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jayme_kay's review
4.0
Before Versailles by Karleen Koen introduces us to a younger Louis XIV than we are used to. This is Louis before he became the great sun god that we know him as today. This is a newly wed Louis trying to establish himself as a king, trying to decide what kind of king he wants to be and who he can trust.
The story is not only told around Louis, but many characters at court tell their story and their interaction with the king. Sometimes there are almost too many characters, but one can only fault history.
Equally the main character as Louis is Louise, a lady-in-waiting to the king's sister-in-law, Henriette. Louise is new to court, and she, too, must decide who she wants to be and who she can trust.
I began Before Versailles with some trepidation; I wasn't sure how dense the reading would be. Once I got used to Koen's style, I really enjoyed the novel. I learned a lot about XIV that I never knew before and now I want to read more about him. I recommend this to any historical fiction junkie like myself, or anyone wanting to learn more about France and Louis XIV's early days.
*I won this novel from Goodreads FirstReads. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read more of my book reviews: http://myabsolutelyridiculouslife.blogspot.com/search/label/Books
The story is not only told around Louis, but many characters at court tell their story and their interaction with the king. Sometimes there are almost too many characters, but one can only fault history.
Equally the main character as Louis is Louise, a lady-in-waiting to the king's sister-in-law, Henriette. Louise is new to court, and she, too, must decide who she wants to be and who she can trust.
I began Before Versailles with some trepidation; I wasn't sure how dense the reading would be. Once I got used to Koen's style, I really enjoyed the novel. I learned a lot about XIV that I never knew before and now I want to read more about him. I recommend this to any historical fiction junkie like myself, or anyone wanting to learn more about France and Louis XIV's early days.
*I won this novel from Goodreads FirstReads. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read more of my book reviews: http://myabsolutelyridiculouslife.blogspot.com/search/label/Books
vita_s_west's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Solid novel. Extremely researched, so many details. There isn't really a solid character conclusion for Louise and the secret child. She helped, indirectly sure, bring about the circumstances that led to his death but she has absolutely no interest in him after she falls for Louis. It was strange after her literally being obsessed for about half the book.
whatsheread's review against another edition
Before one can truly understand the sentiments that brought about the Reign of Terror and the fall of the monarchy in France during the late 1700s, one must go back to the beginning and the behaviors and experiences that set France on its path. In Before Versailles, Karleen Koen takes the reader back to Louis XIV, back when the king of France, and as a result the country, was ruled by a variety of ministers, each with his own agenda. The pressure to dazzle everyone, from family to the lowliest of subjects, was great, and the need to show one’s power in the form of profligate spending was all but required. Against this backdrop comes the story of one of France’s most beloved kings, in power 200 years before the Reign of Terror would destroy his lineage.
Before Versailles opens at the onset of Louis XIV’s reign as King of France. Before he ever earned his moniker, The Sun King, he was just a young man taking tentative steps towards establishing what would later become the first absolute monarchy. As one would imagine, Louis is relatively naïve and spoiled. Yet, glimpses of his future self become evident as he struggles to wrest mastery of his kingdom away from previous ministers, especially Nicolas Fouquet. Louis earns the reader’s respect through his growth towards a self-aware king, one who is more than capable of running his country by himself.
In direct opposite to Louis’ strength of character is the multitude of women that surround him. Giddy, empty-minded, and even more naïve than Louis, the women are simply vacuous. While they are capable of manipulating men, they achieve their goals through the use of their feminine wiles, something most modern-day women can only read with disgust. While there are plenty of examples of women who use their brains to gain power and privilege for their offspring, these women are all but non-existent in Before Versailles. Their simpering, fawning, and tantrums are so excessive that it becomes difficult to stomach at times. While the reader is under no illusions that Mr. Koen is completely exaggerating the behavior of the female courtiers and royal women, their actions do take on a largely fictional quality because of their extreme natures. One looking to find a true, strong female role model in Louis’ court is going to be sorely disappointed.
The pacing of the novel is very similar, one imagines, to life within Fontainebleau. Constantly changing, the narrative changes characters as quickly and as often as Princess Henriette changes dresses. For those readers not paying close attention, it can become an exercise in confusion to discern who is involved in the current scene while remembering everything said in previous scenes. Based on Mr. Koen’s descriptions, one imagines that this is exactly what all courtiers faced – having to stay constantly vigilant and aware in an effort to stay one step ahead of other courtiers and in the king’s good graces. It can be as exhilarating an experience as it is tiresome. Having to pay such close attention for every single page in the novel can be daunting, but the experience of reading Before Versailles is much more fulfilling as a result.
Mr. Gardner’s performance was not quite what I was expecting. His is a forceful voice, leaving little room for nuance and performance. The differences in his characterization was slight, if non-existent, making it very difficult to discern who was speaking when. His French, while adding an air of authenticity, made it even more difficult to distinguish between the very large cast of characters because the names sound so similar and are spoken so rapidly. Listeners expecting variations or even emotion from Mr. Gardner will be disappointed, as there really is none. This makes the novel read a bit like a biography rather than a work of fiction. Mr. Gardner’s monotony is especially effective at minimizing the overly exaggerated emotional responses of the maids of honor and even of Princess Henriette that are so prevalent, but this muted performance does detract from the more honest sentiments expressed by Louis and other characters. Regardless of Mr. Gardner’s performance, I am not certain that Before Versailles is the right novel for audio. There are too many scene breaks and jumps in time that are unheralded by anything other than a pause to allow for smooth transitions audibly. Mr. Gardner did the best he could with the material at hand. Unfortunately, I do believe this is one novel better read in print than read aloud.
Before Versailles is interesting in the intimate look it gives at court life before there was such a thing as an absolute monarch. The plotting, the constant fawning, the politicizing of everything from accessories to the granting of favors is as shocking as it is titillating. Mr. Koen does a fantastic job capturing the exhausting excesses while utilizing some of the more well-known rumors and unsolved mysteries to advance the story. A reader finishes Before Versailles with a greater understanding of just what it meant to be among royalty, a greater appreciation for not being part of the royal family, and a growing appetite to learn more about Louis XIV.
Before Versailles opens at the onset of Louis XIV’s reign as King of France. Before he ever earned his moniker, The Sun King, he was just a young man taking tentative steps towards establishing what would later become the first absolute monarchy. As one would imagine, Louis is relatively naïve and spoiled. Yet, glimpses of his future self become evident as he struggles to wrest mastery of his kingdom away from previous ministers, especially Nicolas Fouquet. Louis earns the reader’s respect through his growth towards a self-aware king, one who is more than capable of running his country by himself.
In direct opposite to Louis’ strength of character is the multitude of women that surround him. Giddy, empty-minded, and even more naïve than Louis, the women are simply vacuous. While they are capable of manipulating men, they achieve their goals through the use of their feminine wiles, something most modern-day women can only read with disgust. While there are plenty of examples of women who use their brains to gain power and privilege for their offspring, these women are all but non-existent in Before Versailles. Their simpering, fawning, and tantrums are so excessive that it becomes difficult to stomach at times. While the reader is under no illusions that Mr. Koen is completely exaggerating the behavior of the female courtiers and royal women, their actions do take on a largely fictional quality because of their extreme natures. One looking to find a true, strong female role model in Louis’ court is going to be sorely disappointed.
The pacing of the novel is very similar, one imagines, to life within Fontainebleau. Constantly changing, the narrative changes characters as quickly and as often as Princess Henriette changes dresses. For those readers not paying close attention, it can become an exercise in confusion to discern who is involved in the current scene while remembering everything said in previous scenes. Based on Mr. Koen’s descriptions, one imagines that this is exactly what all courtiers faced – having to stay constantly vigilant and aware in an effort to stay one step ahead of other courtiers and in the king’s good graces. It can be as exhilarating an experience as it is tiresome. Having to pay such close attention for every single page in the novel can be daunting, but the experience of reading Before Versailles is much more fulfilling as a result.
Mr. Gardner’s performance was not quite what I was expecting. His is a forceful voice, leaving little room for nuance and performance. The differences in his characterization was slight, if non-existent, making it very difficult to discern who was speaking when. His French, while adding an air of authenticity, made it even more difficult to distinguish between the very large cast of characters because the names sound so similar and are spoken so rapidly. Listeners expecting variations or even emotion from Mr. Gardner will be disappointed, as there really is none. This makes the novel read a bit like a biography rather than a work of fiction. Mr. Gardner’s monotony is especially effective at minimizing the overly exaggerated emotional responses of the maids of honor and even of Princess Henriette that are so prevalent, but this muted performance does detract from the more honest sentiments expressed by Louis and other characters. Regardless of Mr. Gardner’s performance, I am not certain that Before Versailles is the right novel for audio. There are too many scene breaks and jumps in time that are unheralded by anything other than a pause to allow for smooth transitions audibly. Mr. Gardner did the best he could with the material at hand. Unfortunately, I do believe this is one novel better read in print than read aloud.
Before Versailles is interesting in the intimate look it gives at court life before there was such a thing as an absolute monarch. The plotting, the constant fawning, the politicizing of everything from accessories to the granting of favors is as shocking as it is titillating. Mr. Koen does a fantastic job capturing the exhausting excesses while utilizing some of the more well-known rumors and unsolved mysteries to advance the story. A reader finishes Before Versailles with a greater understanding of just what it meant to be among royalty, a greater appreciation for not being part of the royal family, and a growing appetite to learn more about Louis XIV.
mimsy42's review against another edition
3.0
Quietly enjoyable historical novel set in the early days of Louis XIV's court. The first 250 pages or so were spent setting up the chess pieces, then things take off and start to get more exciting. Rather disappointed in the ending--it stops short.
pandemoniumpizza's review against another edition
Scandal, drama and intrigue; those are the main three elements of Before Versailles. It had some mystery to it as well and I love mysteries so I really liked the mystery element of Before Versailles.
I thought that Before Versailles was really interesting as I didn’t know much about King Louis XIV or French history so now I feel a lot more knowledgeable on the subject. I like reading historical novels that are set in reality for that reason. It’s based in truth so I like to read through and search bits on the internet to learn a bit more about the time and the people.
Before Versailles wasn’t really what I had expected. I’m not sure what I expected it to be but it was definitely very interesting. There was so much going on in Before Versailles that there was barely ever a dull moment.
There were so many colourful characters that I had strong feelings about quite a few of them. In other words, some were really likeable and then some were definitely bad. I did have a few favourites. I definitely liked Louise, she just seemed very sweet and down to earth which is the kind of character I like.
Before Versailles provides some very interesting insight into Louis XIV for a few months of his life; as well as a few other prominent people at the time. If you like French history and are looking for something with a bit of drama and a lot of scandal then I think you will enjoy Before Versailles.
I thought that Before Versailles was really interesting as I didn’t know much about King Louis XIV or French history so now I feel a lot more knowledgeable on the subject. I like reading historical novels that are set in reality for that reason. It’s based in truth so I like to read through and search bits on the internet to learn a bit more about the time and the people.
Before Versailles wasn’t really what I had expected. I’m not sure what I expected it to be but it was definitely very interesting. There was so much going on in Before Versailles that there was barely ever a dull moment.
There were so many colourful characters that I had strong feelings about quite a few of them. In other words, some were really likeable and then some were definitely bad. I did have a few favourites. I definitely liked Louise, she just seemed very sweet and down to earth which is the kind of character I like.
Before Versailles provides some very interesting insight into Louis XIV for a few months of his life; as well as a few other prominent people at the time. If you like French history and are looking for something with a bit of drama and a lot of scandal then I think you will enjoy Before Versailles.
bookmage's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. The writing was fine, and the story should have been pretty interesting, but then it kind of just ended? Like, yes, the girl from the country who loves horses has the very obvious trajectory of such women in a royal court, but then it's never really resolved. What happened to you, Louise? (Yes, her name is basically the same as the king's name. I could just look it up (PSST BECAUSE IT'S HISTORY YOU GUYS) but that would defeat the main purpose of this book a little bit. One of your main characters doesn't even get an ending? Sad face. I'm all for doing rabbit hole deep dives into things after reading about something, but I want it to be on MY TERMS. I don't want to be held hostage by my NEED FOR INFORMATION. (I sound really ornery about this when I am, in fact, just kind of blah about it.)
That being said, I literally powered through this book like a champ. I didn't particularly enjoy it either. Lots of skipping paragraphs about decorations. Also lots of perspective switching in the middle of things. I didn't like that.
That being said, I literally powered through this book like a champ. I didn't particularly enjoy it either. Lots of skipping paragraphs about decorations. Also lots of perspective switching in the middle of things. I didn't like that.