Louis XIV

Abbott traces the longest reign in French history from a childhood shadowed by the Fronde revolts, through the boy-king’s accession and marriage, the war in Holland, the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the reversals of the king’s final years. Published by Harper & Brothers in 1870 as part of the Makers of History series, it leans on the memoirs left by courtiers and household servants to set the private man beside the public monarch, including his long attachment to Madame de Maintenon and their secret marriage. Abbott writes as a moralist as much as a chronicler, arguing plainly that the despotism of Louis XIV and his successor opened the way to the French Revolution. Readers wanting the shape of the Sun King’s reign before heavier scholarship will find a clear, unhurried starting point.