Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Title:  The Kings' Mistresses: The Liberated Lives of Marie Mancini, Princess Colonna, and Her Sister Hortense, Duchess Mazarin Author:  Elizabeth C. Goldsmith Publisher: PublicAffairs Publication date: 4/3/2012 Pages: 288 From the inside cover: The Mancini Sisters, Marie and Hortense, were born in Rome, brought to the court of Louis XIV of France, and strategically married off by their uncle, Cardinal Mazarin, to secure his political power base. Such was the life of many young women of the age: they had no independent status under the law and were entirely a part of their husband’s property once married. Marie and Hortense, however, had other ambitions in mind altogether. Miserable in their marriages and determined to live independently, they abandoned their husbands in secret and began lives of extraordinary daring on the run and in the public eye. The beguiling sisters quickly won the affections of noblemen and kings alike. Their flight became popular ...

Kaleen Koen's new novel BEFORE VERSAILLES, is as much about Nicolas Fouquet as it is about Louis XIV.  One of the places mentioned in the book is Vaux-le-Vicomte (the chateau that Nicolas Fouquet is building during the novel). Vaux-le-Vicomte still exists and you can visit it either n the flesh or online. The chateau was built between 1658 and 1661 for Fouquet who was Louis XIV's superintendent of finances. It was supposed to be a  monument to his oversized ego and ambition. Fouquet never got to enjoy his chateau for long because Louis XIV had him arrested and imprisoned for life in August of 1661. He was arrested at the chateau shortly after a fete where Moliere's play 'Les Facheaux' debuted.  The King had been suspicious about Fouquet's actions for months and the chateau just served to verify them.  It was too large and too impressive for the King's liking. Fouquet  had actually built a special section of the chateau for the King but it was too late. F...

Title:  Before Versailles Author:  Karleen Koen Pub. Date: June 28, 2011 Publisher: Crown Publishing Group Format: Hardcover, 480pp Verdict:  Run Don't Walk to the Bookstore to buy this book! Synopsis:  Louis XIV is one of the best-known monarchs ever to grace the French throne. But what was he like as a young man—the man before Versailles? After the death of his prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, twenty-two-year-old Louis steps into governing France. He’s still a young man, but one who, as king, willfully takes everything he can get—including his brother’s wife. As the love affair between Louis and Princess Henriette burns, it sets the kingdom on the road toward unmistakable scandal and conflict with the Vatican. Every woman wants him. He must face what he is willing to sacrifice for love. But there are other problems lurking outside the chateau of Fontainebleau: a boy in an iron mask has been seen in the woods, and the king’s finance minister, Nicolas...

I'm very pleased to be featuring Sandra Gulland's latest novel Mistress of the Sun, as the book on the month here on Scandalous Women. Sandra is well known for her trilogy about the Empress Josephine, but Mistress of the Sun tells the story of Louis XIV's first official mistress, Louise de la Valliere. I've always been fascinated by Louis XIV ever since I read the Angelique series as a teenager. There's something about the Sun King and life at Versailles that is just so delicious. Sandra Gulland's book did not disappoint me. If you love historical fiction, then you must pick up a copy of this book. The book opens when Louise, called Petite, is four years old, and precocious beyond her years, already reading, and obsessed with animals. She sees a wild white horse that she names Diablo, that she convinces her fahter to buy. Petite wants to tame him but she uses measures that are forbidden by the Church. Although Diablo is successfully tamed, bad things happen, s...