The Sun King

First published in 1966, this biography follows Louis XIV from his youth and the Fronde through the building of Versailles and the long personal rule that made the French court the centre of European ceremony. Mitford attends to ministers, mistresses, the queen, and the daily etiquette of lever and coucher, as well as the wars that drained the treasury. The palace, the gardens, and the older seats at Saint-Germain and Fontainebleau form the setting. The book is a court life of one king, not a military history of his campaigns and not a novel.

Integrated full colour illustrations. Blue Buckram binding with cover design in gold and white. Gold slipcase.