{"product_id":"the-great-favourite-the-duke-of-lerma-and-the-court-and-government-of-philip-iii-of-spain-1598-1621-9780719081415","title":"The Great Favourite: The Duke of Lerma and the Court and Government of Philip III of Spain, 1598-1621","description":"Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, Duke of Lerma (1553-1625) is the last major unknown statesman in modern European history. Patrick Williams brings him dramatically to life and challenges the assumptions that historians have made about him and about Spanish history at a time of profound crisis, \u003cbr\u003einviting a re-evaluation of the phenomenon of government by favourites in this seminal period of European history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLerma served Philip III as his favourite and first minister between 1598 and 1618. His power dazzled contemporaries; one petitioner telling Philip that he had come to see him 'because I could not get an appointment with the Duke of Lerma'. Within a decade of assuming office Lerma had raised his\u003cbr\u003efamily from humiliating poverty to great riches and was the greatest patron of the arts in Europe. His use of power provoked intense debate about the nature of corruption in government. Yet Lerma remained deeply ambivalent about his position. Determined to follow family tradition and retire into\u003cbr\u003ereligious life to secure the salvation of his soul, he secured a cardinalate in 1617, ending his life as a prince of the Church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joseph Bergin, Patrick Williams\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Manchester University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 328\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.03lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780719081415\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePatrick Williams was formerly Professor of Spanish History at the University of Portsmouth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Manchester University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40104775909491,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_e8124b14-7509-4ed8-bbbe-70992333add8.jpg?v=1653230069","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/the-great-favourite-the-duke-of-lerma-and-the-court-and-government-of-philip-iii-of-spain-1598-1621-9780719081415","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}