The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie

Historical Fiction

In the third and final book in the Versailles/Louis XV trilogy, this time we look at two women from King Louis XV's last years. The first is his final mistress, the Comtesse du Barry, who started out as a luxury escort. She makes friends with the right people and is eventually presented to the king. Not surprisingly the court hates her not only because she's an escort but also because she's a commoner. The second is Louis' eldest daughter Adelaide. She is an extremely rigid woman and doesn't have a very good relationship with her father because she hasn't approved of any of his mistresses.

The two women are completely different, likely why they were both selected for this book, and it really highlights the extremes that existed in the French court. Christie does a great job of showing how tone deaf French royalty was during this time, which eventually brought their demise. Obviously all these years later, in a much more advanced society, it's easy to see the errors of their ways but I wonder if it would have been easy to understand back then. This book actually made me want to read more on the French Revolution.

Having read Christie's other two books in the trilogy (read my reviews for The Rivals of Versailles and The Sisters of Versailles), even though these characters were unique from all the other ladies highlighted in Christie's books, I found them somewhat less captivating.

It's still a worthy read - you should definitely check out all three books! It gives you great insight in to some of the more periphery characters of the Louis XV reign. You can buy the book here: Amazon

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour.

First Line: "I slip away from the warmth of the kitchen and out into the deserted hall."

Rating:
(4/5)

About the Author Sally Christie is a long time history buff. She has lived in England, Canada, Argentina, and Lesotho though she currently resides in Toronto (and hence, I'm claiming Canadian author here!). The Sisters of Versailles is her first book even though she's been putting pen to paper for a while. Learn more at her website, Facebook, or GoodReads.

The Wandering Prince by Jean Plaidy

Historical Fiction

The Stuart family is run out of England when Cromwell turns the country into a Commonwealth. Charles II is a prince wandering around to different courts while he makes attempts to return to the throne. His mom and youngest sister Henriette (Minette to her brother) are in the French court. The other family members are either imprisoned in England or at court in other areas.

Though this is the first book in the Charles II, it is really about two woman rather than Charles himself. The first woman is his sister Minette. She starts as a child and blossoms into a woman, falling in love with Louis XIV. Louis doesn't find out he loves her back until it's too late and he's already been married. The second is Lucy Waters (though a quick Google search has her name as Lucy Walters so I'm not sure why her name was incorrect in the book). Lucy is described as the most beautiful woman in England and Charles falls in love with her quickly. He can't marry her but that doesn't stop a love affair from happening.

I found this book quite dense and a slow read, though it was still very interesting. Most of my historical fiction reading on the British monarchy is in the Tudor era. I didn't know much of either Charles II or Louis XIV and even though this book didn't focus on those two characters, learning about those around them during the time does a lot to shed light on those royals.

Minette was the most interesting character in this book. She went through a transformation from shy, skinny child to beautiful, joyous lady. It seems like she brought many kinds of art to the French court. A whole book could be written on her.

This book isn't as salacious as Philippa Gregory but it is still a great story of fascinating historical figures.

First Line: "It was late afternoon on a July day in the fourth year of the Great Rebellion."

Rating:
(3.5/5)