The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon

Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, was born in a French prison in 1635, her father a condemned traitor and murderer, her mother the warden's seduced daughter. Yet, armed with beauty, intellect, and shrewd judgment, she was to make her way to the center of power at Versailles, the most opulent and ambitious court in all Europe.

Sparkling with irresistible wit, fine detail, and novelistic sweep, this exactingly researched biography is a pinnacle of the form.

Author: Veronica Buckley
Publisher: Picador USA
Published: 08/31/2010
Pages: 528
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780312430054

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 10/17/2010 pg. 28

About the Author

Veronica Buckley was born and educated in New Zealand, and later studied at the Universities of London and Oxford. Christina, Queen of Sweden, was the subject of her much-praised first biography. She lived in Paris while researching The Secret Wife of Louis XIV, and now lives in Vienna.