sabregirl's review against another edition
5.0
I was really excited to start reading this book because I had just read a semi-biography on Louis IV's supposed secret wife and the book had mentioned Louise but only really in passing. I enjoyed how focused this book was. Normally books that tackle a king's era as so scattered and hard to keep track of, but by keeping it in a fourth month span was a brilliant idea. This way it was much easier to keep track of characters as well as plot development and what was going on in the novel. I wasn't aware that Louis had a thing for his brothers wife in the beginning of his reign, the book I mentioned before only calls attention to her for her spite towards him for not getting his attention so it was interesting to find out that he did try to pursue her. I had always known of the Man in the Iron Mask myth but didn't realize that it was associated with this King, so that was a nice mystery to the plot and how it all ended. Over all, I'm very pleased with this book and happy that I had won it in a party at a Goodreads group. This book fits along nicely with anyone who is interested in France before Louis VI and the fall of a great kingdom because it's within those four months that [a:Karleen Koen|45191|Karleen Koen|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1305819991p2/45191.jpg] shows how Louis IV became a great king.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars - It was alright, an average book.
Had a very slow start, but the novel picked up in the later half. The author switches POVs too frequently which can make certain chapter transitions feel disjointed. As always, the author’s note at the end that explained what is known for sure vs what was fictional liberty, was appreciated.
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First Sentence: A young woman galloped headlong and recklessly down half-wild trails in the immense forest of Fontainebleau.
Had a very slow start, but the novel picked up in the later half. The author switches POVs too frequently which can make certain chapter transitions feel disjointed. As always, the author’s note at the end that explained what is known for sure vs what was fictional liberty, was appreciated.
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First Sentence: A young woman galloped headlong and recklessly down half-wild trails in the immense forest of Fontainebleau.
daemonad's review against another edition
2.0
There were glimpses and whole views into the 17th century court life and courtiers, that seemed accurate and drew me into this flamboyant world. However, Koen's characterization fell flat when it came to Louise de La Valiere, and d'Artagnan. She was so desperate to make Louise into a perfect, innocent gentle flower, yet courageous, caring, and god knows every fucking good thing that one could puke out, that well I was feeling quite sick of her. I couldn't help but smile happily when de Guise called her a whore. I loved de Guise. If the book was about him, it would get 4 stars. Though, Koen would probably chicken out, and turn him into a Gary Sue.
halkid2's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book originally two years ago and just listened to it again, this time as a book on tape. It's wonderful historical fiction and probably paints the best picture of court intrigue during the time of Louis XIV of any book I've read.
The book covers four pivotal months in Louis's reign, when he is 22 and eager to assume complete power after growing up under the shadow of his mother and Cardinal Mazarin, who has recently died when the book begins. Louis's queen is expecting their first child, he becomes infatuated with his brother's new wife, Henriette, and the mystery of the man in the iron mask is about to unfold. The book also covers the early days of Louis's love affair with Louise de la Valliere, who is the clear heroine of the book in my mind.
But what's wonderfully described is the environment of deceit that surrounds the King, as people try to gain royal favor. Friends, relatives, even confessors -- very few can be trusted. The side stories of the building of Vaux-le-Vicomte and the fall of finance minister Nicolas Fouquet are both delicious. The reader gets the clear sense of how lonely it truly is to be a king.
The book covers four pivotal months in Louis's reign, when he is 22 and eager to assume complete power after growing up under the shadow of his mother and Cardinal Mazarin, who has recently died when the book begins. Louis's queen is expecting their first child, he becomes infatuated with his brother's new wife, Henriette, and the mystery of the man in the iron mask is about to unfold. The book also covers the early days of Louis's love affair with Louise de la Valliere, who is the clear heroine of the book in my mind.
But what's wonderfully described is the environment of deceit that surrounds the King, as people try to gain royal favor. Friends, relatives, even confessors -- very few can be trusted. The side stories of the building of Vaux-le-Vicomte and the fall of finance minister Nicolas Fouquet are both delicious. The reader gets the clear sense of how lonely it truly is to be a king.
autumnrdreads's review against another edition
4.0
This book was everything that you would expect in a novel about the French court...suspense, intrique, flirting, dueling; it was a fantastic read. The characters were lifelike and interesting, the plot so suspenseful it was difficult to put down. My one complaint is that it ended so abruptly, I think it could've gone for a couple hundred more pages.
happilyruined's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know how you can't be interested in Louis XIV. His entire life was some long soap opera. He went through mistress after mistress, treating most of them fairly well and at the same time appearing to have a decent amount of respect for his poor wife. His brother was flamboyantly gay (maybe bisexual, though the fact that he sired children with his wife doesn't mean he was overly into sex with women) with a beautiful wife that Louis may have had an affair with. Many people conspired against him, including perhaps one of his lovers, according to rumor. Oh, and towards the end of his life he secretly remarried, though his second wife was never recognized as queen.
Before Versailles as the title suggests, focuses on four months following the death of Louis's closest adviser (and perhaps his mother's lover) Cardinal Mazarin. Louis was a child king, and until this point, at age twenty-two, he didn't exert very much power on his own. Here we see a man on the brink of either greatness or downfall, trying to prove himself both politically and romantically. He's married to a princess who expects his child, and he wants his brother's wife most desperately.
In the meantime, there are plenty of other characters clamoring for power and position. His mother, the queen dowager Anne of Austria, is struggling to maintain her grip over him. A young, relatively innocent Louise de la Valliere hangs in the background, idolizing the young king but never hoping to be near him. Nicolas Fouquet, his Superintendent of Finances, may conspire against him. And what is the secret behind the boy in the iron mask?
If that sounds like a lot of subplots for one novel... it is. As a whole, the book handles the weight well enough, and some storylines are genuinely engrossing. Koen is better at handling the emotional storylines--Louis's romantic entanglements, his problems with his mother, the trainwreck that is Prince Philippe/"Monsieur"--than she is at the more political ones, particularly that which concerns Fouqet. Honestly, I skimmed past a lot of Nicolas's scenes after a while, and I just didn't miss anything. It overstuffed Before Versailles, because while we need to know about that event, I don't think Nicolas's perspective was necessary. The boy in the iron mask plotline was much more interesting, but took a long time to pick up as a result of the attention paid to less intriguing stories.
Another issue, I think, is the author's insistent simplification/demonization of complex women like Queen Anne and the Princess Henriette. Women who wish to manipulate Louis are treated, if not as outright villains, shrill harpies who are selfish and wish only to exploit him. Women like the sweet, compliant Louise, on the other hand, are framed as angels. I don't know that this was Koen's intention, but it came across in this way.
These flaws aside, her prose is beautiful and she does touch on some truly complex issues surrounding these figures. Louis's love/hate relationship with his mother and brother is fascinating; there's one scene between Louis and Philippe that is absolutely fantastic. Her portrait of Louis alone is very beguiling. Here I understood, as I haven't after reading about him in other novels, why women were so enchanted with the Sun King. He wasn't wholly good, and he wasn't wholly bad. He was a romantic one moment and a cynic the next. He was, well, kind of magnificent but also human. When Koen says in an author's note that she couldn't resist Louis, I believe her.
Although Before Versailles isn't perfect, it is a good novel and handles it subject very well. Koen hints in the author's note that she might want to write a novel about Athenais de Montespan. I hope she does.
Before Versailles as the title suggests, focuses on four months following the death of Louis's closest adviser (and perhaps his mother's lover) Cardinal Mazarin. Louis was a child king, and until this point, at age twenty-two, he didn't exert very much power on his own. Here we see a man on the brink of either greatness or downfall, trying to prove himself both politically and romantically. He's married to a princess who expects his child, and he wants his brother's wife most desperately.
In the meantime, there are plenty of other characters clamoring for power and position. His mother, the queen dowager Anne of Austria, is struggling to maintain her grip over him. A young, relatively innocent Louise de la Valliere hangs in the background, idolizing the young king but never hoping to be near him. Nicolas Fouquet, his Superintendent of Finances, may conspire against him. And what is the secret behind the boy in the iron mask?
If that sounds like a lot of subplots for one novel... it is. As a whole, the book handles the weight well enough, and some storylines are genuinely engrossing. Koen is better at handling the emotional storylines--Louis's romantic entanglements, his problems with his mother, the trainwreck that is Prince Philippe/"Monsieur"--than she is at the more political ones, particularly that which concerns Fouqet. Honestly, I skimmed past a lot of Nicolas's scenes after a while, and I just didn't miss anything. It overstuffed Before Versailles, because while we need to know about that event, I don't think Nicolas's perspective was necessary. The boy in the iron mask plotline was much more interesting, but took a long time to pick up as a result of the attention paid to less intriguing stories.
Another issue, I think, is the author's insistent simplification/demonization of complex women like Queen Anne and the Princess Henriette. Women who wish to manipulate Louis are treated, if not as outright villains, shrill harpies who are selfish and wish only to exploit him. Women like the sweet, compliant Louise, on the other hand, are framed as angels. I don't know that this was Koen's intention, but it came across in this way.
These flaws aside, her prose is beautiful and she does touch on some truly complex issues surrounding these figures. Louis's love/hate relationship with his mother and brother is fascinating; there's one scene between Louis and Philippe that is absolutely fantastic. Her portrait of Louis alone is very beguiling. Here I understood, as I haven't after reading about him in other novels, why women were so enchanted with the Sun King. He wasn't wholly good, and he wasn't wholly bad. He was a romantic one moment and a cynic the next. He was, well, kind of magnificent but also human. When Koen says in an author's note that she couldn't resist Louis, I believe her.
Although Before Versailles isn't perfect, it is a good novel and handles it subject very well. Koen hints in the author's note that she might want to write a novel about Athenais de Montespan. I hope she does.
loreofthebooks's review against another edition
1.0
I really didn't enjoy this book. I picked it up after I watched the TV show Versailles. I didn't enjoy the writing at all.
I really don't have much to say about this book other than I was bored during the whole thing. Certainly not the best historical fiction book.
I really don't have much to say about this book other than I was bored during the whole thing. Certainly not the best historical fiction book.
the_bookish_musings_of_mari's review against another edition
4.0
The story was captivating; the characters fully-formed. There were several awkward phrases that strongly needed to be re-written (surprising for an established author) for clarity, in one instance it is impossible to know which of two men did what ( 'he to him to he' type phrases abound). I have read a novel about Louise de la Valliere and this one does her much credit. A wonderful read of 17th century France and a wonderfully sad take on the legend of the prisoner in the iron mask.
amyetherington's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of this book sounded amazing. Sadly, it wasn't executed as well as I'd hoped. See my full review over on my blog: Chapters by Amy
mjmbecky's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved reading Koen's tale of King Louis XIV and his court. Filled with intrigue and so many characters that I could hardly keep them straight, there are a number of character-driven stories going on at once. I've always wondered if the promiscuity of these monarchs was completely just due to their own personalities and appetites, or also driven by marriages that were made without their involvement at such a young age. When two young people are forced to marry, as a way of uniting two countries, who is to say that they know anything about love, romance, or the heart? It does seem like they are seemingly coached into romantic intrigue. It's just something I found interesting to consider, especially as we watch young Louis really only driven by relationships with women he met in the court around him. In other words, like we see today, he had a group of people he "hung out with" and then clicked with some of the women, who later became his courtesans. It's all very, very interesting.
There were many different characters to follow in this story, and I first had to establish who was supposedly "good" and who was "bad." That list was a bit static, but once I kind of knew the cast of characters, the story fell into place a bit more. Although the novel could have delved into even more about political and social issues facing France during his reign, this was a novel about relationships, conspiracy, and intrigue, all surrounding a need for power, attention, and control. Not really told from one point of view, we get a nice look at both men and women in this story, to get a truly interesting tale of King Louis XIV. I really enjoyed it.
There were many different characters to follow in this story, and I first had to establish who was supposedly "good" and who was "bad." That list was a bit static, but once I kind of knew the cast of characters, the story fell into place a bit more. Although the novel could have delved into even more about political and social issues facing France during his reign, this was a novel about relationships, conspiracy, and intrigue, all surrounding a need for power, attention, and control. Not really told from one point of view, we get a nice look at both men and women in this story, to get a truly interesting tale of King Louis XIV. I really enjoyed it.