist, best known for his Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency. The collection holds 18 of his works, chiefly the complete memoirs and their individual volumes. Writing as an eyewitness, he records the political intrigues, personalities, and ceremonial details of Louis XIV's later court and the Regency, with a sharp, opinionated pen that combines historical value with literary flair. Public information about his life is limited, but this voluminous memoir alone secures him a distinctive place in French historical writing and the memoir tradition, offering later readers a vivid, highly personal testimony to the court society of the ancien régime.