Madame de Pompadour (New York Review Books Classics)

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 944.034092 EAN: 9780940322653 ISBN: 094032265X Label: NYRB Classics Manufacturer: NYRB Classics Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 296 Publication Date: 2001-03-12 Publisher: NYRB Classics Release Date: 2001-03-31 Studio: NYRB Classics
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Editorial Reviews: When Madame de Pompadour became the mistress of Louis XV, no one expected her to retain his affections for long. A member of the bourgeoisie rather than an aristocrat, she was physically too cold for the carnal Bourbon king, and had so many enemies that she could not travel publicly without risking a pelting of mud and stones. History has loved her little better.Nancy Mitford's delightfully candid biography re-creates the spirit of eighteenth-century Versailles with its love of pleasure and treachery. We learn that the Queen was a "bore," the Dauphin a "prig," and see France increasingly overcome with class conflict. With a fiction writer's felicity, Mitford restores the royal mistress and celebrates her as a survivor, unsurpassed in "the art of living," who reigned as the most powerful woman in France for nearly twenty years.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Simply Excellent Comment: This is one of my favorite books. I just re-read it recently, and found it just as fascinating and well written. Mitford really manages to capture the interplay of myth and history played out on very human people. This is one of the greatest periods of history, with so many brillant figures flowing in and out of the story. 2 minor MINOR quibbles. 1) As a musician I was disappointed that music doesn't seem to figure in Mitford's world... with Lully, Rameau and the music wars that existed during this time, it would have been nice to hear how that figured into the other arts which she gives good account of. 2) Many quotes not translated. I speak french, but some of these are extensive and really need some translation. Minor quibbles in one of my very favorite reads. Customer Rating: Summary: A more valid view of Madame de Pompardour Comment: Not much of a scholar of French history, but a huge fan of Nancy Mitford, I ordered this book as a tribute to the author. Once reading it, I found out much more about the French court of Louis XV and the intricate rules it observed than I ever thought I'd learn. And am very glad I learned them. The interesting, well-written biography hold the reader's attention and bring compassion to the often reviled lead character. Customer Rating: Summary: Gossip for 18th Century France! Comment: This biography was a refreshing and fun, written by a sympathetic aristocrat. The flavors, entertainment and relationships of the court come to life. It is hard not to develop a deep respect for Madame de Pompadour in the course of the book. Highly recommended. Customer Rating: Summary: fascinating period and woman Comment: Mitford was a writer who specialized in describing the intricacies of court life at Versailles , from fashions and decorum to architecture and romance. She was not quite as adept at the political situation of the time; while she doesn't gloss over it, there is no pizzazz in discussing. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book very much. It's colorful and conveys a sense of what Madame de Pompadour endured to become the most powerful woman in France and how she gained that power by being not only beautiful but very intelligent and alluring. Customer Rating: Summary: a delightful romp in the Mitford tradition Comment: Anyone who has enjoyed Nancy Mitford's novels "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate" will appreciate what a deliciously witty writer she can be, especially when describing the lives of the privileged class. Reading her biography of Madame la Marquise de Pompadour (Mitford is strong on the use of proper aristocratic titles) one is not certain where Nancy's life ends and la Pompadour's life begins. Some of her comments are so ultra-sophisticated so as to be hilarious, such as calling the Parc aux Cerfs, where Louis XV kept his women, a "nice little brothel." This book may not be at the top of my list of serious scholarly tomes, but it is not without merit as a work of history, and one is given a colorful glimpse of another world. More Reviews