Madame De Pompadour: Mistress of France

The critically acclaimed author of Philippe, duc d'Orleans, Christine Pevitt Algrant presents a stunning new biography of the most famous of Louis XV's mistresses. From her beginnings amid anonymity in early-eighteenth-century Paris, to her reign as the undisputed mistress of Versailles, Madame de Pompadour traces the life of a truly remarkable, self-made woman whose astonishing rise confounded the most experienced and the savviest of her contemporaries. Algrant weaves her richly textured narrative with tremendous authority, setting the dramatic events that marked Madame de Pompadour's life against the defining moments of the times. Groomed from an early age to assume the role of a grande dame, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson underwent a number of transformations -- from a halfhearted marriage to a Parisian tax-collector to a passionate involvement with the newly established salon culture of Paris -- before attaining the affection of the king of France. Although used to the king's romantic escapades, the stunned courtiers reeled in disbelief upon Poisson's success, for never in the annals of the French monarchy had a semidivine king taken a mere bourgeoisie as his mistress. The newcomer, however, wasted no time, slowly establishing herself as Louis's sole confidante, and ultimately an indispensable, albeit officially unacknowledged, head of state. Algrant takes the reader into the farthest and most exclusive chambers at Versailles, offering glimpses that portray the resourcefulness and the determination with which the king's favorite deftly manipulated the divided court, ruling as absolutely as any monarch. Madame de Pompadour will become the definitive biography of the most fascinating and influential woman of the age. "Algrant's Madame de Pompadour makes you hear the rattle of the tumbrils, just thirty years down the road." -- Alistair Horne

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