Author: HALDANE, CHARLOTTE
Title: Madame de Maintenon - Uncrowned Queen of France
Description: London, Constable. 1970, First Edition. Hard Cover, 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. A Fine unmarked copy with near Fine dustjacket which is not price clipped. 310 pages. Portrait of Francoise de Maintenon and her niece Francoise d'Aubigne to frontispiece and 14 other portraits and illustrations together with 2 geneaological charts. The first biography in English for forty years. Madame de Maintenon became governess to the six bastard children of King Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, who were being reared in the greatest secrecy. At first Louis disliked the prim, intellectual governess, but when Madame de Montespan's obstreperous temper wearied him, and after her downfall following the notorious Poisons Affair, he became more and more attracted to her. Louis wished to make her his mistress, but Francoise politely declined. Then, when his queen, Marie-Therese, died, he made the sensational decision to marry Francoise morganatically. She was then 48, he 45. And except for one serious quarrel over Quietism, their marriage lasted with complete success for more than 30 years. 13. Fine/Near Fine.

Keywords: Francoise D'Aubigne, Louis XIV, Madame de Montespan


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