Memoirs of Madame la Marquise de Montespan — Volume 6

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de MontespanProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.1

Word count: 134K words
Chapters: 14

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 Madame la Marquise de Montespan — Volume 6 by Madame de Montespan. Author: Montespan, Madame de, 1641-1707. Language: English. Class: DC: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: France, Andorra, Monaco. Release Date: Dec 2, 2004

Editor's review

This is the English translation of Volume 6 of the Memoirs of Madame la Marquise de Montespan, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. As a later volume in the series, it continues the author's court memoir narrative and suits readers who have already read the earlier volumes and wish to follow on. Its value lies mainly in showing the narrative mode of the memoir genre and a first-person view of courtly relationships in the age of Louis XIV; it can serve as supplementary reading for topics in early modern French history. Readers should note the memoir's subjectivity and period limitations and should not rely on it alone as historical evidence. The electronic edition is convenient for searching and reading chapter by chapter, and is suited to comparative reading alongside other historical sources rather than to continuous reading for plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have finished the earlier volumes and wish to follow on
Those interested in French court memoirs and first-person historical narrative
History enthusiasts who need public-domain English materials for topic reading
Readers who prefer searchable, comparative reading in ebooks

Not a good fit for

Readers new to the series who have not yet read the earlier volumes
Readers who read only Chinese translations and are unaccustomed to English originals
Those seeking a systematic general history rather than memoir fragments

Reading tips

Review the character and event threads at the end of Volume 5 before starting this volume to keep the narrative连贯, then proceed to this volume.
Take notes on character relationships as you read, and look back at earlier volumes when unfamiliar names appear.
Read this volume alongside sources on the same subject, distinguishing the author's personal perspective from verifiable historical fact.
You may skip by topic rather than reading straight through, to improve efficiency.

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.

FAQ

Is Volume 6 closely connected to Volume 5?

As adjacent volumes in the same memoir series, Volume 6 continues the narrative threads of the previous volume, with many linked characters and events. It is advisable to read Volume 5 first, or at least understand its outline, before starting Volume 6 for smoother reading.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to historical research?

Not really as an introductory book. It is a first-person memoir with a subjective perspective and period limitations, and it lacks systematic background. Beginners would do better to read general histories first and use this book as supplementary material.

What should I note when reading the electronic edition?

This is a public-domain English ebook with English text, divided by volume. It is advisable to use reading software that supports searching and annotation, read chapter by chapter, and keep notes on character relationships to avoid confusion from the many names.

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

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan Author · French · 1641–1707

Madame de Montespan (Montespan, Madame de, 1641–1707), born Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, was a French noblewoman and one of Louis XIV's most celebrated mistresses. Renowned for her beauty and wit, she bore the king several children who were later legitimized. She fell from favor in connection with the Affair of the Poisons and retired to a convent in 1691. Her memoirs, published as Memoirs of Madame la Marquise de Montespan, survive to later generations; the collection here includes multiple volumes and a complete edition, nine items in all. These writings record court observations and personal experience and serve as primary material for understanding court life and political atmosphere in the age of Louis XIV. Public information is limited, and details of her life and the background of her works rest largely on the memoirs themselves and later scholarship.