Madame de Pompadour

WhenMadamedePompadourbecamethemistressofLouisXV,nooneexpectedhertoretainhisaffectionsforlong.Amemberofthebourgeoisieratherthananaristocrat,shewasphysicallytoocoldforthecarnalBourbonking,andhadsomanyenemiesthatshecouldnottravelpubliclywithoutriskingapeltingofmudandstones.Historyhaslovedherlittlebetter.NancyMitford'sdelightfullycandidbiographyre-createsthespiritofeighteenth-centuryVersailleswithitsloveofpleasureandtreachery.WelearnthattheQueenwasa"bore,"theDauphina"prig,"andseeFranceincreasinglyovercomewithclassconflict.Withafictionwriter'sfelicity,Mitfordrestorestheroyalmistressandcelebratesherasasurvivor,unsurpassedin"theartofliving,"whoreignedasthemostpowerfulwomaninFrancefornearlytwentyyears.