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A cat may look at a king, says an old proverb. The king is the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, whose fabled court at Versailles was the wonder of Europe; the cat is the watchful chronicler, Louis de Rouvroy, second duc de Saint-Simon, author of the famous Memoirs which are the definitive record of Louis' reign. Auchincloss has conceived his novel as an extension of the Memoirs, in which Saint-Simon reveals his own story--as well as a great deal about the private lives of the great and near-great that did not find its way into the published record. With his inimitable gift for characterization, Auchincloss portrays Saint-Simon, the meticulous, proud aristocrat of the old school who is at once fascinated and threatened by the powerful centralized monarchy Louis is building and by the king's plot to bolster his position by marrying off his illegitimate children to princes of the blood. Elegant, crisp, and abounding in authentic detail, The Cat and the King shows us the factions, liaisons, intrigues and dalliances that made up daily life at Versailles as they might have been seen from Saint-Simon's highly critical perspective. Auchincloss imagines the dominant figures of this greatest period in French history--the aging Louis; his pious morganatic spouse, Madame de Maintenon; Monsieur, the king's homosexual brother; the great warrior and ladies' man Conti; and many others--as wholly believable individuals with peculiar tics and foibles of their own; but none is stranger, more fascinating, or more believable than Saint-Simon himself. A remarkable portrait of a quintessential man of his time, a discerning study of the use and abuse of power, and an utterly convincing recreation of a turbulent age that bears no small resemblance to our own, The Cat and the King is a many-faceted jewel that represents a new dimension of achievement in Louis Auchincloss' distinguished career as a novelist.… (lisätietoja)
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This was a complete diversion in time era for this Auchincloss book....instead of the normal upscale New York social scene of the not-too-distant past, we are thrust into the Palace of Versailles in the mid-1700's! Not an era i have much knowledge of, or, might i add, interest. But social climbing drama is social climbing drama apparently, regardless of the era. Much fussing over the seemingly inane rules of the order of heirs to the French throne, multitudes of bastard children vying for position, and lots of turning a blind eye to that which one does not really want to see. Told through the perspective of a life-long nobleman in the 'court' of Louis the XIV, and the dealings of his politically astute wife, we learn of attempts to shift power from illegitimate to legitimate heirs. Odd topic, unusually told and i always felt there were things i was expected to know about such things that i did not. Interesting look into the opulent life of the court of a French King and palace intrigue of the era. Most definitely not his finest piece, but 1 or 2 bad ones out of multitudes of intriguing books to me will not make me stray from my path of reading them all. My advice would be, if you've never read Auchincloss, do not start with this one! ( )
Tiedot englanninkielisestä Yhteisestä tiedosta.Muokkaa kotoistaaksesi se omalle kielellesi.
A cat may look at a king.--Old proverb
Omistuskirjoitus
Tiedot englanninkielisestä Yhteisestä tiedosta.Muokkaa kotoistaaksesi se omalle kielellesi.
For Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who persuaded me that Versailles was still a valid source for fiction.
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A cat may look at a king, says an old proverb. The king is the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, whose fabled court at Versailles was the wonder of Europe; the cat is the watchful chronicler, Louis de Rouvroy, second duc de Saint-Simon, author of the famous Memoirs which are the definitive record of Louis' reign. Auchincloss has conceived his novel as an extension of the Memoirs, in which Saint-Simon reveals his own story--as well as a great deal about the private lives of the great and near-great that did not find its way into the published record. With his inimitable gift for characterization, Auchincloss portrays Saint-Simon, the meticulous, proud aristocrat of the old school who is at once fascinated and threatened by the powerful centralized monarchy Louis is building and by the king's plot to bolster his position by marrying off his illegitimate children to princes of the blood. Elegant, crisp, and abounding in authentic detail, The Cat and the King shows us the factions, liaisons, intrigues and dalliances that made up daily life at Versailles as they might have been seen from Saint-Simon's highly critical perspective. Auchincloss imagines the dominant figures of this greatest period in French history--the aging Louis; his pious morganatic spouse, Madame de Maintenon; Monsieur, the king's homosexual brother; the great warrior and ladies' man Conti; and many others--as wholly believable individuals with peculiar tics and foibles of their own; but none is stranger, more fascinating, or more believable than Saint-Simon himself. A remarkable portrait of a quintessential man of his time, a discerning study of the use and abuse of power, and an utterly convincing recreation of a turbulent age that bears no small resemblance to our own, The Cat and the King is a many-faceted jewel that represents a new dimension of achievement in Louis Auchincloss' distinguished career as a novelist.
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