A review by jeninmotion
Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser

4.0

It's tricky to review this because it's absolutely fascinating to hear the stories of all of these women, who have rich histories and are interesting. At the same time, it's so divorced from context in some ways. I know the subject is "Love and Louis XIV" but part of me is like "well, did the people who rebelled and forced Anne of Austria to do X, Y, and Z have total justification? Why did they raise Marie-Therese so stupidly given they always planned to marry her off to her double first cousin? How much time did Louis spend with these women vs. at war?" It's intensely readable and also very focused on the people to its slight detriment. (Note: I read this in like, 2012 or so, not 2020)