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Louis XIV: The Power and the Glory Audiobook
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An intelligent, authoritative, and often surprising biography of the most famous of French monarchs, by an acclaimed biographer and historian
This stylish and incisive narrative presents listeners with a fresh perspective on one of the most fascinating kings in European history. Louis XIV’s story has all the ingredients of a Dumas classic: legendary beginnings, beguiling women, court intrigue, a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask, lavish court entertainments, the scandal of a mistress who was immersed in the dark arts, and a central character who is handsome and romantic, but with a frighteningly dark side to his character.
Louis believed himself to be semi-divine. His self-identification as the Sun King, which was reflected in iconography by the sun god, Apollo, influenced every aspect of Louis’s life: his political philosophy, his wars, and his relationships with courtiers and subjects.
As a military strategist, Louis’s capacity was ambiguous, but he was an astute politician who led his country to the heights of sophistication and power—and then had the misfortune to live long enough to see it all crumble away. As the sun began to set upon this most glorious of reigns, it brought a gathering darkness filled with the anguish of dead heirs, threatened borders, and a populace that was dangerously dependent upon—but greatly distanced from—its king.
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“Kate Reading’s expressive and energetic narration of this birth-to-death biography of France’s Louis XIV animates a history that is itself refreshingly brisk, factual, and accessible…Reading’s command of French and of proper nouns in other European languages is particularly impressive…[and] her narration of the French-Dutch-English wars is a virtuoso display of linguistic precision and dexterity.”
— AudioFile
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“An agreeable and generally admiring biography. She covers war and politics efficiently, but this is very much a personal biography. The king’s ministers receive less attention than his mistresses. Yet Louis was no playboy monarch, as Ms. Wilkinson makes clear.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A historical account that is both entertaining and informative.”
— Library Journal -
“Wilkinson well describes Louis’s love life, his peripatetic infatuations, and longer-term affairs that made for court intrigues.”
— Booklist -
“In this book, the personal overwhelms the political. Wars and diplomatic events are the sideshows to court intrigue.”
— New York Journal of Books
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About Josephine Wilkinson
Josephine Wilkinson is the author of numerous biographies published in Great Britain: Anne Boleyn, The Princes in the Tower, Katherine Howard, and Richard III. She received her PhD from the University of Newcastle. She has been scholar-in-residence at St Denial’s Library. She now lives in York, Richard III’s favorite city.
About Kate Reading
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.