Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford

Title: Madame de Pompadour

Author: Nancy Mitford

First Published: 1953

No. of Pages: 308

Synopsis (from B&N): "When Madame de Pompadour became the mistress of Louis XV, no one expected her to retain his affections for long. A member of the bourgeoisie rather than an aristocrat, she was physically too cold for the carnal Bourbon king, and had so many enemies that she could not travel publicly without risking a pelting of mud and stones. History has loved her little better. Nancy Mitford's delightfully candid biography recreates the spirit of eighteenth-century Versailles with its love of pleasure and treachery. We learn that the Queen was a 'bore,' the Dauphin a 'prig,' and see France increasingly overcome with class conflict. With a fiction writer's felicity, Mitford restores the royal mistress and celebrates her as a survivor, unsurpassed in 'the art of living,' who reigned as the most powerful woman in France for nearly twenty years."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: I found this book to be one of the most readable biographies I've come across. The lives of royals and their hangers-on always intrigue me and this one is as full of intrigue and scandal as any other. A key difference is that the reader actually likes this royal mistress. She was intelligent, kind, loyal, and honest -- not at all how you expect to find one in her position. She seems to have truly loved Louis XV and did not use him for wealth or advancement. The author obviously likes her as well and does not shy away from allowing her own opinions to come out. My only complaint is that the author chose not to present the story chronologically, but instead grouped incidents by subject. This can be a bit disconcerting for the reader; for instance, the death of an individual is told in one chapter and a succeeding chapter then discusses the education of that same individual. But overall, I found this book very enjoyable and worth reading.

Challenges: 999 ("Biographies"); Support Your Local Library