Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2011
480 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Louis XIV is one of the best-known monarchs ever to grace the French throne. But what was he like as a young man - the man before Versailles?
After the death of his prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, twenty-two-year-old Louis steps into governing France. He's still a young man, but one who, as king, willfully takes everything he can get - including his brother's wife. As the love affair between Louis and Princess Henriette burns, it sets the kingdom on the road toward unmistakable scandal and conflict with the Vatican. Every woman wants him. He must face what he is willing to sacrifice for love.
But there are other problems lurking outside the chateau of Fontainebleau: a boy in an iron mask has been seen in the woods, and the king's finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, has proven to be more powerful than Louis ever thought - a man who could make a great ally or become a dangerous foe...
Meticulously researched and vividly brought to life by the gorgeous prose of Karleen Koen, Before Versailles dares to explore the forces that shaped an iconic king and determined the fate of an empire.
"[S]he finds the era ripe for intrigue and romance, not to mention possible sequels." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. With a handsome ruler as charismatic as Britain's Henry Tudor, this focused retelling of the emergence of the Sun King will attract fans of the English king as well as Francophiles." - Library Journal
"Period detail and costumes abound throughout this lively royal romp." - Booklist
"[T]his is a powerful, rich telling of a few months in the life of King Louis XIV. How clever to pick these particular months when so much is changed.... It's enthralling, fascinating and wonderful story telling. Karleen Koen does it again. Can't go wrong reading anything of hers. Bravo!" - Romance Reviews
"Magnificently written and researched." -Jean M. Auel author of The Clan of the Cave Bear and The Land of Painted Caves
"Before Versailles presents a grand yet intimate glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich and royal at the court of the young, virile King Louis XIV. Words to describe the cast of characters cannot do them justice: moral yet decadent; powerful yet endangered; larger than life yet completely human. But there is an apt word to describe Karleen Koen's latest novel: Brilliant!" - Karen Harper, author of The Irish Princess
"Before Versailles captivated me from start to finish! With exquisite finesse, Karleen Koen weaves history and myth into a sumptuous portrait of young Louis XIV, his intrigue-laden court, and the passionate, ambitious, often dangerous women who loved him." - C.W. Gortner, author of The Last Queen and The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
This information about Before Versailles was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Karleen Koen is the New York Times bestselling author of Through a Glass Darkly, Now Face to Face, and Dark Angels, an Indie Next List Bestseller and a BookSense pick. She lives in Houston, Texas. You can find her online at www.karleenkoen.net.
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