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Article: Reigned by desire; Books.(Review)
- Article from:
- The Mail on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 3, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: ANTONIA FRASER
Madame De Pompadour: Mistress Of France by Christine Pevitt Algrant Atlantic pound sterling18.99 - pound sterling15.19 ****
The Declared Mistress of the King: this was the position, a semi-official one, which Madame de Pompadour occupied for almost 20 years at the court of Louis XV. Her reign ended only when she died prematurely in 1763.
An age like ours, which believes mistresses should be undeclared (where possible), may raise an eyebrow at the concept of a 'declared' one. But in Royalist times the French felt more at ease when their king was 'gallant' - the amorous Henri IV and Louis XIV were popular compared with the ...