Summary
Summary of Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693
Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693 at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 6 h 25 min5 h 5 min fast, 7 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 91,200 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1905by Arvède Barine
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Exile changes habits but not pride
After the failed Fronde, the Grande Mademoiselle pays for firing on the King's troops with exile at Saint-Fargeau. Her castle has missing doors and windows and is full of rats. She weeps before her household, then recovers her good humour and begins repairs. She also decides to learn to enjoy reading, listening while she sews and ordering a theatre. These new habits give her life fresh interest, but her stubborn pride leaves her blind to how France has changed.
Key idea 2
Her fortune makes her a target
Mademoiselle's wealth offers protection, but it also draws pressure from her own family.
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Key idea 3
Louis makes work the foundation of power
Under Mazarin, Louis has seemed a neglected young man devoted to hunting and ballet.
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Key idea 4
Charity answers suffering the State ignores
Away from the palaces, the Fronde leaves villages burned and survivors desperate for food.
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Key idea 5
Court pleasure serves the King's power
The early Court is open and lively, with masked crowds entering parties and rank mixing more freely.
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Key idea 6
Private desires weaken public standards
Louis warns that a mistress can be more dangerous than a favourite, yet he ignores his own advice.
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Key idea 7
Love runs against the rules of rank
After resisting royal marriage plans, Mademoiselle becomes drawn to Lauzun, a small, bold Gascon whose nerve and flattery have raised him at Court.
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Key idea 8
His imprisonment puts her devotion at stake
Whether Mademoiselle and Lauzun have secretly married remains uncertain.
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Key idea 9
Failed rebellion shapes an absolute monarchy
Barine follows the princess and the King as two lives shaped by the failure of the Fronde.
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Go deeper: the whole of Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693
About 6 h 40 min to read.Start freeWho it’s for
Readers who love court life, royal intrigue and true love stories will enjoy this book. It suits anyone curious about Louis XIV before Versailles, and about Molière and Racine at court.
What this book is
What happens to a princess who joins a rebellion hoping to marry a king, and then loses? In 1652 the Grande Mademoiselle, first cousin of Louis XIV, rides into exile at a half-ruined castle, her dreams of glory gone. The young King returns to Paris, and a new age begins.
Arvède Barine follows Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans from 1652 to her death in 1693. She draws on the princess's own Memoirs, the Memoirs of Louis XIV, and letters and journals of the time. You meet an exile who learns to love reading, a king who teaches himself to rule, and a love story that ends in separation.
In this summary
- 1Exile changes habits but not prideFree
- 2Her fortune makes her a target
- 3Louis makes work the foundation of power
- 4Charity answers suffering the State ignores
- 5Court pleasure serves the King's power
- 6Private desires weaken public standards
- 7Love runs against the rules of rank
- 8His imprisonment puts her devotion at stake
- 9Failed rebellion shapes an absolute monarchy
Exile turns a rebel princess into a reader
The Fronde was a failed revolution, and Barine treats it as a dividing line in French history. After it, a weary nation accepted absolute rule. The Grande Mademoiselle, who had fired the Bastille cannon at the King's troops, pays with exile at Saint-Fargeau in 1652.
The castle is close to a ruin, with missing doors and windows, and it is full of rats. On the night she arrives she weeps in front of her whole household. By the fourth day she is back, camps in a cellar, recovers her good humour and begins to fix the place up.
She has read almost nothing, and she resolves to learn to like reading by sheer will. She listens to readers while she sews and orders a theatre. Yet her pride stays stubborn, and the exile teaches her nothing about the new age.
Exile can build character, yet it cannot teach you how the world has moved on.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
How does Louis respond to Mazarin's death?
Right. “A few hours later Louis XIV tells his ministers that he will govern himself and have no first minister.”Not quite. “A few hours later Louis XIV tells his ministers that he will govern himself and have no first minister.”
Who carries most of the cost of helping the starving provinces?
Right. “The middle classes carry most of the cost, and many sell their jewels.”Not quite. “The middle classes carry most of the cost, and many sell their jewels.”
How does Louis use festivals to strengthen his position?
Right. “The King uses festivals to bind nobles to him.”Not quite. “The King uses festivals to bind nobles to him.”
Go deeper: the whole of Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693
About 6 h 40 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 91,200 words
- Reading timeAbout 6 h 25 min
Questions about Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693
What is Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle about?
It follows the cousin of Louis XIV, Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, from her exile after the Fronde in 1652 to her death in 1693. Alongside her life, it shows how the young King built absolute power.
Who was La Grande Mademoiselle?
She was the Duchess of Montpensier, a granddaughter of Henri IV and cousin of Louis XIV. She was one of the richest women in France and took an active part in the Fronde rebellion.
Who was Lauzun and what happened between him and Mademoiselle?
Lauzun was a small, witty Gascon nobleman and favourite of the King. Mademoiselle fell deeply in love with him, and the book follows their near marriage, his imprisonment and their quarrels.
Is the book a true story and what are its sources?
Yes, it is history. Barine draws on the Memoirs of Mademoiselle and of Louis XIV, letters of Madame de Sévigné, journals, gazettes and prison reports. It was written in French in the early twentieth century.
What is the main message of the book?
Barine argues that absolute monarchy broke France's old liberties and idled its nobility. She uses Mademoiselle's life to show how a whole generation was changed by the failure of the Fronde.
Cite this edition
Barine, Arvède. Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693.
Barine, A. (2026). Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693 (Original work published 1905)
Barine, Arvède. Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693.
@book{barine2026louis,
author = {Barine, Arvède},
title = {Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle, 1652–1693},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/louis-xiv-and-la-grande-mademoiselle-1652-1693},
note = {First published 1905}
}
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